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Double Bass Educated Opinion
- Thread starter RRunner
- Start date
MollyKay
Supporting Member
This a great thread for a good laugh. I am not even offended. 
For every chair there is an a$$ and for every a$$ there is a chair you just need to find a bass that fits your style of music, playing preference and wallet. For some that is a life long pursuit and its fun too!
To Pauls point: bluegrass does want a percussive, dry thump that sounds like the Fathers of bluegrass from the 1940s before steel strings, on board tuners, good luthier practices and padded bass bags. Heck some of the old Kays road on top of the car, pour the rain water out of the F holes and play it on stage night after night do that with a carved bass and still be around 70 years later.
For every chair there is an a$$ and for every a$$ there is a chair you just need to find a bass that fits your style of music, playing preference and wallet. For some that is a life long pursuit and its fun too!
To Pauls point: bluegrass does want a percussive, dry thump that sounds like the Fathers of bluegrass from the 1940s before steel strings, on board tuners, good luthier practices and padded bass bags. Heck some of the old Kays road on top of the car, pour the rain water out of the F holes and play it on stage night after night do that with a carved bass and still be around 70 years later.
You know I love you dearly and without no Godamm reservations, Molly.....but gimme a break. Some of the oldest and greatest examples of fine carved master basses are still hangin' around and they were thrown up on top of horse-drawn carriages in all manner of weather when they still had only three strings.
My friend Glen Moore of the band Oregon plays an ancient lions head Klotz bass that was schlepped across the Gobi Desert on a camels hump (back).
So, there......
Here, 1550....(Pic in post). A bit pricey, granted, but imagine the crap this puppy went through.......(dammit). And.........This'n 1585.Invalid Link Removed
PS...my TB siggy, below, applies to this particular post. Thank you for your understanding and forgiveness.
My friend Glen Moore of the band Oregon plays an ancient lions head Klotz bass that was schlepped across the Gobi Desert on a camels hump
(back).So, there......
Here, 1550....(Pic in post). A bit pricey, granted, but imagine the crap this puppy went through.......(dammit). And.........This'n 1585.Invalid Link Removed
PS...my TB siggy, below, applies to this particular post. Thank you for your understanding and forgiveness.
Greg Clinkingbeard
Commercial User
MollyKay
Supporting Member
.....but gimme a break. Some of the oldest and greatest examples of fine carved master basses are still hangin' around and they were thrown up on top of horse-drawn carriages in all manner of weather when they still had only three strings...that was schlepped across the Gobi Desert on a camels hump
I guess...since you were there to witness this schlepping event it would be true
Basses had three strings?
I'll cop to the age thing....pretty close on that one.
Molly, of course your last sentence is a teaser right?
Or are we going into DB history for our OP?
Yes, basses originally had three strings. (no low E).
Molly, of course your last sentence is a teaser right?
Or are we going into DB history for our OP?
Yes, basses originally had three strings. (no low E).
Reading all these knocks against Kays (no sustain, dull thump, ect) and such, makes me regret selling my old Kay 15 years ago...it had a great sound with Thomastic strings and plenty of sustain. It was loud too but didn't have much texture. So I must have had a rare Kay indeed and sold it way too cheap.
Some professional jazz players may disdain the lowly Kay, but I've known a few who played them out of necessity. Like one close friend of mine who after years playing a fabulous Morelli (including 9 years with Anita O'Day), lost it all-- including the Morelli-- with a divorce settlement and the only axe he could afford after that was a Kay, which befit his new impoverished lifestyle. But he had great chops anyway, so he kept working. And he made that Kay sound good.
Some professional jazz players may disdain the lowly Kay, but I've known a few who played them out of necessity. Like one close friend of mine who after years playing a fabulous Morelli (including 9 years with Anita O'Day), lost it all-- including the Morelli-- with a divorce settlement and the only axe he could afford after that was a Kay, which befit his new impoverished lifestyle. But he had great chops anyway, so he kept working. And he made that Kay sound good.
MollyKay
Supporting Member
Yes just a tease...did you know banjo's started out with one string...Evolution
At the risk of dragging us back on topic, I had the same concerns when I ordered my Upton but if you search around the board a bit I think you'll find plenty of satisfied customers. I'm surprised some of them haven't been posting already. If Gary is willing to work with you on the price, then so much the better. He may have a used instrument or two sitting around as well. I think he is still taking his basses in on trade if you're trading up.
