Double Bass tell me about my bass please!

[Jake deVilliers]

Hi Grooooove,

Talk about a small world, I took lessons for a short time with Mike Frost on bass guitar, and in one session he had me trying to play that bass (that was an eye opener).

Even stranger, much later, when I started to study the double bass and got a teacher, I found out my teacher had taught Mike Frost.

Oddly enough, my teacher had also loaned me a bass (until I could buy my own) that he described as Bohemian from the 1920's - it was fully carved, flat back also.

I wonder if that could have been the bass.

Wow, that's pretty cool. I love stories like that.

 

[artfahie]

Sorry... mis-post.

 

[groooooove]

Hi Grooooove,

Talk about a small world, I took lessons for a short time with Mike Frost on bass guitar, and in one session he had me trying to play that bass (that was an eye opener).

Even stranger, much later, when I started to study the double bass and got a teacher, I found out my teacher had taught Mike Frost.

Oddly enough, my teacher had also loaned me a bass (until I could buy my own) that he described as Bohemian from the 1920's - it was fully carved, flat back also.

I wonder if that could have been the bass.

i also live in wantagh, NY

was your double bass teacher carlos castillo? he's the teacher who loaned me / is selling me this instrument. he did infact teach mike frost.

it appears we live parallel lives. if you'd like to stop by and play the bass once i have it (since we live in the same town..) you're welcome to. that'd be wild if it was the same instrument..

 

[MostlyBass]

Late 19th-early 20th century German is my guess. Hard to guess value from just pics...$3-10k maybe depending on lots of variables?

+1

 

[Hector Wolff]

Yes, my teacher for a few years was Carlos Castillo, a very kind and generous man.

He was the one who after one year of study encouraged me to join the NCC Community Orchestra. I have been with that orchestra for probably eight or nine years now.

He had quite a collection of double basses at the time, and since I was playing my daughters half size bass, he offered me your bass. I guess I played that for about a year until I bought my Shen SB-180

Oddly enough my Shen was set up masterfully by Jeff Bollbach, so was my daughter's bass when we decided to get her one of her own. My daughter took bass lessons from Jill Castillo.

I just moved out of Wantagh to Oyster Bay last June - I have to update that profile.

 

[thehess]

That looks like a close sibling to the bass I just purchased. Mine is "made in Czechoslovakia" in the early 1920's (since Czechoslovakia didn't exist until after WWI). Labels are from B&J (Buegliesen & Jacobson), a 20th century music instrument in NYC. Are there any labels inside yours?

I would certainly get it appraised - if it sounds as good as you say, and it has that late 19th/early 20th century provenance, that value might be a bit north of what you are thinking!

Play it in good health!

 

[groooooove]

i just purchased the bass from my teacher on friday.

turns out its tyrolean. he said basses like this sell for $7-8k, and was nice enough to sell it to me for $3k.

i also asked my bass teacher at the university i go to now, when i told him i was thinking of buying it off of him what he thought of that bass. he said it's a great bass, especially for me, and guessed it to be in the $10k value range.

the more i play it the more i am enjoying it. i think there is an open crack or two on the back so i'll bring it to jeff bollbach as soon as i can. hopefully jeff tells me it's in good shape (or its not too expensive to put into good shape...)

a great bass, and i'm thrilled to have it, regardless of actual value.. its a nice sounding bass that i love playing on.