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DB luthiers thread


Clarky
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[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1365769166' post='2044180']
[u][b]South London (Clapham): Laurence Dixon[/b][/u]

Laurence did some great work on my Kolstein bass and is a talented luthier (he made the Ray Brown DB replica for Ronny Scotts) as well as a very amiable guy. He is hard to track down though as he doesn't have a website and I had to find his details circuitously. So in case anyone in London needs his skills (especially now that Malcolm Healey is semi-retrired and moved out of the M25 - see below), here are his contact details:

Laurence Dixon
78 Rectory Grove
Clapham Old Town
London SW4 0ED

Tel 07947 377520

[/quote]

Just dropped my bass off with Laurence and thought I'd update with his new workshop address:


3a Princes Close
Clapham Old Town
London
SW40LG

His email is [email protected]

Edited by Hector
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I Just got my Bass back from Tom, all work carried out in good time and less than the price originally quoted.
If you arrive by train he will probably meet you at the station and transport both you and the Bass to the workshop.
He works on all stringed instruments.

[email protected]
[size=2]Road End cottage, Aberdalgie, Perth . PH2 0QB[/size]
[size=2]5 minutes from Perth. [/size]
[size=2]01738638928[/size]
[size=2]07816637470[/size]

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Hi folks,

Anyone know if there's a DB luthier who can supply me with a Centre Screw for a Strunal Tuner?
One has dropped out of my David Gage bass, and apparently, the tuners are made by Strunal...
Any ideas folks?

Cheers

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

Edward Gaut based in Brislington, Bristol has just done some work on my DB (including new bridge, sound post, set up, putting on new strings etc). I dropped the bass off on Tuesday night and it was all done by this evening.

A lovely guy who also makes his own stunning violins, violas and cellos. Very reasonably priced and happy to talk you through the intricacies and foibles of stringed instruments.

http://www.edwardgautviolins.co.uk

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update for the 1st post on this thread by Clarky... website details for Laurence Dixon in Clapham, London are as follows : www.LaurenceDixon.com

* Cheers for the recommendation Clarky - I've taken my bass to Laurence & although he's not done yet, am very confident in his skills... his workshop is amazing :)

One thing I would say about Laurence is : he's does Double Basses ONLY & plays bass... he's not a violin guy, taking on Double Bass work - I think it's important to mention he is a bass only expert... so he will probably have more knowledge than a violin technician who has double bass skills. Helped me think about a few things which a 'general orchestral stringed instrument' luthier might not have thought about or have as detailed knowledge of : it's like the playground fight of guitarists claiming they can play bass !! There are huge similarities - but also certain things that are very different...

One thing I learnt after visiting Laurence is : it's certainly worth considering 'are they double bass exclusive?' when choosing a luthier :blink:

UPDATE AFTER WORKS : Laurence did a cracking job & at a good rate considering he's based in central London - price was less painful than I expected. Highly recommended & he's a nice, straight forward guy to deal with.

Edited by Paul Galbraith
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  • 3 months later...

Haven't seen him mentioned yet so if you looking in kent jerome is superb luthier and player.

[color=#006621][font=arial, sans-serif]www.[/font][/color][b]jeromedavies[/b][color=#006621][font=arial, sans-serif].com/[/font][/color]

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Just discovered a crack on the rib of my double bass - gutted :(

I'm in Leeds... have previously used Laurence Dixon as a luthier who is great (but is in London).

Can anyone recommend a good luthier in Yorkshire ? I've found [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]www.KoplinViolins.co.uk on this thread in York... also [/font][/color]www.ViolinMan.co.uk in Harrogate. I frequent Harrogate, so tempted to give that chap a go...

Cheers :blink:

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[quote name='Paul Galbraith' timestamp='1445902865' post='2895319']
Just discovered a crack on the rib of my double bass - gutted :(

I'm in Leeds... have previously used Laurence Dixon as a luthier who is great (but is in London).

Can anyone recommend a good luthier in Yorkshire ? I've found [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]www.KoplinViolins.co.uk on this thread in York... also [/font][/color]www.ViolinMan.co.uk in Harrogate. I frequent Harrogate, so tempted to give that chap a go...