However, why a 5-string? Especially if you want to play bluegrass. I know there are 5-string players out there including Mr. Warburton but I'd suggest that you stick with a 4 unless you have a pressing need for a 5. A 4 gives you more string choices (years of fun), will cover everything you need in a first bass, and should be easier to resell if you decide to trade up. Heck, I can play most bluegrass tunes on two strings, the other two are just for show. If you want a thumpier sound put some gut strings on her or find a grungy 20-yr old set of Spirocore mediums.
EDIT: I realize that I was just assuming the whole bluegrass thing. Between the OP being in North Carolina and talking about Kays, my mind just went there. If the OP is planning to play in another genre than ignore what I said.
I have no desire to step into the Kay Kontroversy or the Engelhardt Embroglio so I'll add something about the Kohr basses the OP asked about.
A friend of mine has a Kohr and I've played it quite a bit. It has a nice tone. In fact, I think it sounds better than the Engelhardt I owned for several years. However, it is "stiff" and has never played as smoothly as the Engelhardt did. He has also has multiple issues with the Kohr (opening seams, a neck that snapped while lying on its side in a bag, a fingerboard that has separated from the neck twice, and a few other minor problems).
Make of that what you will.
A friend of mine has a Kohr and I've played it quite a bit. It has a nice tone. In fact, I think it sounds better than the Engelhardt I owned for several years. However, it is "stiff" and has never played as smoothly as the Engelhardt did. He has also has multiple issues with the Kohr (opening seams, a neck that snapped while lying on its side in a bag, a fingerboard that has separated from the neck twice, and a few other minor problems).
Make of that what you will.
That's a good observation and echos what LoiusF said - some Kohr's are fine, some aren't. But if the bass in question has been around a few years and has proven stable it may be one of the good ones and could be a good starter instrument. My particular instrument was several years old when I got it and hadn't self destructed and it's proven stable so far. And I use it as my "beater bass" for bluegrass festivals and rowdy bar gigs.
Mark
Mark
Better to get a bass from a builder/shop such that having to worry about finding a "good one" is not an issue and one that is also a good-sounding, good-playing instrument.
This a great thread for a good laugh. I am not even offended.
For every chair there is an a$$ and for every a$$ there is a chair…you just need to find a bass that fits your style of music, playing preference and wallet. For some that is a life long pursuit…and its fun too!
+1
Honestly I would probably play a nice carved bass if I played ****** soulless modern Jazz too. A ludicrously expensive carved heirloom would really bring out that really annoying nasal buzzy Spirocore bright trebley Jazz tone that is just SO cool, MAN.
Oh, and it would get me that all-important SUSTAIN - which I've told is the most important part about a bass and music in general. Here's a good example of how horrible Engelhardt basses (like mine) sound recorded acoustically in a band setting:
That bass has weedwacker strings on it, by the way. It would sound much treblier and better with really bright whiny strings and a carved top, don't you think?
Leave the Engelhardts and Kays to those lowly Bluegrassers, Rockers, and Hillbillys.
(please note: extreme sarcasm was intended)
HA! Pretty crappy intonation, wouldn't you say? I imagine steel strings might have a stronger and more focused pitch center than lawn mower strings.
Oh, and whenever I hear this music, I can never forget the elite crowd that Django entertained in Paris during WWII as his tribal members spent ***their*** time incarcerated by other members of that same crowd.
It's a crying shame. And such swinging music too.
HA! Pretty crappy intonation, wouldn't you say? I imagine steel strings might have a stronger and more focused pitch center than lawn mower strings.
Oh, and whenever I hear this music, I can never forget the elite crowd that Django entertained in Paris during WWII as his tribal members spent ***their*** time incarcerated by other members of that same crowd.
It's a crying shame. And such swinging music too.
Of course, that was later in the game and after the breakup of the Quintette du Hot Club de France of which one of my all-time favorite musicians was a member (hint: not Django). I believe the "elite crowd" to which you refer were Nazis and "incarcerated" seems far too benign a term. I prefer Porajmos.
