Double Bass Cheapest bass I'll find?

[praisebass]

Occassionally, I'll see ads for cheap uprights: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You might outgrow something like this very quickly but I would expect one could get his money back when he was ready to move up.

 

[Rama]

Just to chime in on the original topic, there is a high correlation between people who buy the cheapest double bass that they can find and their quit rate. If tried learning on those basses and all I knew about DB are those crappy basses, I'd likely have put little effort in getting good at it or I would have quit out of frustration and assumption that DB just isn't for me.

Definitely, I brought my cheap double bass to a luthier and he immediatly spotted that the nut was still too high, the bridge was carved horribly.
I played with an unbelievable high action, I practised like 5 minutes a hour, it was no fun, but I am glad my bass is at the luthier now. (no money issue, but traveling issue)

The luthier asked me how the new string height should be and I anything but this!

 

[drurb]

Dubbin--it's also fun to play on an old pair of spoons or beat on a plastic pail, but those instruments don't cost five or six hundred dollars. Drub's and other's comments about the ccbs aren't meant to dissuade people from PLAYING the bass. It's just that the typical experience w/ those cheap basses isn't a happy or lasting experience.

Precisely, and thank you. Well said!

What joy do you get writing these great swan songs against cheap basses and invoking "collective wisdom?" You've written a significant number of posts down these lines so it appear so be a very important part of your involvement in this community.

To answer your question, I take no particular joy beyond steering aspiring players away from instruments that, a priori, are likely to lead to frustration, unnecessary expense, stifled progress, and even implosion. I plan to always be "involved" in that manner as a member of this community. Oh, and what I write are certainly not "swan songs" as I'm sure not on my way out-- unless you know something that I don't.

 

[shadygrove]

Occassionally, I'll see ads for cheap uprights: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You might outgrow something like this very quickly but I would expect one could get his money back when he was ready to move up.

Sorry to have to say this, but the ad you posted disproves your point...

" I have a nearly new 3/4 upright double bass w/new gig bag. Previous owner bought it new, rarely played it, and same here. $450 (bass cost $800 new plus $100 gig bag). "

That's nowhere close to getting his money back and this is for a bass described as "nearly new"

 

[drurb]

Sorry to have to say this, but the ad you posted disproves your point...

" I have a nearly new 3/4 upright double bass w/new gig bag. Previous owner bought it new, rarely played it, and same here. $450 (bass cost $800 new plus $100 gig bag). "

That's nowhere close to getting his money back and this is for a bass described as "nearly new"