Cheers :blink:
[/quote]

Peter Hall in Beverley [url="http://www.peterhallviolins.com/"]http://www.peterhallviolins.com/[/url]

Very good and very reasonable.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Guys just to let you know that Laurence Dixon has moved shop out to Herne Hill (very close to the station). New address is 123 Dulwich Road, Herne Hill.

Excitingly, he also has a number of lovely medium-range (£5000-£7000 ish) hungarian basses for sale which, in my opinion, are rather underpriced compared to some other places!

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  • 2 months later...

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1453500182' post='2960187']
Anyone have any experience of [url="http://thedoublebassroom.com/"]http://thedoublebassroom.com/[/url] ?

I have a friend fancying something there and she just wants to make sure he is ok.
[/quote]

I've not had any direct experience, but Ben has been selling DBs for quite a few years both on eBay and on Musical Chairs without any negativity that I'm aware of and he does have 100% feedback with a 201 score. I have been quite tempted on a few occasions as he does have quality DBs in terms of they all seem to be ex-orchestral or jazz imported from Europe (mainly Eastern) as opposed to ply DBs.

I don't think there's anything to lose other than a long journey to Hildenborough, so long as you have a rough idea what you are looking for and listening to. He does have to make a profit, but he seems up for cash deals. If I wanted to replace my 2nd DB with a higher quality instrument in the £2k - £5k, I would definitely pay a visit!

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[quote name='owen' timestamp='1453500182' post='2960187']
Anyone have any experience of [url="http://thedoublebassroom.com/"]http://thedoublebassroom.com/[/url] ?

I have a friend fancying something there and she just wants to make sure he is ok.
[/quote]
I bought a cheaper bass from him (a somewhat battered but charismatic Hungarian solid top) and I liked him a lot - he seemed to be very much in it for the love of the instrument and he's very straightforward to deal with. It also looks like pretty much the only place in the country where you could try out five or ten interesting basses for under £4k in one morning. At some point soon I'm going to go down there and buy myself a nice solid wood bass - he's got a couple at the moment that I would love to try.

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[quote name='owen' timestamp='1453650309' post='2961384']
Thanks Joe, I have copied and pasted both responses to her so she knows that he is sound :)
[/quote]

Tell her to bring a tuner, I went round recently & every one of the basses ranged from a couple of tones to a full fifth flat! Spent more time tuning than playing, not good. Keep in mind too that most have got rubbish strings so it's difficult to tell how they actually sound. He seems like a nice guy though.

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[quote name='chrkelly' timestamp='1453716480' post='2961966']
Tell her to bring a tuner, I went round recently & every one of the basses ranged from a couple of tones to a full fifth flat! Spent more time tuning than playing, not good. Keep in mind too that most have got rubbish strings so it's difficult to tell how they actually sound. He seems like a nice guy though.
[/quote]

Thanks again.

I hate to embarrass you on a public forum but the downtuned ones are meant to be like that. They are for Metal :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

A quick update - I succumbed to temptation and drove down to Ben's in Kent yesterday (www.thedoublebassroom.com), coming away with a lovely 1970s violin-cornered bass. I was able to play at least five basses for £3k or under and had a hard time deciding between them; there were some really characterful instruments and the prices seemed very reasonable to me.
Anyway, there were a couple there that I didn't buy but which someone needs to snap up - an 1880s German flatback that looks like a barn find on the outside but has an amazingly subtle, rich tone (apparently fully restored inside and recently set up); and a scrumptious-looking busetto that was a bit beyond my price range but looked absolutely fabulous.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have just collected my Bryant from Laurence Dixon. I was never completely happy with it, having got through all sorts of pickups and speakers to get a decent sound. It is such a sweet bass that I was determined to try to sort it. Laurence has done an amazing job on it, new bridge and adjusters, fingerboard plane, new sound post and some other small tweaks. All within a two-week window and at a reasonable cost. I am very happy that the Bryant has been rescued.

And yes, those Hungarian basses are very good value and nice basses. Highly recommended.

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