Double Bass Chinese upright bass factory

[BobDeRosa]

How do I complain to an administrator about this unacceptable display of civility among competitors?!

Just so nice to encounter class acts. You see it in even the smallest things. Keep up the good work, guys!

Refreshing indeed! Class acts indeed!

 

[Dan Hannum]

Mark is always a pleasure to work with

 

[TheBassPreacher]

I just have to say it is hard to go wrong with anything coming from Gollihur. Certainly one of the best (if not the best) if you are ordering off the internet sight unseen.

 

[MIKMAN]

[QUOTE="Mark Gollihur, post: 26463727, member: 6502" (And in looking up Kremona online just now, it appears that they have stopped making basses altogether.)[/QUOTE]
Living in Greece and in a few hours distance from Kazanlak, Bulgaria, where the Kremona basses have been constructed i have bought a couple of well made instruments in the past. There were fully carved instruments, with a satin hand varnish and lightly flamed tonewoods. The price range was in the $2500-$4000 level, reasonable enough for the particular quality.
Now the company is almost out of the double bass business, dealing mainly with guitars and custom made violins, violas and cellos. Two years before the Covid crisis i managed to order a double bass to one of the former company's luthiers. I picked it up personally and it turned to be a very good, floor shaking instrument. As i hear from my Bulgarian friends this procedure is still possible, albeit more difficult.
Mike

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Living in Greece and in a few hours distance from Kazanlak, Bulgaria, where the Kremona basses have been constructed i have bought a couple of well made instruments in the past. There were fully carved instruments, with a satin hand varnish and lightly flamed tonewoods. The price range was in the $2500-$4000 level, reasonable enough for the particular quality.
Now the company is almost out of the double bass business, dealing mainly with guitars and custom made violins, violas and cellos. Two years before the Covid crisis i managed to order a double bass to one of the former company's luthiers. I picked it up personally and it turned to be a very good, floor shaking instrument. As i hear from my Bulgarian friends this procedure is still possible, albeit more difficult.
Mike

Yeah, it was a special arrangement at the time, worked out when my dad (Bob) met up with Kremona at NAMM back in the late 90s/early 00s (I believe). They had a cooperative arrangement with a local tooling manufacturer who would send things to the USA in containers; because their stuff was so heavy, they'd reach the weight limits of the container well before they'd fill it up - so they worked a deal to let Kremona "piggyback" the much lighter, bigger basses into those containers' otherwise wasted space. And the bass we imported was their "entry level" instrument, which had a much more economical spray-on poly finish. All of these reductions in acquisition cost let us sell a European-made bass in the USA for well under $3k, plus local freight shipping. It was a great arrangement. Still very friendly with the US side of Kremona (Kremona North America) and I've helped them for several years with testing, consulting, etc. on their successful URB pickups (the DB-1, specifically).

 

[Smokey P]

I'll add I've been playing a shen Rogeri Willow for just a couple months shy of 10 years. It has been a fantastic instrument that myself and a number of other philly bassist prefer the sound and feel of over certain instruments that are double or triple the price. However I have also played Shens that do not perform above their price point like mine seems to. They're all alittle different.

 

[oren]

One hybrid bass so named S.S. priced at $3900 , and another hybrid named G/EL @$2600 are built at the " same factory" in China. Both have good reputations, although the latter only has one dealer, (with a good reputation.) What can one expect to be the major differences in the instrument , taking the price difference into consideration.

I don't have any experience to speak of with Chinese basses, but you might want to give Pete Lempe at Pete's Upright Bass Shop in Portland a ring to see what he's got in stock that might fit your needs. I spent several hours over a few visits talking withPete and trying out different basses before finally purchasing my first carved bass, made in Hungary by Akos Balaz. I know Pete carries Shens as well as other basses, including the ones he makes himself.

 

[bassically_eli]

I'll add I've been playing a shen Rogeri Willow for just a couple months shy of 10 years. It has been a fantastic instrument that myself and a number of other philly bassist prefer the sound and feel of over certain instruments that are double or triple the price. However I have also played Shens that do not perform above their price point like mine seems to. They're all alittle different.

This has been my experience playing Shens in bass shops as well. I remember one SB200 Willow back at the Bass Violin Shop that really, really impressed me. Sounded about as good as basses almost twice the price. The couple of hybrids I played that same day, though, did not impress me. They sounded/felt like ply basses, but that probably just means that they needed to be broken in.

 

[CFIrwin]

Not sure if you're still looking Dan, but I second what Oren has to say. Give Pete a call and see what he has that might suit your needs then take a day trip up to Portland and see what feels best. If you strike out there you can always order online, but nothing beats putting your hands on the instrument. He's usually got a few Shen hybrids in stock, and plenty of other options as well.

 

[Mark Gollihur]

As much as I like selling basses, I "third" this opinion - when a good independent seller is reasonably close by, please do try to support his/her shop. The local bass shops are a valuable resource, and we don't want them to go away.

I'm always happy to send basses out to customers who aren't lucky enough to have a good local store/luthier, but there's no substitute for in-person arrangements, and the personal relationship with the local luthier that you can develop and grow. It's why we still link shops and luthiers on our website - we're a family, yeah?

 

[Fretless55]

Pete Lampe and Mark Gollihur,
two class acts indeed!

 

[Dan Hannum]

I check in with Pete. He doesnt have a 1/2 or know of one in the area. Too bad. I just was thru Portland up and back on visits. ... home last night. Nothin in Seattle either

 

[Matt Power]

For what it's worth, I bought a wonderful 150 hybrid flatback from The Bass Violin Shop. Ridiculously even, fat and punchy. It has a FC set up juuuust buttery enough with Spiro Weichs. A GREAT working jazz bass!

 

[Dan Hannum]

Hey MattP, scuse my dumb, FC is factory ? My only "days drive" possibility is a used 150 hybrid 5/8 thats priced almost at retail. I pulled the trigger last Friday on a Hora (Romania) hybrid. NOS 2018. Got pictures of the actual bass, beautiful flamed back 5 year dried carpathian spruce top and all african ebony parts. Spoke frequently with a factory rep in Romania as well. To top it off, I got 10% off as a first time purchaser from SW strings in AZ. Even got free shipping to my commercial address.

 

[Matt Power]

Excellent! Sounds like Steve has you dialed in! FC stands for Full Circle pickup.

Now...get busy with your teacher and have fun and PLAY!

 

[Dan Hannum]

Matt , I believe you are confusing SW strings/Tucson with String Emporium/Steve Kosika in Phoenix. Don't want anyone going to SE expecting 10% off as one will get at SW as a 1st timer.

 

[Matt Power]

Oops! I stand corrected!! Mea culpa! But...I DO love my flatback hybrid.

 

[Dan Hannum]

And when I get it, I hope I will love mine.

 

[damonsmith]

What I was told by a person who buys basses from a Chinese shop to sell under another name is that if you put forward exactly what you want, they will tell you a price and build it that way. If you say I want a hybrid flatback, I want to pay $800 US per bass then it will be built another way.

Much like Upton, Shen is filling a need for lower end basses affordably priced as well as making far better instruments. Both names mean a certainly level of quality, but you get what you pay for.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

The tone Mark described is also very much a Quenoil type tone.

I've heard Quenoil basses back to back that sound completely different. I don't think there is a specific tone that can be associated with that shape.