Double Bass The dreaded Cremona

[LouisF]

Look here:

Link Removed

The Strunal and Foria (romanian) basses are under $1000 and won't kill you. These guys have a pretty good online reputation as far as I know.

LF

 

[loend68]

Thanks for all the input. I guess I just figured it was like when I bought my first crappy fender copy jazz bass for $50 that got me going for a year or so. I didn't think it could be that bad since I'd seen a few post about people being somewhat happy with theirs.

 

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Thanks for all the input. I guess I just figured it was like when I bought my first crappy fender copy jazz bass for $50 that got me going for a year or so. I didn't think it could be that bad since I'd seen a few post about people being somewhat happy with theirs.

My opinion is that beginners don't know enough to be happy about a Bass or not. Without experience in both Basses and playing them, a beginner doesn't know good from bad. It's more likely he will justify his purchase and just struggle trying to play it not knowing really 'how t'o unless the Bass implodes and decides its own fate.

 

[Bass]

...Would you go to a Chinese take-out and order Veal Marsala?...

No, I usually order Combo B.

...Go buy a car and see what you get for $500. Unless there is some mistake or you make the deal of a lifetime, for $500, you will get only a $500 problem or loss...

Well, I bought this truck for 900 bucks, it's been running good for a year and a half, and I've had three buyer inquiries. Even though it's not for sale.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

"Ignorance is bliss" ...as they say?

My opinion is that beginners don't know enough to be happy about a Bass or not. Without experience in both Basses and playing them, a beginner doesn't know good from bad. It's more likely he will justify his purchase and just struggle trying to play it not knowing really 'how t'o unless the Bass implodes and decides its own fate.

Probably applies to cars just as well - I see people praising really bad cars and considering all the problems as "just its little quirks" - then by chance they buy or try a decent car and are amazed at how much easier driving is!!

 

[Marcus Johnson]

Now that's a truck. Good deal, too; go on Ebay and see how much people are paying for old trucks.

I'm of the opinion that there's nothing in the world that's better than an old truck that's fully paid off.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

Actually there are many similarities - so as Bass Makers think that the name "Cremona" will help market their product....I cringe when I see the lates ads for the Hyundai "Getz" - now what do they think that name says to potential buyers!!

 

[robgator]

Oh Lordy, this hits close to home. You see, some years ago my wife bought an upright bass for me as a gift. Cool, right? Well, it was a Cremona, bought from a local music store. I tried playing it, took some lessons and came to the conclusion that the bass was really hard to play - even with a "pro" set-up. I tried a few other uprights including a friend's Engelhardt, a Strunal, and a couple of Kays. Eventually, I picked up a used Engelhardt that had a terrific set-up and some quality strings. This was a huge step-up for me and really started me down the road to becoming a better player. I'm gigging with it now! Bottom line is to pass on the Cremona, save a few more dollars and be on the look-out for a good used upright.

 

[bankerwithabass]

When I was in the market last year, I talked to those guys and when I asked them about set-up they indicated that their setup was very rudimentry and would need more work! I read that as a factory set, which is no set up. So I passed it up. Your going to pay $300 more at least to get it to play and you may still end up with nothing to show for it. I would just go to a local shop and buy a bass that you can hear, play and have the luthier's reputation behind it. If you can't do that then order something from someone like Lumure Music in CA (http://www.lemurmusic.com/) or some other reputible mail order house. At least they have a reputation for good set ups.

Get a teacher to help you!

 

[loend68]

Thanks again guys. I have just recently come across an Engelhardt EM1 for a pretty good price. Am I better off? Or just looking at another piece of crap by a different name?

It's only $100 more with the same bass-pickup-bag scenario....

 

[Gufenov]

An EM-1 with K&K pickup, stand and bag included for $600? If the instrument is in good shape, that's a pretty good deal. I don't see a problem with getting your money back out of it if (when) you upgrade later.

 

[loend68]

The pic looks good. Something is mentioned about having repaired the fingerboard at some point:

"Engelhardt EM1 3/4 Upright bass.
adjustable bridge
Helicore Hybrid strings.
The origional Engelhardt fixed bridge
A set of Rockabilly "Weedwacker" Kevlar cores slap strings (orange colored!)
A fishman BP-100 pickup
A leather Bow quiver
Black Kaces Upright Bass Gig Bag. "

 

[robgator]

If you can play the Engelhardt and it sounds good - buy it. I'd jump on the chance to pick up an upright for what looks to be a bargain price.

