I'd have to agree with Blakewdm on his post ... 20-40k buys a great bass for hitting the audition circuit ... I myself play on a Tom Martin and it has served me very well for the 2 years I've had it ... Tom's basses go for 20k nowadays and they are slammin basses ... For what it's worth Scott Pingel (one of my teachers, Principal Bass of the San Francisco Symphony) won that job on a Martin ... Ed Barker (Boston Sym, Principal) won his gig on a Goetz & Chris Hanulik (LA Phil, Principal) won his spot on a Morelli ... The latter 2 being somewhat of lower grade insturments compared to a Martin, Hatchez, etc ... Dont think Chris, Scott, or Ed who are rockin' 150k + English & Italian cannons in the present day auditioned with their current instruments ... Its a testament to their ability ... It ain't the arrow, its the Indian shooting the arrow ... But, good equipment helps ... in that price range (20-40) you can buy a great bass and a kick ass bow ... For me personally, I splurged a little to buy a pricier bow because it can make or break a bass in most cases ... I can't tell you how many times Ive played a mediocre bass and then put a real nice stick to it and was blown away by the difference ... the worst thing to have to worry about when you are on the circuit is equipment ... That should be the least of you worries ... Find a good bass and bow, set it up the you like and don't look back ... It will give you the mental security you need to focus on nothing else except playing your best at your audition and not worry about "oh **** I hope my bass sounds good today, etc" ... Once I got my set up and equipment dialed in, auditioning became a little less nerve wracking and I started advancing a lot more and eventually making it to the finals of some auditions. Hope that helped.
