Beginner

[Glyndwr]

Hi, I am a new to double bass, but I have played bass for a while now. I love to play jazz so I really want to buy a double bass and teach myself (I'm 17 and can't afford to pay someone to teach me), my question is what is the best double bass to buy as a beginner? Also, I don't have a lot of money so a combination of cheap but also quality (i.e. nothing too bad but not top of the range) would be good.


Thanks

[fatback]

[quote name='Glyndwr' timestamp='1363721724' post='2016600']
Hi, I am a new to double bass, but I have played bass for a while now. I love to play jazz so I really want to buy a double bass and teach myself (I'm 17 and can't afford to pay someone to teach me), my question is what is the best double bass to buy as a beginner? Also, I don't have a lot of money so a combination of cheap but also quality (i.e. nothing too bad but not top of the range) would be good.


Thanks
[/quote]

Good on you for taking the plunge. Wish I'd done it at 17.

A lot of good info on here:

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200585-lets-just-say-i-was-looking-at-basses-for-arguments-sake/

[stingrayPete1977]

Hi Glyndwr and welcome, That is my thread fatback has linked so I know where you are at. I cant recommend Gedo as a company enough, I dont know much about basses as such but the finish on mine is great, the company however are brilliant, well packed, free bag/case/bow and proper pops rosin. They returned my emails really quickly in english and did exactly as I asked (If you look on their website you will see they actually have mine listed as a model now with adjustable bridge and spirocore strings for 950 euros, tell them what you want if different from any on the site and they will list it as a special order for you to buy online, mine came within 5 days of ordering including fitting the bridge and setting it all up! I dont know what you have in mind as far as a budget is concerned but I would have no issue in buying one of their cheaper ones, this for example is 499 euros [url="http://www.gedo-musik.de/shop/product.php?id_product=703"]http://www.gedo-musik.de/shop/product.php?id_product=703[/url] and from what everyone else has said should be much better than G4M basses as far as the setup etc is concerned.

Also some nice basses for sale on this site from time to time but they get snapped up pretty quick which is another reason to get a reasonable one if you can as you could always get a fair chunk of the money back if you decide to sell it, a dirt cheap one will be good for nothing really.

Best of luck and it will be nice to have someone even newer to this than me

[fatback]

On the teacher front, do get at least one lesson so your basic technique is ok. So easy to hurt yourself on this beast.

[Owencf]

Hey mate,
your not the only one starting out so much info to be had from this forum.
Ask questions get good helpful answers.
The community here has a good culture of helping and offering advice.

I picked my Bass up from one of the members on the forum and there was no hassle.
There is plenty of pre-loved bass coming up on the forums of late so keep an eye out for them.

Welcome

[ubassman]

Where abouts in the country are you based ( Wales perhaps!?) ?

Edited March 20, 2013 by ubassman

[sarah thomas]

If you're anywhere near Cardiff, you're welcome to have a go on my two basses - the more you can try before you buy, the better. I'm pretty much a beginner myself, taking my time to balance the bass and play without hurting my wrist and shoulder, and trying to get those wonderful long legato notes. I have a couple of books and DVDs you could take a look at as well, to help decide what materials to learn from.

[Glyndwr]

Thanks, for your help everyone. I shall look into it for a good while and start saving up. I'm not in Wales, I'm in Devon, and I'm not Welsh, I'm Dutch (Welsh grandmother).