• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Double Bass Ugly bass ???

#21
Ugly girls with weird bodies need love too.:D

Seriously I'd pick the one that sounded and felt the best. Appearance is secondary.

And if you're successful, you'll have all the others looking for such an ugly instrument.:eek:

It'd kind of be an individuallity thing too.:p

Good Luck,
God Bless, Ray
 
#23
I'm starting to like it more and more just because most of you say nice things about my baby :D

But seriously... Put this bass in the hands of someone who plays a panormo-shaped bass and he will be laughing at it, it's just about "getting used to" and personal preference ofcourse.
It's good to read all your comments, they have slightly (yes, slightly...) changed the way i'm looking at it now.
 
#24
tandemman said:
I'm starting to like it more and more just because most of you say nice things about my baby :D

But seriously... Put this bass in the hands of someone who plays a panormo-shaped bass and he will be laughing at it, it's just about "getting used to" and personal preference ofcourse.
It's good to read all your comments, they have slightly (yes, slightly...) changed the way i'm looking at it now.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean about that. I played for four years on a Gliga hybrid that had huge shoulders and thick ribs. Then as I was trying out basses this spring I found that everything else felt like one of those Quenoil solo basses. I also played on a friend of mines bass that has the really sloped shoulders like the ones on that bass you are trying and it felt like EUB or a violin or something. It was actually really difficult, cuz I felt like I had no landmarks or any kind of support. It felt like having to play with a levitating elbow. It was really awkward feeling. That said look at all the great players who play that kind of shape; Rabbath, Bradetich and many others who play the cornerless ones that also often have slim shoulders.
 
#25
cnltb said:
Don't get me wrong, but are you a musician or a "collector" who puts musical instruments into a display box.

If one bass is the better bass, regardless of looks and according to your ow n taste and preference , and you want to play it rather than just look at it I wonder why you are working so hard on the decision for even a second. The look thing is quite a superficial argument, no?
Click to expand...

This pretty much expresses my sentiments as well. I'd modify it a bit by saying that sure, to some extent, looks are important. There is some joy in owning a bass having a shape and appearance you like. That said, I'd put the sound and playability WAY above appearance. Why are you torturing yourself? You've had two chances to live with the bass and you love it. You're lucky you got a second shot and that it was still there at the shop. BUY IT!!!
 
#26
The "ugly" looks normal to me. I personally don't like anything that looks like a Carcassi pattern (which the "ugly" one sorta does). Still, if it sounded great but looked ugly, I would not blink an eye at keeping it.

Your ugly one is nowhere near ugly. Get rid of the french one and don't turn back.
 
#27
Do you guys never just sit and LOOK at your bass that's standing in the corner of your room ?
Well, I sometimes love to sit down and enjoy my bass just looking at -for example- the beautifull scroll or the shape of the body...
But i agree, sound and playability are the most important.
 
#29
tandemman said:
Do you guys never just sit and LOOK at your bass that's standing in the corner of your room ?
Well, I sometimes love to sit down and enjoy my bass just looking at -for example- the beautifull scroll or the shape of the body...
But i agree, sound and playability are the most important.
Click to expand...

Dude. We're trying to tell you it's a pretty bass. The scroll is nice and the body is slender... like a big bottomed woman. :smug:
 
#30
hdiddy said:
Dude. We're trying to tell you it's a pretty bass. The scroll is nice and the body is slender... like a big bottomed woman. :smug:
Click to expand...

That's exactly how it looks like, "a big bottomed woman" !!!

But hey, i'm convinced OK ? I was working and playing the bass all day long here at home. The more positive reactions you guys post, the more I like the bass !

She stays, that's for sure !!!
 
#31
"... Put this bass in the hands of someone who plays a panormo-shaped bass and he will be laughing at it...."

I play a big-shouldered Italian-inspired bass, and I think the pear shape is every bit as nice to look at. I've not yet seen a bass I would call "ugly", BTW; eccentric or odd, interesting or maybe even goofy, but to my eyes, they all have their own beauty. Listen with your ears, not your eyes.
 
#32
Tandemann, i know this bass! i tried it a year ago when i was on the market for another bass. It was very responsive , easy to play ,with a sound that i'm sure is perfect to amplify, reasonable priced (I think this luthier is very fair with prices at the contrary of many others) I agree with you with the look, i don't like sloped shoulders and i can't stay with a bass that looks like that (so i didn't buy it). I also remember that the string lenght was a little too big for me. On the other hand there is nothing wrong with a sloped shoulders bass and here in Paris this is very common (first half of 19OO countless french basses where cut at the shoulders to follow the "Nanny School" and have better access to TP). Good luck!
 
#33
massimo said:
Tandemann, i know this bass! i tried it a year ago when i was on the market for another bass. It was very responsive , easy to play ,with a sound that i'm sure is perfect to amplify, reasonable priced (I think this luthier is very fair with prices at the contrary of many others) I agree with you with the look, i don't like sloped shoulders and i can't stay with a bass that looks like that (so i didn't buy it). I also remember that the string lenght was a little too big for me. On the other hand there is nothing wrong with a sloped shoulders bass and here in Paris this is very common (first half of 19OO countless french basses where cut at the shoulders to follow the "Nanny School" and have better access to TP). Good luck!
Click to expand...

Hey Massimo, you must be kidding !
Do you remember where you saw it because it's for sale in the Netherlands at Jürgen Preyer's shop. He is young but becoming one of the best luthiers over there. A no nonsense guy that delivers exceptional good work. You live in Paris so it's hard to believe you travelled all the way to the Netherlands just to try that particular bass...
Regards,
Francis
 
#34
I don't think the bass looks ugly at all! in fact I think it looks kind of classy! yes, a little different, but that could be a good thing.
I didn't particularly liked the busetto shape, but I guess I watched Patitucci so many times that I ended up liking it later. But it seemed pretty weird to me at first. Also I don't like that Brian Bromberg bass either. But guess what? the guy is a virtuoso and Lemur offer copies of that bass that goes anywhere from about $4000 to close to $10000 I believe...!!?
Anyway, especially if the bass plays like a dream, the fact that the instrument is also unique looking is a bonus!!!
Maybe I'd be a little more concerned if it was one of those basses that have upper violin corners and lower bustto corners! lol
 
#35
Francis, i tried the bass in Jurgen's atelier .
When i want to buy a bass i find normal to visit all bass shops in a reasonable distance (in Holland i visited also Suringar , Zaal, and other two i don't remember the name in Amsterdam and Maastricht, then Germany,England and the liste can go longer..) Naturally i didn't go there express for this bass but i remember the good ones like this.
So i'm not kidding...
 
#36
massimo said:
Francis, i tried the bass in Jurgen's atelier .
When i want to buy a bass i find normal to visit all bass shops in a reasonable distance (in Holland i visited also Suringar , Zaal, and other two i don't remember the name in Amsterdam and Maastricht, then Germany,England and the liste can go longer..) Naturally i didn't go there express for this bass but i remember the good ones like this.
So i'm not kidding...
Click to expand...

Oh, i'm sorry Massimo !
My reply sounded as i'm saying you're talking bulls**t but that was really not my intention.
What a coincidence ! I'm glad you felt the same aboout the bass. Now i'm really shure about it !
Did you found your "dreambass" ?
Meilleurs salutations, :)
Francis
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back