Rob K.

 

[loend68]

Well guys........I missed out on the Engelhardt, but I ended up buying the Cremona. (ducking...). I went and checked it out and it was in very good shape. It's about 5yrs old and the neck joint was solid, the top and back were solid with no seperations or 'finish cracks', no soundpost bumps or cracks on the back, and the action was good (about 1/32" at the nut and 3/8" to 1/2" at the end of the board) and was in good shape. Granted I can see that it is what it is, a inexpensive beginner instrument, but I wasn't expecting high end craftsmenship from a $1200 (when new) bass. I understand the reasoning behind the 'pay $1000 then pay another $500 for a setup' warnings, but it looks like someone has already done that for me and I paid 1/2 what it's worth new (before setup)

The only reason I'm posting this and exposing myself to the CCB/BSO flaming is because I got it home last night and messed around with it a little and I am now very excited to start playing. I will be setting up with a teacher next week. Up until I brought it home I thought I would just look at it and fiddle with it now and then because I never really saw myself playing upright. Now I really want to learn to play it.
Moral of the story is that if I waited a year to get a better beginner instrument, it's very likely I never would have. Now I've caught the bug and if this thing 'implodes', at the very least I will be on my way to playing upright.

Thanks for all your help. It helped me to know what problems to look for.....

 

[chuck1073]

If you got the Cremona for 500 already setup, in good physical condition and 5 years old you did OK. Somebody else lost money on the bass considering the purchase price and following set up. In another year or so when you're ready to step up to a better instrument you'll probably get most, if not all of your money back.

I think what most of the posters were concerned about was the possibility of buying an instrument that you'd end up having to dump a ton of money into...money that you'd never get back.

If the bass has held together for 5 years and plays well now with no rattles, it's probably going to hang together for a good bit longer.

So, all that said...welcome to the DB world. You'll learn lots!
It's a great instrument and totally addictive!

 

[smbear]

If you can be patient and watch the classifieds, I guarantee you will be able to find a nice plywood bass for about $1000 which will be still be worth $1000 for the foreseeable future.

I agree with Clink. I have owned 2 Cremonas -- one was OK, the other was terrible. I bartered the terrible bass for lessons and my teacher has made a project of it. Yeah -- watch the classifieds; you can probably find something better.

 

[bankerwithabass]

I love it when things that can go terribly wrong, do turn out ok. I still have my terrible Pallitino that I paid $700 for and spent a couple of years learing how to set up. Now I have it up at my mountain cabin and have had something to practice that last couple days where I wouldn't have before.

Good luck with you adventure.

 

[momo]

I have owned and played a Cremona bass for over 15 years. I got it in the 7th grade, kept thinking about buying another bass, but just decided to pay for the upgrades as I went. Maybe mine is just special, but I have never run into a situation where I found a bass for under 4k that I would rather own. I paid 500 for mine (which is a solid top) and have since had John Peterson of World of Strings in Long Beach do a TON of work to it. I had no problem paying 1k or so for a new fingerboard, bridge, and top off repair. That 1k was FAR less than the available basses that were better quality than mine.

Down the line, yes, I might get a great 6k bass, but I probably won't make 6k playing it in my lifetime. When I do get that bass, I will likely sell this bass to a student for the 500 I paid for it and consider the 2k worth or repair, setup, and maintainence the 20 year rental fee for the bass.

It is possible that the quality has gone down, but this bass was never near as bad as what the average school bass feels like. However, people crap on them none the less.

 

[Sea Monkey]

I know I'm opening myself to ridicule, but I own a Cremona and I have to say- overall I'm pretty satisfied with its performance (compared to other plywoods- Engelhardt, et al)
Granted, I have a set up guy here in the woods of Maine who's a bit of a mad scientist when it comes to bass work...
And I know this has been argued a million times (I've been lurking for a while before I joined up yesterday) but to suggest that one can only truly appreciate the Db by spending $ that is far out of the reach of us normal schlubs smacks of (probably well intentioned) eliteism.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

I think if you actually read the posts here - it's not about elitism but rather the desire to actually save people money and help them avoid ploughing more than they actually need to, into buying and maintaining a reasonable bass!!