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Double Bass Choosing my first bass... why is it so hard...

#41
It's almost a certainty that the sunken area of the top is the result of an excessively sprung bass bar, as the esteemed Mr. Bollbach postulated in his rant. As your luthier showed you, this outdated method is how the shop producing those basses builds them all.

The cure involves removing the top, carving out the existing bass bar, fitting a new bar with no spring, replacing the top, finish touchup, setup, etc. I've replaced two bass bars and it's not an easy or fun job to do, and the bill for this work will be quite high. Tread lightly.
 
#42
So I just brought the Hungarian back and showed the luthier the dent on the Chinese. His verdict was quick.. "that is only going to get worse!". The top on the Chinese is thin as I already thought.. too thin. So even when the dent is properly fixed there is a chance for more trouble in the future.

So it is not looking good. I will take it with me when I pick up the Romanian next week for a second opinion. Am curious what that luthier will say, I bet it will be about the same...
 
#43
Is has been a few weeks and a lot has happened. I have picked up (and brought back) the Romanian bass I posted about earlier. It was a very nice looking bass but it had quite a few issues. Besides that the luthier was located on the other side of the country which is not all that handy.

To compare the Romanian mentioned above, I picked up another Romanian bass that I has seen on an earlier visit to the luthier of the Hungarian bass from the beginning of this thread (see this post on what model it is). So far I really like this bass. It plays well, has a lot of volume and looks nice. My teacher gave it a good try and was quite content with the sound and volume for such a new instrument. Below some pictures (rather dark except the first which are the professional pictures from the seller).

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The rear color is somewhere in between... And yes, it actually does have more than one string ;)

Later that week I visited the luthier I am renting my bass from to get some rosin (bought some Kolstein AW to replace my Pops, love it!) and she had a very nice Michael Glass bass. This was the first bass I really "connected" with in the shop already. Which surprised me as so far I each time I ended up with a more classic looking bas (violin corners etc.). And this is a very no nonsense German Mittenwald bass... No violin corners, no excessive flamed wood but very, very tidy. But I liked it instantly. Did not like the price tag so much though...
After quite some discussion with my wife, as the bass kept on lurking in the back of my head, I decided to pick it up too to compare it to the Romanian above. Below some pictures, also pretty dark.

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The bass looks a lot nicer in the flesh. It is very well finished, best of all basses I have seen so far. Good old German craftmanship. Soundwise it has a bit more volume and sounds a bit more open than the Romanian (but that one is new and the Glass is from 1996). They are pretty close so far but I have yet to try my favourite strings on the Glass (Pirazzi).

I am pretty sure one of these two basses is going to be the one. But which one...

tbc...

Cheers,
Erik
 
#46
Yesterday I put a set of Pirazzi's on the Glass. And as to be expected the bass sounds and plays even better now (to my personal liking). It is as shame that I only have one set of Pirazzis to play around with so I cannot compare both basses sides by side. I do however have two sets of Spiros so I might put those on both basses to compare, even while I do not like Spiros that much.

It's a shame I do not have a lesson this week (my teacher had to perform tonight) so I will have to wait for a week more to get his opinion on the Glass.

So I guess it will pretty much come down to what bass I like the most on looks and finish as I really like both basses on tone, volume and playability. The Glass leads with a few points here, I just like its details, tidy look and wonderful finish. But it is quite a bit more expensive and I have to take that into account too. The Romanian is a nice looking bass to, more classical and just a tiny bit rougher.

I have asked both luthiers on the possibilities of exchanging of the Meinel bass to get the amount due somewhat lower. This could also have an influence on my choice.

So far I really enjoyed this journey in finding a bass that suits me. It has also been very educational. But to be honest, I do hope one of these two is going to work out. If not, I have decided to put it to rest for a while and focus more on some actual playing ;)
 
#48
Of course I will try that... Both luthiers know of each others bass and they also know they are pretty close...

A thing that might complicate things a bit is that the luthier selling the Glass is doing this on behalf of one of her customers. So this might affect negotiations and/or the possibility to exchange the Meinel.

But so far I have not talked money with either of them, I first want to make my own choice (which I am not going to do until my teacher has had a go at the Glass so I can hear his opinion and hear the bass from a distance).

Until then I am just going to enjoy having two great basses at home :)
 
#49
ErikvanD said:
Of course I will try that... Both luthiers know of each others bass and they also know they are pretty close...

A thing that might complicate things a bit is that the luthier selling the Glass is doing this on behalf of one of her customers. So this might affect negotiations and/or the possibility to exchange the Meinel.
Click to expand...

Yes, the owner will make the decisions and tell the shop what they want to do. Figure the owner is paying the shop 15-20% commission which will affect how low they are willing to go, but they also might be very ready to get it done...
 
#50
You might also want to take into account the ages of the basses. The Glass is almost twenty years old, and any issues with the wood or construction will have revealed themselves already, whereas the Romanian bass is still in its infancy.

I'm not saying that Romanian basses are inherently flawed, just that maturity has its positive aspects.
 
#51
Well, today my teacher came by to play both basses. I had strung them both with Spiros medium for comparability. He spend an hour on playing both basses, walking, jazz, classical both pizz and arco. I found it very helpful to hear both basses from a distance played by someone who knows his stuff.

But... it did not bring the clarity I was hoping for. Both basses sound great from a distance too with the Romanian sounding somewhat brighter. But that one was strung with almost new Spiros while the strings on the Glass sounded pretty dull. Considering the condition of the exterior of the bass it would not surprise me if it were the strings the bass came with in 1996. The only difference I see between both sets of Spiros is that the ones on the Glass are a little bit less shiny and the little piece of tubing on the D string to prevent rattle in the pegbox is made from a red weaven kind of material instead of the clear plastic tubing that is on the new Spiros. But I would not know if this means something.

After a lot of deliberating my teacher favoured the Romanian just a little bit more but he said this could very well be because of the old strings on the Glass. I myself like the Glass better just because I think it plays a bit better (especially when bowed). I also like the splendid finish on this bass. I liked it right away after I first saw/tried it... But is also significantly more expensive which I have to take into account whether I like it or not.

Bottom line is that both basses are fine instruments and more than good enough for the level of playing I will ever achieve. So, time has come to make a decision... and try some negotiating...
 
#54
Well, it is done... the choice is made...

After some tough negotiating I can now call myself the very proud owner of a 1996 Michael Glass bass! Phew, am I glad it's over... the whole process took a lot of time but I have a very strong feeling the Glass and I will be together for a long time.

So tomorrow I will be returning my rental and the Romanian so the kids finally have room to play again ;)

Yeah!
 
#55
ErikvanD said:
Well, it is done... the choice is made...

After some tough negotiating I can now call myself the very proud owner of a 1996 Michael Glass bass! Phew, am I glad it's over... the whole process took a lot of time but I have a very strong feeling the Glass and I will be together for a long time.

So tomorrow I will be returning my rental and the Romanian so the kids finally have room to play again ;)

Yeah!
Click to expand...

Right on, Erik. That's the one I would have picked. ;)
 

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