gilmour Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Hi All, Looking for some quite nooby advice. I have a Double bass, it's quite nice, cost £500 from what I remember, I have a nice pickup and some plastic strings on it (which I really like). The acoustic sons of the bass is a bit meh, it's just a ply wood body, and the fingerboard dents pretty easily - so I'm certain isn't any kind of fancy wood. It's in pretty shonky condition the fingerboard is dented, the bridge isn't straight I think the endpin is a bit bent, and it rattles. This year I've done more gigs on DB than on electric (which I've always considered my primary instrument). Anyway I'm wanting to upgrade and get something a bit better/half decent but have no idea where to start :/ Any advice? I mostly play blues and country, no classical and the odd bit of jazz. Ta muchly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Hi mate, I hope you're well. Glad to hear you're playing more DB What's your budget for a DB? There are quite a few choices depending on what you have to spend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 These are excellent value for money: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_2_wr_34.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_2_wr_34.htm[/url] If you have a bit more cash, go for the tineo wood (TN) version for a bit more resonance. If you don't want to buy unseen, then you could do a lot worse than paying a visit to Thwaites in Watford and see what they have in your price range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpea Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I reckon it's worth considering that buying a new bass is bound to depreciate in value to some extent however if you can find an old bass that fits in your budget then it should at least hold its value or even increase if you're lucky. It's good to bear this in mind if you think you may upgrade again in the future. I had a similar situation when I was looking to upgrade from my £300 starter bass. I ended up finding a nice carved flat back circa 1880, which although was slightly outside my budget I decided it would suit me better to stretch the budget a little and go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilmour Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 [quote name='TPJ' timestamp='1415118830' post='2596900'] Hi mate, I hope you're well. Glad to hear you're playing more DB What's your budget for a DB? There are quite a few choices depending on what you have to spend. [/quote] Hey dude been ages. I'm playing loads of upright at the moment. Just finished recording the second album with the blues/country act. It was that which spurred this thought TBH as all the stuff we've used is the pup rather than the mic'd sound. TBH I haven't thought about budget, I guess £1,000 - £1,500? But will I see a significant improvement for that much money? Dunno really I genuinely have no idea :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SubsonicSimpleton Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Maybe it is worth considering getting your current DB sorted with decent replacements for the fingerboard, endpin and bridge - assuming that your current bass is structurally sound. You would get maximum potential out of it, but it will still be a ply DB, which might not be a bad thing depending on how hard a life the instrument is subjected to on a day to day basis and the types of gigs you do. I believe that one of the guys on here that went to the recent DB bash uses an Antoni ply which he got cheap and has subsequently had fettled at the hands of a luthier, so you might get some useful informed opinions about whether this is a good option from both the owner, and other basschatters that went to the bash - I can't help on that front as I was unable to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilmour Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 I hadn't thought about doing any work to it TBH as I just assumed it wouldn't be worth it. It doesn't have a great acoustic sound, I mean it's ok but not deep & full & rich like some I've heard. It has a pretty hard life the gigs I do vary from nice arts centres and theatres through to back room pubs and blues bars, so it already has it's far share of knocks and dents. The irony is this year I let gigging take a back seat and have only done about 30 shows - only 3 of them on electric all the rest on upright or ukulele! Which seems ridiculous as they're the two cheapest instruments I own Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zero9 Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 Upgrading your current double bass is false economy. It sounds like a fairly basic instrument and you will not recoup the money spent and will probably still want a better bass at the end. for the money, you'd be better off getting a half carved Gedo and investing in a pro setup. Gedo's are highly regarded on Basschat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 I was waiting for someone else to say get a Gedo first but yes get a Gedo I dont know how good any bass below a few grand will sound really but it sounds like the next logical step and right on budget at £1000-1500 for a half carved bass. If you ever head up towards the midlands gilmour you are welcome to try mine and have a cup of tea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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