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Double Bass Buying a first DB is hard work

erniej

erniej

Dec 14, 2011
65
0
Cary, NC
#1
First post here. I have been reading up on buying a double bass for about four months here. I am going back to college in the fall at a ripe old age to study jazz bass my reason being that I desire something to look forward to and to acquire an undergrad degree. I have a career, it pays the bills, it is fine in many ways. But if I am going to sit in a cube for another 25 years I am going to do something that lights my fire on the side. At school I will be playing mostly pizz but will be playing some classical music. It is a jazz program though. I do have a decent W. Seifert bow from upright lessons I took about 12 years ago with a CCB. That bass was hard to play, had low volume, and poor sound so I sold it with the intention of getting another one. Somehow other things happened and I did not get a new bass.

So I have been looking around for a bass. I finally have some funds, budget $2500, and am now seriously looking. I have seen a few Kays that have shown up on the local craigslist but not this one [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. They are interesting but I don't know what I am looking at and am more interested in getting something solid than vintage at the moment. There is time for that later. That Kay I posted the link for looks pretty sweet. I've inquired. It is out of my budget but I could swing it.

Anyway I am going to my local luthier today to look at the shens, sb80 100 150, as well as whatever he may have used in the $1500 to $2500 range. That is The Bass Violin Shop in Greensboro, NC, USA. I am very tempted towards a hybrid although the resilience of a plywood especially as a first bass is attractive. I am already a musician and so something with better tone, hybrid, might be more satisfying and allow room to grow. But the price of an sb80 would leave money for other things. But the oil varnish on the new sb100 looks great and the price still leaves me some funds. But a used played-in bass with some accessories is very attractive. But....

Oh, I've heard from someone whose opinion I respect, that he'd seen the Shens coming apart after a few years. Anything to this? A bad batch maybe? Since corrected?

So, off I go. Feel free to weigh in. This is like buying a car. In the end it will be what I can afford and am comfortable with.

ernie
 
#4
I follow [DB] discussions all the time even though I don't play/study one as of now. +1 its worse than buying a car, Its like a personal relationship or a roomate etc. The Bass violin shop sounds like the route to go to try out serious basses and possibly find one for you. . It sounds like you will do well since you are spending time researching and doing the homework.....best of luck ......:cool:
 
#5
Check with the Shen owners club about durability. I have only had mine 1 1/2 years but no issues so far and none of the bass players I know have said anything other than good choice on my SB80.
 
#6
Yeah I've been reading about Shen's for several months and have never heard of that otherwise. This person could have seen one or two basses come apart and then that was his perspective based on experience. It would not be realistic however to decide that because I've heard one person say they fall apart that they all fall apart.
 
#9
I have been very interested in the Thompsons. They sound pretty good in their videos. Too bad I can't just try one without having to deal with shipping to and from. I like the idea of buying locally. A shop close by with a rep for service....well I am glad to have the option.
 
#10
Ernie . . . you are very fortunate to have Bob Beerman nearby, who enjoys a widespread & well-deserved reputation & of which I strongly recommend you take advantage - regardless of which bass you finally decide upon . . . just play as many as possible until you find "the one" . . . then let him check it out and/or set it up for you - which will save you money & add greatly to your pleasure over the long haul ;)
 
#11
Given that you've already decided to play the DB, I wouldn't suggest that you go the rental route. Rather, find the bass that speaks to you. If you want to maximize your bang for the buck in terms of the quality of the instrument, as opposed to collectibility, then, IMO, you should stay far away from Kays.

As for Shens falling apart, the overwhelming amount of evidence here and elsewhere is that they certainly do not. Personally, any shortcuts I've seen in their build-process are not those that are likely to have any considerable negative effect on their instruments' integrity or longevity. They are good values.

As has already been mentioned, with a budget of $2500, there are other options to you available as well.
 
#12
If it were me and that was my budget, I would get a Shen SB100 with pickup of choice and padded bag set up by a good luthier and be done with it.

