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Double Bass Opinions Please

O

odess

Feb 15, 2008
3
0
#1
I am about to travel a few hours to check out this Bass,
They (the Music Store) tell me it is a european bass, about 30-40 years old, In good shape (no serious blemishs or cracks)
they are asking $1000 Canadian and say they have dropped the price a few $100 recently.
Opinions and suggestions on what to look for and what Kind it is would be appreciated
 

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#2
You have very little information aside from approximate age of the instrument. I guess from the price this is a laminated bass.
I would suggest that you bring the bass to a luthier for inspection and assessment of the condition of the instrument. As you may not be qualified to determine the condition of the instrument and the seller will not necessarily give you an unbiased opinion, this would be prudent. If this is coming from a music store as opposed to a bass shop, it is probable they don't have a clue as to what the bass is, how good it is, or the true condition. I takes some specialized knowledge to be able to evaluate a double bass.
If you have a bass teacher, I would get him/her involved with evaluation of the the bass as well.
 
#5
Dbassmon said:
You have very little information aside from approximate age of the instrument. I guess from the price this is a laminated bass.
I would suggest that you bring the bass to a luthier for inspection and assessment of the condition of the instrument. As you may not be qualified to determine the condition of the instrument and the seller will not necessarily give you an unbiased opinion, this would be prudent. If this is coming from a music store as opposed to a bass shop, it is probable they don't have a clue as to what the bass is, how good it is, or the true condition. I takes some specialized knowledge to be able to evaluate a double bass.
If you have a bass teacher, I would get him/her involved with evaluation of the the bass as well.
Click to expand...

Roger all of the above....such wisdom....:hyper:
 
#10
hey folks,

Thanks for the advice, and I will be taking it to a Luthier If I decide to proceed but....
I have never bought or shopped for a 3/4 DB before (Never available in my town)
Just to get out of the blocks here.... I was told by some to:
- check for existance and quality of the sound post,
- Strings shouldn't be more than approx 3/4" above the very end of the finger board
- check for old repairs and refinish
- check neck for bowing or bend.
what else should I look for? before I decide to proceed and ask these folks "hey, I need to take the bass for a while to get it checked out"
I appreciate all the help I can get.
Odess.
 
#13
400$Bass said:
Didy, but wouldn't you have to see the instrument in the "flesh", before you could make such a proclamation?
Click to expand...

Nope. Those tyrolean plate tuners look chinese made. How do I know? Cuz they look almost identical to the ones I have on my bass - I see them day in day out. The same plate tuners found on thousands of cheap chinese basses (and some better ones too). The plates are too clean. You expect to see some sort of tarnish on the brass after 30 years. The gears are too clean too.

It smells awful chinese to me too. $1000 for a german bass sounds awful fishy too - esp for one that is that clean and shows no wear and tear after 30 years.
 
#16
hdiddy said:
Nope. Those tyrolean plate tuners look chinese made. How do I know? Cuz they look almost identical to the ones I have on my bass - I see them day in day out. The same plate tuners found on thousands of cheap chinese basses (and some better ones too). The plates are too clean. You expect to see some sort of tarnish on the brass after 30 years. The gears are too clean too.

It smells awful chinese to me too. $1000 for a german bass sounds awful fishy too - esp for one that is that clean and shows no wear and tear after 30 years.
Click to expand...

Very interesting...thanks for sharing. :)
 
#18
A thousand might not be too much to pay for this bass any way, but you still want to see your bass luthier. If the bridge is warped and you want a good bridge with adjusters you're looking at around $200. If the strings are original Chinese, you'll need new and better strings, another 200 or so. The nut probably needs to be lowered and the fingerboard planed, up to another 200. That could put you at around $1600 which you expect to pay for a similar bass with all that already done, and a cheap bag and bow.
 
#20
Esp when the funny guys have been playing instruments for years or in some cases bass repairs and building new basses is their career. When it comes to judging basses, I don't take Martin's opinions lightly.
 

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