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Double Bass ...Romanian double basses? Anyone?

L

LostInAThought

Mar 1, 2007
2
0
London, UK
#1
Elo all!
I'm a new member (yey!:hyper: ). I'm learning quite a bit from the threads I've been reading so far, looking into buying a double bass, I've come across some excellent advice.

Now, onto my question. Has anyone heard of/tried Michael Poller romanian basses?! I've seen an ad for a DB, seemingly new (bought in 1982 and used only a coupla times), claiming to use solid tonewoods etc. They sell in UK for £1400, see link: Invalid Link Removed

Anyone have any suggestion?? (any general advice/warning on cheap East European DBs welcome!) :help:

That's all folks!
 
#2
i played a romanian bass (built in 2004) a few weeks ago. very nice looking - it's got this old dark look kinda like the new standards. the guy who wanted to sell the bass is a member of a pretty good symphony orchestra and he used the bass as his practice bass. he asked 4000€ for it.

what i didn't like about the bass was the sound of the e and a strings. i missed the deep jazz sound. i took the bass to my bass dealer and asked for his opinion. he said that you can't really tell much about the wood they are using. it might not be old enough and cracks may occure in winter times. we also found out that the soundpost had a little crack - which was no big deal - he said.

i eventually bought a east german bass (ca. 1920 - 40) which was originally a 3 string bass and got converted to a 4 string. and i love it big time.

cheers
 
#3
For the price that you mention, that is probably a Transylvanian factory bass. Those can vary a lot but most are not real fine instruments, but are generally reasonably well made. Usually, the wood is one of the better things about them, if it is a carved bass. The Carpathian spruce is reputed to be some of the best European spruce.

If the bass was built before the dissolution of the USSR, it likely came from the state factory in Rhegin, which is now a company named Hora. They make several grades of basses from laminates all the way to master carved basses from highly figured woods and fine grained spruce. The lower priced carved basses they make are from plain woods, but still spruce and maple. Can you get a listen to it?
 
#4
Thanks guys!
I got a couple of pikchaz here. The sticker inside says "Bucaresti" as far as I can read. But like you said Silversorcerer, those basses seem to be made in Rhegin, from what I could fish out on the web.

The woods used on that bass are pine for the front (carved), maple back, ribs and neck. ebony fingerboard and tailpiece. The DB comes with bag and bow. The asking price was £800 but it's been bought today by someone else unfortunately...(if I've missed out on a great beginner instrument, don't tell me...:bawl: )

By the way, I've come across quite a few basses that use pine for the front. how does pine behave with time? does it tend to crack more? I may have another opportunity to buy a Hungarian bass with a pine carved front in the near future... ;)

Cheers all
 

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#5
LostInAThought said:
Thanks guys!
I got a couple of pikchaz here. The sticker inside says "Bucaresti" as far as I can read. But like you said Silversorcerer, those basses seem to be made in Rhegin, from what I could fish out on the web.

The woods used on that bass are pine for the front (carved), maple back, ribs and neck. ebony fingerboard and tailpiece. The DB comes with bag and bow. The asking price was £800 but it's been bought today by someone else unfortunately...(if I've missed out on a great beginner instrument, don't tell me...:bawl: )

By the way, I've come across quite a few basses that use pine for the front. how does pine behave with time? does it tend to crack more? I may have another opportunity to buy a Hungarian bass with a pine carved front in the near future... ;)

Cheers all
Click to expand...
It might have been made by an independent maker in Bucharest. Most of the Hora labels will have Rhegin written on them. Did you have any photos of the back or ribs that show the maple? The front looks pretty nice.

Pine is a rather ambiguous term sometimes. It can refer to all of the conifers at times, including spruces. It depends on whose writing it and the common usage. In the Hill bros. book the tops of Strads were called "pine". So depending on where you are pine might be spruce. What kind of pine are they talking about? Do they specify? There are many different pine species some of which can be used as tonewood. It's hard to predict withoug the species being known.
 
#7
If you contact Hora directly via email they will make a bass to your specs. I had a long discussion with them about a 5/8th bass, but ultimately went with restoring an 1840's 3-stringer we found. They were very eager to assure me that they want professional bassists to be pleased with their instruments, and that they use the best quality, aged woods, etc. Of course, talk is cheap... but... I'd say they were worth looking into.

Louis
 
#8
I bought my romanian bass from Bob(all hail) Gollihur. After I got a good setup(planed the fingerboard too)-by Ron Annis in Sarasota- the bass sounds great, with a full, dark, beautiful tone that does not deteriorate for solo works. If you decide to buy that bass from him, I would opt to get a much better bridge, since the factory one isn't very good, although it is sturdy. Btw, Bob is great to work with, my bass came in with a huge crack in it and Bob got me a new one in a little over a week!
 
#10
thedbassist said:
I bought my romanian bass from Bob(all hail) Gollihur. After I got a good setup(planed the fingerboard too)-by Ron Annis in Sarasota- the bass sounds great, with a full, dark, beautiful tone that does not deteriorate for solo works. If you decide to buy that bass from him, I would opt to get a much better bridge, since the factory one isn't very good, although it is sturdy. Btw, Bob is great to work with, my bass came in with a huge crack in it and Bob got me a new one in a little over a week!
Click to expand...
I think Bob's supplier is in Kazanlak, Bulgaria, next door to Romania, unless he has changed. The Kazanlak, Bulgaria shop is a generation older than the former state factory in Reghin, Romania (we've been mis-spelling it). It appears to have been continuously operated by the Markneukirchen trained founding family, Georgiev. I have one of those basses, from Bob. I got the larger 5-string one. I did upgrade the bridge, but I'm not sure that it sounds better than with the original. I did some very minimal FB dressing and it has very low action now. I really enjoy it too, now for almost 2 years. Wonderful tone, great sustain, extremely rich arco sound. Durable too. I've done everything to that bass that shouldn't be done to a bass and it takes it all in stride.

I'm guessing the crack in the one you received happened in shipping? Bummer, but I suppose that someone salvaged and repaired it.
 
#15
FWIW, I play a early-80's vintage Rhegin-made carved flat-back strung with Spirocore mediums and I love it. It probably was sold under the "Roma" name, but I'm not sure. It's one of the 'red' ones… It's definitely capable of making a better sound than I can give it, but on occasion when I get it right it sounds really nice. Both pizz and arco.
 
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#17
Still delighted with my Wultur "Corsini" bass, which I purchased from the Double Bass Workshop in Madison, in 2010. It's held up perfectly through five Wisconsin winters so far, has needed no adjustment, and I've been quite happy with the sound, both arco and pizz.
 
#19
Wulturs are great, and Quantum Bass Center in Houston is the place to shop for them. They have a great showroom, the people are knowledgeable and friendly, and they have a relationship with the Wultur Factory, who often builds custom basses for them. To top it all off, they carry a wonderful inventory of basses in all ranges at all times. Well worth the trip.
 
#20
I know this is a Zombie thread, but I love my Romanian bass. She's a hybrid where the Backs and sides are veneered laminate from the old T-34 Tank Factory next door, yet the top is a giant slab of Carpathian Spruce that sings like a mid level carved orchestral bass. A rather eclectic little beast that has paid for herself time and again.
 
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