Sounded like a tree? Do you mean the bass had bark? To me that sounds more like a Jazz Bass.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Double Bass Best double bass for > $125K ???
- Thread starter Don Hergert
- Start date
-
- Tags
- double bass expensive
Sounded like a tree? Do you mean the bass had bark? To me that sounds more like a Jazz Bass.
I think you can still have a very nice instrument built for 20k. And you can also find a very nice previously owned instruments for 20k or less.
Often the high price of more expensive basses is justified by pedigree or provenance rather than by how well it plays. Course maybe that's just my taste. I went to Robertson & Sons about 15 years ago to play through their basses. To my surprise I found several basses in the $6-7K range that I liked almost as well as the most expensive basses I tried. If a bass has pedigree/provenance and plays well, then perhaps it will be worth even more, but to some degree these characteristics appeal to different types of buyers IMHO. I care how an instrument sounds and plays, and $6-$7K is about the limit of what I can conceptually justify as a retired musician.
There was a big old French bass in a string shop in San Antonio that listed for $40K the last time I checked. It was actually a pretty nice player for it's size, but I can find basses that sound and play much better for a lot less money. For example, the shop had a Bohemian bass that was so extraordinary that I had to show a friend, and he wound up buying it. I believe the price was <$6K. It had some pretty major repairs, that I was afraid would be unstable, but AFAIK the bass has not had problems. Also, I have played several fabulous Horst Grunert basses that were under $20K.
The last bass I played professionally was a 7/8 Lakeberg Baer that was commissioned by my organizaton for $15K about 20 years ago. I did not think this bass was all that great for my job since I always played through an amp, but it would have been well suited, if not outstanding for orchestral section work. Here is a similar bass with an extension listed for $22.5K. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I guess Lakeberg's name has bit more cache now as I have seen a couple of his Maggini models listed for $30k. William Lakeberg- Maggini Model, ISB Silver Medal winner | Cincinnati Bass Cellar William Lakeberg- Maggini copy | Cincinnati Bass Cellar
I believe the award winner has been fitted with an extension and is listed here: For Sale - Bill Lakeberg Maggini Model (2009 ISB Silver Medal Winner)
Gary Karr has been quoted on several occasions as expressing a preference for smaller, newer basses over older, larger ones for both clarity and carrying power in both solo and section situations. The big old ones sound big up close but don't carry as well in his opinion. Apparently it's better from his point of view to put your money into a quality newer bass than paying for a pedigree or name of an older instrument. What's under the ear is not necessarily what's heard out front.
One thing that always gets me about our chosen instrument.
We’re the ones, as players, who hear our instrument least.
We’re the ones, as players, who hear our instrument least.
Chuck Traeger has a story in one of his books about a bass he had that he was told was the loudest bass these people had ever heard but he eventually sold because he couldn't hear it while he was playing. True story?
One more story from that ISB convention. I couple in my area had bought a bass at auction from a school for I think $25.00. They got my name from somewhere and asked me if I would look at it because they needed money and could I tell them how much it was worth and if I might be interested in buying it. It looked to me like an old Czech factory bass actually similar to mine, but it was in really rough shape. I mentioned a shop in the area that specialized in basses and suggested they contact them. I didn't hear any more about it and didn't know if anything had happened. It was I think the next year at the convention when I saw that this shop had some basses there and went to take a look. There was the bass. I confirmed that it was the same one and asked the price- $22,000.00! I was also informed that it had been sold. It was explained that the bass had essentially been rebuilt and had taken many hours. I don't begrudge the price, I just hope the couple got a good deal(no finder's fee-sigh).
y
y
Deep, full, rich, warm, etc. Basically the most glorious sound I had ever hear out of a bass before.
I spent an enjoyable afternoon at David Gage's shop a few years ago and got to play a bunch of really lovely double basses, including several that were definitely in that upper-tier range.
I don't deny that there are some really spectacular and expensive basses, but I recall two in particular standing out to me. One was smaller Italian bass - I don't remember the maker anymore but it was listed at about $80,000. The other was a new bass by Nick Lloyd and was selling for between $30-40,000.
I'm sure if I were a professional with a professional's budget, I could appreciate some of those other basses, but I've been really impressed by the smaller modern basses being made today and honestly I'd rather have one of those than an old bass with a pedigree.
