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Double Bass Thinking about getting a cheap one for my first Upright Bass

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Sep 1, 2014
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#1
I'm seeing some upright basses on the internet starting at $500, including shipping and a gig bag. Then, some are $700, are any of these cheaper basses worth considering?

I'm looking for that sound, but I'm poor, so I'm also considering a U-Bass type of deal, but I'm not sure I can learn to "rockabilly slap" on one of those or not.

This will be my first "traditional" sound type of bass, I've had some electric basses in the past. Any (cheaper) brands to look at?

Am I correct in thinking that metal, flatwound strings are for orchestra and bowing, while the rockabilly strings are gut strings? Or are they tape-wounds or something else?

If my price range is too low, how much should I be considering spending for something decent? Thanks!
 
#3
Buy cheap, get cheap. Quality only hurts once.

Obsessively search every craigslist page within 100 miles. Look for Engelhardt, Kay, Shen and old German plywood basses. When you find something promising, come back and ask us about it. Read the newbie threads while you're waiting.

My first bass was a nice old German plywood I bought from the former owner's widow for $250. When I later upgraded to a better bass, I sold my first one to a violin shop for $1000.

The deal you're looking for is out there. You just have to look, and know what you're looking for.
 
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#4
You can get used ply's at various price points, but anything new that is less than $1000 is not going to really be that good (you never know though). A cheap bass is going to have lots of upkeep costs, plus a setup cost and most likely new strings. In the end, you will spend up to the cost of a decently set up new plywood, possibly even more.

It might be worth it to save to buy a better bass if you are going the DB route. If you are just wanting an acoustic type sound then there are cheaper options (u bass, microbass, godin).

If you do go DB, check out Shen, Christopher, Upton, and the Estle Louis ply that Gollihur has listed has gotten some good reviews.
 
#5
A lot of shops has this rent-to-own kind of deal, where you pay some percentage of the sale price monthly, as you rent the bass. That way you propably get a decently set-up entry level instrument ( if that shop specializes on basses / string instruments ) to try out, get some time to check out if the DB route is for you, without loosing all your money at once. And if you decide to go that route you`re already closer to owning a decent instrument. I`m doing this at the moment, it`s the only way for me to get a playable bass.

Good luck!

EDIT: You DO want that decent set-up, it basically makes or brakes your motivation on the instrument. Bad set-up = impossible to play.
 
#7
Reiska said:
A lot of shops has this rent-to-own kind of deal, where you pay some percentage of the sale price monthly, as you rent the bass. That way you propably get a decently set-up entry level instrument ( if that shop specializes on basses / string instruments ) to try out, get some time to check out if the DB route is for you, without loosing all your money at once. And if you decide to go that route you`re already closer to owning a decent instrument. I`m doing this at the moment, it`s the only way for me to get a playable bass.

Good luck!

EDIT: You DO want that decent set-up, it basically makes or brakes your motivation on the instrument. Bad set-up = impossible to play.
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Most places that I know do about a $50/month rental with a 3 month minimum. $150 over the course of 3 months is not bad to figure out if the DB is the way you want to go.

Also, +1 on finding a good local teacher.
 
#8
Thanks for all the kind advice. I wanted a cheap one, partially to learn the art of set-up on, so it won't hurt so bad when I mess it up. I set up all my acoustic guitars, and I planned on reading up about setting up DB style instruments, I would never pay $300 - $500 for a set-up. I'd much rather waste $500 learning the art, than paying for renting anything. I would never rent one.

I also don't need to try one to figure out if I want one. I already know I want one. I've played many in stores, and that friends own, enough to know it won't be a passing fad for me.

I know that a hundred dollar acoustic guitar would end up in the trash bin - it would be a total waste of money and I'd hate it, but $500 is a lot of money (to me). I think I'd be happy with a "Bass Shaped Object" (made in China), and I'd mess with the set-up until it either worked or gets trashed, but I'm pretty confident I won't trash it.
 
#11
You're not listening. You do not want a BSO and learning how to do setups isn't something you do over a three day weekend.

Take me for instance. I've rebuilt basses that had been smashed to smithereens, fixed broken necks, replaced cracked neck blocks, the whole gamut.

I do not touch a fingerboard with a scraper. Ever. I know my limitations, which are well short of the dark art of fingerboard planing.

If you do elect to buy some $350 piece of crap and try to set it up, you'll learn the hard way that the fingerboard is garbage wood that has been stained black, the neck joint is a joke, and the plates tend to develop strange protuberances because the maker didn't bother to let the wood cure before making it into an approximation of a musical instrument.

And if you do succeed in getting your "bass" to take a setup, and if you get lucky and it doesn't implode, chances are it will only ever sound like ass. And you'll still have to drop half of that allegedly exorbitant $500 setup cost on new strings.

Pro tip: luthiers generally make crap money. The hourly rate you pay is a joke considering the level of craftsmanship and the years of work it took a good luthier to become a good luthier.

It's your money. Spend it however you wish. But a doublebass is not a guitar and never will be.
 
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#13
I learned to play on a CCB from FMI, I also learned how to saw a bridge in half to add adjusters and learned how to use gorilla glue to reattach a neck. I don't plan on ever using those skills again. I quickly learned to hate the dead spot on the D string and the buzzing caused by the grooves worn in the (maple painted black?) fingerboard.

