switching to doublebass

You're the 12,346th person to ask this question this year. Seriously, take a look at the newbie links here. They contain a wealth of relevant information. Then c'mon back with questions.

 

...and the short version of all of that is -- rent one first. If you're still at it after six months or a year, then buy one.

 

Unless I plain missed it, I don't think the newbie links encourage rental first. That is an option that certainly is appropriate in some circumstances if one is unsure about whether he/she is committed to the instrument.

 

I'm in the same boat as the OP...I'll probably rent for a little while. I came up with the hairbrained idea of learning to build my own...in hindsight, renting right off the bat would have probably been less work, but not nearly as fun! I'm starting with a violin (less wood to screw up).

 

Too bad most rental basses are set up like crap with super high action and the cheapest solid-core steel strings they can find. Oh well, I suppose it "weeds out" the ones that won't suffer and stick with it.

It's amazing that any newbie renters ever stick with it!

 

+1! This is the practical problem with renting. It just doesn't seem easy to rent a well set-up bass. There are luthiers who have rental programs but you get locked in on a contract and I don't know of any with a rent-to-buy option. There are also very short-term rentals available.

 

I'm going to have to disagree with both of you on that point. I've had a completely different experience with renting to own. The luthier set it up very well (I got a second opinion from my teacher), I can stop renting anytime, and if I want to switch to a different bass I can transfer 80% of my payments to my new bass.

Over all it's a pretty sweet deal for a 300$ down payment and 65$ a month

 

For the OP -- after fifteen years of porkchop playing, I made the "jump" about three or four months ago, and while I still play porkchop (I'm in a band), my new love is here to stay. I'd been jonesing to make the switch for a year or two beforehand, but my wife made me save pennies in a piggie bank.

I found a decent Roma with a carved top for less than 2K, and a reasonable setup. I've been playing every day, working through Simandl, and just learning how make a nice tone with the bow. It only gets more and more interesting as you go, I swear.

Learn to play with the bow -- make that (and reading music, if you don't know how) your primary focus. If you can get good tone production and intonation with a bow, then you should be fine with pizzicato.

 

Haha i'm one of those newbie renters who learn in spite of their bass. Mine is unbranded, horrible banana of a bridge (non adjustable, for giggles), strings are allegedly from the 80s, and the action is so high i can actually fit my thumb under the string at the octave on the G