Hungarian Upright Info

Not a lot of info about Hungarian basses out there. I have a Hungarian ply bass from +/- 1970. It has a similar shape to your bass and the tuners, label, and the bracing under the label look pretty similar as well. Mine has an ebonized fingerboard but it is hard maple or some other wood, very different feel than the CCB fingerboards I have seen.

I don't know much about market value but if your bass is similar to mine it is a well built (but a little on the heavy side) plywood bass with a solid thump and nice overall sound. A lot depends on professional set up. A playable instrument with a dressed fingerboard, functional endpin, correct string spacing, etc, is worth more.

I would ask an expert to take a look at it in person and give you some real answers but my uneducated vote would be to keep it and play it if you like the sound. Prolly not going to make a mint selling it.

 

+1.

 

Agreed. I was looking for a bit of a "lip" around the edge of the back and didn't see one. Not always indicative of a ply back, but it looks ply to me from the images.

 

That's a ply or perhaps a hybrid bass from the mid to late sixties. Look at the edge of the top and check for laminations. There was one for sale in Seattle a little while ago - IIRC they were asking $1800.

The painted on flame on the back and the 'top shading' are a little hokey but just right for the period. I have a client with one and its an okay festival bass. It is a sturdily built bass with decent proportions.

 

I bet this is a hybrid bass - recently tested a hungarian that looked exactly like this one. The luthier asked €1200 but the fingerbord was worn. He offered to replace the fingerbord: €1600 with a brand new 1A ebony fingerboard.

(Germany).

 

Hi, I just bought the exact same bass, put a set of helicore's on it, and I love it. I got it for £575.00 so I'm feeling quite pleased with myself at the moment. Pizz and bows really nicely!

 

I forgot to mention; look at the shape of this bass. It's built like a standard square box hifi speaker. Square boxes chuck out a big sound! Also it's very reminiscent of Hungarian traditional folk instruments- which also need to chuck out a bit of volume. The great thing about this bass is it has volume, it plays well, and has a bit of character to boot. It also sounds great I'm just a bit concerned about finding a case to fit. I'm asking people if they have a sewing machine, because I think a bespoke case is in order!!!

 

...which has virtually nothing to do with what's expected from a double bass. A DB is not a box that loads a driver. Also, note that the vast majority of high-quality hi-fi speaker systems are not square boxes. Apples and oranges here from the standpoint of physical acoustics.

 

I take back my flippant remark about basses and hifi speakers, but I'm sure the big lower bouts and quite flat bottom must contribute to some increase in volume, but as I'm just guessing I'll hold my hand up and admit I haven't a clue. All I do know is my bass sounds great and I'm really pleased with it. And it is pretty much identical. I was however wondering about its age, and was hoping for it to be over 30, rather than under.

 

Yes, they increase the volume, as in the volume of the cavity. I agree that that increase in volume likely contributes to a big sound. In fact, my own bass has those characteristics.

 

This is an old thread, but since I just bought a very similar bass some months ago , I thought I´d pass on the info I have. This is a 3/4 hybrid bass with a rather heavy plywood back, and a carved top. The body volume is similar to traditional Hungarian basses (flat breasted in a way). The fingerboard is (according my luthier) medium quality ebony with lots of figures. According to the seller, this bass was bought back in the 1960,s. A sturdy student model that has been played a lot.
I changed the bridge, tailpiece and cord, And had a luthier to dress the fingerboard. Put on a set of Evah Pirazzi weich. The bass produces a strong, warm and focused tone. Good volume. A real pleasure to play! Paid $800.