Hey everyone,
I'm 19, a freshman in college, been playing electric since I was 11 and decided I wanted to get an upright. I almost bought a "CCB" at first because it was so cheap, but after reading some threads on here, I decided to reconsider. I did some more research and after seeing a video of someone here (I think it was Ramon Pooser) playing a DeVilli "CCB", I decided to re-reconsider. I found several other "success stories" of people with DeVilli basses and only one or two horror stories, so I thought I might as well go for it.
I bought the bass on eBay for $300 (!!) with $250 in shipping costs. When it arrived, the bridge was not on the bass, which made me worry, but the soundpost appeared to be solidly placed so I brought it into my teacher, who put the bridge on and pronounced it "unplayable". For another $115, I got it set up at a local luthier, bringing my total investment to $665. When I got the bass back, I was amazed.
I don't know anything about uprights, being a "slab player", so I let my teacher evaluate it (he has been playing upright for over 20 years in the Philadelphia area). When I told him how much I paid for it, he didn't believe me. It has a solid construction ("the only way you can hurt this bass is by slamming it on the ground"), a nice action now that it's been set up properly, and a surprisingly tasty sound. The biggest problem is that the fingerboard is painted maple and not ebony, so it will end up looking crappy after a bit of use.
Anyway, I've had the bass in playable condition for almost two months now, been playing it every day and lugging it through the Philadelphia weather to lessons, and no signs of trouble yet (based both on my observations and those of my teacher). I wanted to post this story to let y'all know that DeVilli upright basses seem to be "workable" even though they are ridiculously cheap. I think they are a separate class from these Cremonas and Palatino basses that everyone keeps saying implode immediately.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this bass does not sound all that great when bowed, but the pizz. tone is nice. So it may not be for you if you play arco a lot.
I'm 19, a freshman in college, been playing electric since I was 11 and decided I wanted to get an upright. I almost bought a "CCB" at first because it was so cheap, but after reading some threads on here, I decided to reconsider. I did some more research and after seeing a video of someone here (I think it was Ramon Pooser) playing a DeVilli "CCB", I decided to re-reconsider. I found several other "success stories" of people with DeVilli basses and only one or two horror stories, so I thought I might as well go for it.
I bought the bass on eBay for $300 (!!) with $250 in shipping costs. When it arrived, the bridge was not on the bass, which made me worry, but the soundpost appeared to be solidly placed so I brought it into my teacher, who put the bridge on and pronounced it "unplayable". For another $115, I got it set up at a local luthier, bringing my total investment to $665. When I got the bass back, I was amazed.
I don't know anything about uprights, being a "slab player", so I let my teacher evaluate it (he has been playing upright for over 20 years in the Philadelphia area). When I told him how much I paid for it, he didn't believe me. It has a solid construction ("the only way you can hurt this bass is by slamming it on the ground"), a nice action now that it's been set up properly, and a surprisingly tasty sound. The biggest problem is that the fingerboard is painted maple and not ebony, so it will end up looking crappy after a bit of use.
Anyway, I've had the bass in playable condition for almost two months now, been playing it every day and lugging it through the Philadelphia weather to lessons, and no signs of trouble yet (based both on my observations and those of my teacher). I wanted to post this story to let y'all know that DeVilli upright basses seem to be "workable" even though they are ridiculously cheap. I think they are a separate class from these Cremonas and Palatino basses that everyone keeps saying implode immediately.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that this bass does not sound all that great when bowed, but the pizz. tone is nice. So it may not be for you if you play arco a lot.