On the plus side, it makes the $1200 Kay I bought sound incredible. If my Kay ever needs work it won't be me that does it, and I generally fix everything that breaks in my life myself.
 
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#14
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
You're not listening. You do not want a BSO and learning how to do setups isn't something you do over a three day weekend.

Take me for instance. I've rebuilt basses that had been smashed to smithereens, fixed broken necks, replaced cracked neck blocks, the whole gamut.

I do not touch a fingerboard with a scraper. Ever. I know my limitations, which are well short of the dark art of fingerboard planing.

If you do elect to buy some $350 piece of crap and try to set it up, you'll learn the hard way that the fingerboard is garbage wood that has been stained black, the neck joint is a joke, and the plates tend to develop strange protuberances because the maker didn't bother to let the wood cure before making it into an approximation of a musical instrument.

And if you do succeed in getting your "bass" to take a setup, and if you get lucky and it doesn't implode, chances are it will only ever sound like ass. And you'll still have to drop half of that allegedly exorbitant $500 setup cost on new strings.

Pro tip: luthiers generally make crap money. The hourly rate you pay is a joke considering the level of craftsmanship and the years of work it took a good luthier to become a good luthier.

It's your money. Spend it however you wish. But a doublebass is not a guitar and never will be.
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Agreed. My first bass was a cheap Chinese Cremona bass that I got used for $400 in Portland OR in 2001. It had a cheap fingerboard stained black to look like better wood and it would not set up well, even by top luthiers. I struggled to maintain motivation over years but never made inroads. I sold it before moving in with a gf a few years back, deciding DB was just not for me. Then a few years later I started craving the upright sound again. A fluke windfall allowed me to purchase a real instrument, carved top, sounds fantastic with a bow (something a cheapo is rarely capable of). The new instrument was rewarding enough to play that I was able to continue the dedication it takes. Two years in to owning this instrument it is starting to become a delight to play. It's therapy and art, goal fulfillment, spiritual development, pitch training and so much more. Learning this instrument is a musical journey like nothing I've experienced before. But I needed a quality instrument to do it. Not saying that's true of everyone. But I too took the "I'll get a beater to learn on and see if upright is for me" approach. Didn't work. I would start saving for something decent (probably minimum $2k).
 
#16
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
You're not listening. You do not want a BSO and learning how to do setups isn't something you do over a three day weekend.

Take me for instance. I've rebuilt basses that had been smashed to smithereens, fixed broken necks, replaced cracked neck blocks, the whole gamut.

I do not touch a fingerboard with a scraper. Ever. I know my limitations, which are well short of the dark art of fingerboard planing.

If you do elect to buy some $350 piece of crap and try to set it up, you'll learn the hard way that the fingerboard is garbage wood that has been stained black, the neck joint is a joke, and the plates tend to develop strange protuberances because the maker didn't bother to let the wood cure before making it into an approximation of a musical instrument.

And if you do succeed in getting your "bass" to take a setup, and if you get lucky and it doesn't implode, chances are it will only ever sound like ass. And you'll still have to drop half of that allegedly exorbitant $500 setup cost on new strings.

Pro tip: luthiers generally make crap money. The hourly rate you pay is a joke considering the level of craftsmanship and the years of work it took a good luthier to become a good luthier.

It's your money. Spend it however you wish. But a doublebass is not a guitar and never will be.
Click to expand...

I glued the neck back onto a friends DB that he found in pieces, so I guess I was approaching this with too much confidence, but his bass served him and his band well for many years. It's not rocket appliances or anything.

I am a bit of a snob when it comes to guitars, so I fully understand where you're coming from. People who think their Johnson acoustic is every bit as great as a "real" guitar make me cringe. It's just that those CCB's/BSO's LOOK so nice! I'm halfway kidding. I just really want one, but I do realize a hunk of mystery wood in the shape of a DB isn't a "real instrument" and would only postpone my getting a real instrument, and take up a lot of room in my home, (but it would look good doing it!).

I really want a black one, and the CCB are black, while the Shens and the Englehardt, and Kay's all seem to be brown in color. I wouldn't want to paint it. Can I get both? One to be black and mess with, while saving for a decent entry level DB.

I am listening, and I'm hearing that everyone is adamant about never getting a CCB, so I'll hold off and try one of these petrochemical micro basses while I keep considering things.
 
#18
Jay Corwin said:
Would you buy a car that you knew was a giant piece of crap just because it had a nice paint job?
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A piece of crap that runs? And gets me from point a to point b safely and legally? A BRAND SPANKING NEW car that "looks nice"? Why yes, especially if it was 1/4th the cost of the car that other people were recommending I start with. Yes, I would love a beater car that looks good, thank you. I can see many uses for that. I wouldn't have to wash it, wouldn't care about driving through shrubbery, etc.
 
#19
I would also buy a cheap watch that told time, but I suspect if I joined a watch forum, I'd be told that I needed a Swiss automatic movement with 23 jewels to gain their approval. I have a ten dollar coffee maker, instead of a hundred dollar Bun... I wear cheap clothes, even though there are many reasons other people justify spending more. I buy generic food... I like to save a buck where I can, if I can get away with it and not hate myself for it.
 

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