When I picked out a bass for our jazz department here at UofL to use as a loaner for guest artists, for students transitioning from electric bass, and for students whose older basses were being repaired, I took the advice I just gave you above. Every single guest artist who has played the bass was very happy with it. Tonight Eddie Gomez will be playing it in a concert featuring him. When he did his first master class two days ago, he went on and on about what a great bass it was, and how every school should have an instrument like that on hand.

Obviously, I'm not saying anything bad about any other instrument - just saying something very good about the one I have the most experience with. EEMMV.
 
#14
I've steered several of my students toward Shen hybrids, and they all have had no regrets. Two played them all the way through their undergrad music degrees.

A current student has a well-set-up ply Christopher that I think sounds pretty damn good.

Definitely buy something you're comfortable with, and I would advise to stay away from any oddball stuff even if it seems like a good deal. My first bass was an older instrumet made in Brazil by what I know now was an untrained luthier. It somehow sounded decent, but it turned out being made in such an unconventional way that luthiers did not know what to do with it once it started falling apart.
 
#16
Let us know what you decide.

The Bass Violin Shop is local to me also (you and I live in the same town). Bob sold me my first DB (a Jaeger solid wood). His shop also did an extremely fine set-up on my second DB. I still own both & have nothing but praise for Bob's shop.

If you get something like a Shen from Bob, he will work on it until it is absolutely PERFECT.
 
#17
Yes well I brought home the Shen SB 150 Hybrid. All of the basses I tried would have suited my purposes. They, Shens and otherwise, were all set up well. The Shen's especially were easy to play and sounded good. There was also an Engelhardt that I really liked. Big sound on that one. Why I chose the hybrid is that the sound was more transparent whereas it was more localized with the plywood basses. I imagined with eyes closed that the hybrid bass sound could be coming from several feet from where it actually was when listening from a distance. My Eden WT400 bass amp and Bag End 1x15 cabinet have this quality and I love it. I really did like the 100 and if it is good enough for Eddie Gomez....., heh we listened to Bill Evans at the Montreux Jazz Festival on the way. The plywoods were more thumpy while the 150 sounded more musical to my ear which is what I expected. I liked the 80 also but like the oil varnish on the others much better. Bob was great and made sure the bass was right before I left which did mean some bridge work. It was a good experience. Also the new bass is girlfriend approved. She, a deft muso with a good ear, played it as much as I did. A warning? Uh oh.

So decision made. I was thinking on the drive home that I would like a decent plywood bass, someday, set up for slap and western swing. My new bass is a growly jazz bass. So I'll make a bass kitty and slip a few extra bucks into it from time to time and keep my eyes on craigslist.

The bass is big in my little apartment. It is hard to resist looking and touching. One of the first things I did this morning was play it and it sounded particularly good. Funny but it does not seem like the cat has really noticed it yet. Maybe it is too big and outside his realm for him to see. It is fine with me if he never notices it.

I pulled out all my books from my bass lessons years ago.....Simandl, Ron Carter, Oscar Pettiford, Dr. Morton's Miraculous Scale Fingerings for the Doublebass......yikes!!! Okay reality means a teacher. Oh here is one All For Strings. I think I'll start here.

Thanks for everyones responses and input. I appreciate it very much. It is too bad there are so many pros and cons to each choice but then again that reflects the nature of such a dynamic and variable instrument and the reality of trying to get in on the ground floor.

Best to all,

Ernie

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#19
I have concluded my cat actually likes listening to me play... i often practice cello suites and he comes over, lays on my chair like two feet from the bass and just gets all quiet and docile.. then again, I read that cats have a way of tuning out sound quite unlike humans. Congrats on the bass.. I have no good experiences with shens... tried three of them so far that belong to other people.. one recently that belongs to an older well seasoned player.. gotta say it felt like plastic and sounded hollow, all the wrong harmonics etc etc.. but I am attracted to upton basses... would love to go to Boston and actually try a few.. the videos of them look and sound really good. Anyway, good luck to you and congrats!
 
#20
erniej said:
It is hard to resist looking and touching. One of the first things I did this morning was play it and it sounded particularly good.
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Click to expand...

Do not resist playing it! Seriously if you love it that much play on it every minute you can, and do not resist! Play and play and Play!
 

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