• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Looking for info on a Christopher Bass

E

El_Duderino

Aug 23, 2011
46
1
Atlanta, GA
#1
So, I've recently been looking to branch out from electric bass to double bass. I've been doing some research, and as part of that, I was scouting my local Craigslist to see if the $1000-1500 I was budgeting to spend on a bass was going to cut it.

This past Friday, I saw an ad on Craigslist offering a 7/8 Christopher bass with a carved top for $775, or in trade for a Fender Jazz or Jaguar bass.

Well, not knowing much about uprights myself, I brought a friend to take a look at it, and he was pretty impressed with it, enough so that I traded my 2006 (Mexican) Fender Jazz for it. The bass is in good condition, though the finish has a few chips, mainly on the edges. The certificate (is that what it's called?) on the inside identifies it as a Christopher DB5010f made in 1999.

I can't find a whole lot of info on this bass online, though I did see this old TB thread, and this other forum thread suggesting that it isn't a hybrid and is entirely carved. Does anyone know if this is correct since from what I've read carved basses need a bit more care from the elements? Is there anything else I should know about this bass (it seems like the 5010's have been discontinued)?

Anyway, I'm just really excited to start plunking away at her.

Thanks for any info!
 
#4
Contact the Concord Group, their info is here: http://www.concordgroup.com/index.html

I have reached out to them before and they are very good about responding with information that will correlate the old numbers to their current models. Seems to me I did some research on the very bass you have some time ago. If I recall correctly is comparable to the current 300 series, but I have long deleted the email so check with them to be sure.

Welcome to the other side.
 
#9
Welcome to the fambly! To be on the safe side, bring your new baby to a local bass-specific luthier or violin shop for a once-over to identify potential future problems. Finding a teacher for at least a few lessons isn't a bad idea either. As a fellow convert, I can assure you that the technique the two instruments require is worlds apart.
 
#10
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
Welcome to the fambly! To be on the safe side, bring your new baby to a local bass-specific luthier or violin shop for a once-over to identify potential future problems. Finding a teacher for at least a few lessons isn't a bad idea either. As a fellow convert, I can assure you that the technique the two instruments require is worlds apart.
Click to expand...
I had two friends who play uprights look at it, one of whom specifically said he was comfortable offering an assessment to identify potential issues. Turns out this is also the guy I'm taking my first lesson from this evening. :bassist:
 
#13
rgarcia26 said:
Get a bow and bow it, you will never look back

How big long is the string length?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure...

I plan on playing more bluegrass style, so I don't know how much bowing I'll be doing. I played viola when I was in elementary school, so I have a rough sense of bowing technique, and I'm intrigued to try it on the bass, I just don't know how much I'll use it with the style I'll be playing.
 
#14
longfinger said:
A 2006 MIM Fender Jazz??? worth about $400?? for a carved top bass in good condition, potentially worth about $2500 or more?

Wow.

You got a good deal!
Click to expand...
Yeah, that's what I was thinking too.

The bass has some cosmetic issues (there's a small chunk that was taken out of the scrollwork of the head that was glued back in place, and there are a number of dings and places where the varnish has come away) but nothing functionally wrong with it.

And I only paid $200 for the jazz bass (which was a good deal in and of itself), which is about the price of the realist pickup that came with the upright. :D
 
#15
El_Duderino said:
I'm not sure...

I plan on playing more bluegrass style, so I don't know how much bowing I'll be doing. I played viola when I was in elementary school, so I have a rough sense of bowing technique, and I'm intrigued to try it on the bass, I just don't know how much I'll use it with the style I'll be playing.
Click to expand...

Well its a 7/8 should be pretty big, would be nice to know the scale length, take a measuring tape from the nut to the bridge...:hyper:

My personal experience: I got my bass thinking about pizz only too, but the first time that I saw my teacher playing arco I got hook for life, your bass should be nice to bow... and by the way bowing only help you to play better and It will have 1000's of more possibilities to your playing and ur Bass.

Cheers Enjoy
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back