I don't deny that there are some really spectacular and expensive basses, but I recall two in particular standing out to me. One was smaller Italian bass - I don't remember the maker anymore but it was listed at about $80,000. The other was a new bass by Nick Lloyd and was selling for between $30-40,000.
I'm sure if I were a professional with a professional's budget, I could appreciate some of those other basses, but I've been really impressed by the smaller modern basses being made today and honestly I'd rather have one of those than an old bass with a pedigree.
I’ve played several high end basses (couple of Prescotts; The Haden) and always keep coming back to my less-than-$5k 1850’s Tyrolean similar to the “eggshell basses” James mentions that I’ve been playing for the last 40 years as the sound I want to hear and the feel I want to feel. I might be prejudiced!
Silly human. The cello gets YOUR peanuts!
- Dec 13, 1999
- 11,736
- 8,941
- 70
- Disclosures
- Chuck Sher publishes my book, WALKING BASSICS:The Fundamentals of Jazz Bass Playing.
Prescotts, Charlie's Vuilliame, etc. just aren't the same as (for instance) the Vincenzo Panormo that David Grossman plays with the NY Phil.
I can't really make an assessment of where my instruments stand in relation to a bass that sells in the 6 figure range simply because I've never played an instrument with that price tag. But I do have to disagree with the assessment that " ...the high price of more expensive basses is justified by pedigree or provenance rather than by how well it plays." As with pretty much every consumer product that's repairable, things that work well tend to be cared for and repaired and restored, things that don't tend to be discarded after a while. I don't think it's different for stringed instruments, so these instruments that end up as a rare commodity don't tend to be bad sounding instruments.
The Loar mandolin reference does have some parallels with 6 digit DBs (including prices), but it's interesting to note that while nearly every Loar mandolin is revered due to their provenance and the fact that Bill Monroe specifically sought them out and used them, they often simply won't sell at those prices if they don't sound good.
(In the bluegrass world, the same applies to vintage Mastertone banjos and vintage Martin D-18/28 guitars.)
(In the bluegrass world, the same applies to vintage Mastertone banjos and vintage Martin D-18/28 guitars.)
There’s a great interview on Contrabass Conversations from 2008 (two parts) where they talk to Barry Kolstein and he discusses how frustrating it is that the auction houses, the internet and the world markets have priced most of the players out from ever owning fine instruments. He also goes on to talk about how fine basses are made to be played and not simply catalogued and stored away to simply accrue value.
I know I’ll never ever be able to afford an instrument of such pedigree and price. For myself anything under $15K-$20K might be doable; but only with financing.
I know I’ll never ever be able to afford an instrument of such pedigree and price. For myself anything under $15K-$20K might be doable; but only with financing.
I have a friend who wanted to buy a bass in the $30,000 range and the bank wouldn't give him a loan for it until he went there and played for them on the bass he wanted to buy. They gave him the loan.
Man that’s like - new truck or new bass? Which way to go? How long do they go for something like that? 60 months?
It was several years ago that he got this loan so I don't remember for sure but I think it was five years to pay it back. He mentioned it was like buying a car. I also seem to recall that his car was kind of a beater so at least he had his priorities straight. 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned "Highly Strung" yet...
The doc follows the Australian String Quartet, whose players are lent a matching set of Guadagnini instruments (each worth $1 million plus in today's market), and takes some side trips into a high-end luthier who tries to copy a Guadagnini, and an ultra-wealthy family that speculates in those types of super-rare instruments.
Puts that puny $125k into perspective, yes?
The doc follows the Australian String Quartet, whose players are lent a matching set of Guadagnini instruments (each worth $1 million plus in today's market), and takes some side trips into a high-end luthier who tries to copy a Guadagnini, and an ultra-wealthy family that speculates in those types of super-rare instruments.
Puts that puny $125k into perspective, yes?
Well... and then there is this (they are featured in the Scott Hicks documentary), which is why some parts of the market are so insane and instruments wasting in bank vaults (NB: they are not alone in this, of course):
Link Removed
and it becomes all about the money:
Link Removed
and it becomes all about the money:
That bass will be worth more in 20 years unlike the truck. I'm continually surprised banks don't get that. Of course they want to see that you insure the truck before extending the loan. Instrument insurance exists too.It was several years ago that he got this loan so I don't remember for sure but I think it was five years to pay it back. He mentioned it was like buying a car. I also seem to recall that his car was kind of a beater so at least he had his priorities straight.
