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Double Bass Inexpensive Basses in U.K?

#161
Thanks to Bass Hog. I've been looking to update my Stentor for a while. I've trawled round the shops in York, Leeds and Sheffield but have found nothing. I live in York but decided to visit Suffolk and spend some time with a friend in Colchester at the same time.
Booked the time off work and visited Sandarac on Thursday. Spent over an hour there, Steve supplying me with coffee and sound technical advice. Tried two bases, a Dragonnetti and a Rubner, both with adjustable bridges so I could try a variety of settings.
I have treated myself to an early Xmas pressie and ordered a 5 string Rubner with a colour and finish I wanted. Much thanks to Steve, a great service and brilliant sounding basses. Sandrac have got my vote.
 
#162
olibass said:
Thanks to Bass Hog. I've been looking to update my Stentor for a while. I've trawled round the shops in York, Leeds and Sheffield but have found nothing. I live in York but decided to visit Suffolk and spend some time with a friend in Colchester at the same time.
Booked the time off work and visited Sandarac on Thursday. Spent over an hour there, Steve supplying me with coffee and sound technical advice. Tried two bases, a Dragonnetti and a Rubner, both with adjustable bridges so I could try a variety of settings.
I have treated myself to an early Xmas pressie and ordered a 5 string Rubner with a colour and finish I wanted. Much thanks to Steve, a great service and brilliant sounding basses. Sandrac have got my vote.
Click to expand...

Given the dirth of good affordable DBs for us Brits - I'm sure we would all appreciate hearing more about these :

So - Pics would be good! :)

Also - any links to sites and prices...?

Thanks...
 
#164
Hi Bruce,
These guys are selling hand built basses from Bulgaria. They are set up by Steve to the exact spec that you want but I have to say they were good as soon as I picked them up. They have a great resonant sound and a massive sustain. I played around with string height and took some advice from Steve who took the exact set up detail when I was happy. I was unsure about the 5 string option as I had plenty of time to ponder on the train home. I called Steve, who is also a player, and had a chat at length. I have since decided to go with a 4 string but the same model and colour. The bass will take around 12 weeks to get to me but it will be worth the wait. I could have taken a showroom model but I wanted a different colour and finish to the ones I played. You can check out their web site at <http:\\www.sandarac.co.uk>. :)
 
#166
Roger Davis said:
Alas poor Footes, they are a shadow of their former selves. In the sixties they had a branch in Denman Street, Soho that was teeming with bases. I bought my first for £35, as I recall, and met Ray Brown there as a bonus. Ah, happy days!
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I heard a similar anecdote from someone recently, telling me that he bought a bass there for £80 (recently valued at £24,000), and that Mingus tried to gazump him while he was paying!
 
#167
oliebrice said:
I heard a similar anecdote from someone recently, telling me that he bought a bass there for £80 (recently valued at £24,000), and that Mingus tried to gazump him while he was paying!
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Hi Olie!

The only "up side" of this must be that there are fewer DB players about in the UK today, so theoretically we have a better chance of getting gigs etc!! ;)
 
#169
Steve gave me a call about ten days ago and told me my bass had arrived, we arranged for me to pick it up last weekend. I was really excited and the trip to Sudbury was brilliant.
Steve had set up the bass exactly as we had discussed and it played beautifully from the first note, which by the way was an open D:) He would not let me leave until I was fully satisfied and this included playing it acoustically and through an amp. Steve also played the bass whilst I got a chance to listen to it. He makes a great cup of coffee as well!
I have played it every day and have not stopped grinning. The bass is easy to play, has a beautiful rich tone with loads of power and looks drop dead gorgeous, I love it.
Whilst chatting to Steve he informed me that Darren Taylor (who plays bass with Courtney Pine) is endorsing the product and a bass will be going on tour with the band in February. Look out for an article in February issue of Jazzwise also. I recommend these guys, check them out at <http://www.Sandarac.co.uk>:) Off to play some more now.
 
#171
I haven't read through all the pages of this thread, so excuse me if this has been echoed. I'd give Turners a try (although they are expensive and put HUGE mark up on everything), but see if they have any Westbury basses to play on. I had one 2 years ago. It was fantastic.

Cheers,
John
 
#173
Anyone tried the Soundpost Sinfonica? I tried it down at Malcolm Healey's violin shop in Sutton (highly recommended) and it outshone all the basses in it's pricepoint by a country mile. I think I was quoted 2,500 for gamba, 2,800 for violin shape. I'm saving my pennies right now for one.
 
#174
The Westbury and Sinfonica are both basses made in China and distributed by "The Sound Post" - there was a review in JazzWise magazine :

The Soundpost Sinfonica String Bass

Affordable quality basses are not easy to come by, so when the Sinfonica turned up &#8211; we were intrigued. Made in China out of the highest grade &#8220;cold grown&#8221; solid spruce, with a beautifully hand carved back and front, the Sinfonica is not a &#8220;production line&#8221; model, but one that is hand built. Not only is the Sinfonica made from quality tone woods, but there is a staggering attention to detail on this instrument. For example, the rubber foot is screw threaded. The pin is held in place by a nylon insert and brass collar and yacht wire is used to hold the tailpiece to the peg &#8211; a true sign of a quality instrument. The use of the French Despiau bridge once again reflects the Sinfonica&#8217;s pedigree, while the ebony fingerboard is like a highly polished slab of black marble. The Sinfonica is fitted with German-made machine heads with stainless steel worm gears and brass cogs that offer no resistance and give a smoothness and control that bassists would normally only find on the &#8220;high end&#8221; electric cousins. In the volume stakes the Sinfonica carries plenty of power, with a rich timbre and full tone.

The quality of sound is remarkably clean &#8211; you can clearly hear all the overtones. Harmonics are very pronounced and ring out perfectly with great depth and excellent sustain &#8211; Spirocore strings come as standard. The whole comes in a soft padded case with five handles, two face pockets, a bow bag and a large &#8220;score&#8221; pocket to the rear. The Sinfonica bass is proof if ever it was needed, that with the right quality controls in place, some Chinese factories are now making musical instruments to centuries old European standards. Highly recommended.
For info: Invalid Link Removed
 
#175
Bruce Lindfield said:
Where can you try DBs in London - I went to Footes in Golden Square and they had one DB and it sounded like crap!!

I would love to know of other shops where you can do this!!
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In London I think it's Malcolm Healey's which is near Kingston, or the Stoke Newington violin shop.
They both have a good selection off basses to try. And Malcolm gives great service and advice.
 
#176
Speaking of the Sound Post basses, Doug Ring (of this forum) has the Westbury model. It's a while since I've caught up with him, but I remember it being a pretty nice bass - tidily built and decent sounding. By the way, if anyone is considering the cheaper Sound Post laminated bass, check it out thoroughly. I've had two, the first one didn't seem well put together internally and had to be returned when the bottom block split after a couple of months. The second one seemed better though, and the distributor seems co-operative with returns.
I've now moved over to an old German bass which I like, so hopefully my bass hunt is over for a good few years.
 
#177
wisemonkey said:
In London I think it's Malcolm Healey's which is near Kingston, or the Stoke Newington violin shop.
They both have a good selection off basses to try. And Malcolm gives great service and advice.
Click to expand...

But neither are in central London - what I was getting at there was somewhere you could get to by Tube!
 

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