Help with Double Bass Purchase

[curacao]

I have agreed to buy my 10 year old daughter a double bass for her birthday as she has reached grade 4 in her exams and is very keen to continue. At the moment she has a school double bass that is quite battered and now too small. She need a 3/4 size one (she is tall!) and we have seen a black starter one on a few sites e.g. Gear4music etc. I have no musical talent / knowledge and am panicking about whether it is ok to have a black Double bass or if it s just naff!!. She uses a school one when at school so the black one would live at home with us. Her double bass teacher says she should buy one that will be her 'forever double bass' but I am thinking it is better to start with this on which is approx £450 and see how she feels later when she reaches senior school (and, more importantly, teenage) before spending a lot on a better quality one.....
Any advice very much appreciated!!

[neilp]

Sadly, perhaps, I depends hat she wants to play on it! If it's orchestral music a black bass might not go down a storm. I have some sympathy with her teacher where this is concerned. I was lucky enough to have a very fine double bass to learn on, and it made a huge difference to how much I practised. And in strictly financial terms, a cheap bass will only get cheaper, while a quality instrument with a bit of age will certainly never lose you money. If you can afford it, have faith and get something that will go with her as far as she wants to go.

Good luck!!

[Mr Bassman]

Having been to Gear4music and seen their starter basses I wouldn't recommend one to anyone.

Stentor do a nice student bass, I picked one s/h and with a bit of work to the bridge and some decent strings it plays and sounds great.

https://youtu.be/4DFlTWfYF1A

Edited June 21, 2015 by Mr Bassman

[fatback]

Not much love for Gear4Music on here.

Unfortunately, a poor bass would be doing your daughter no favours. Cheap usually means hard to play as well as fragile.

At the kind of money you're talking about, you might find it difficult to get anything decent at all. If you can't stretch to the better sort they sell on Thomann and the like, a used one could be a bargain as suggested. For that you would need someone (her teacher?) to check it out and, and factor in a few quid for a luthier to set it up. Perfectly possible, but could take a little time.

Great to see the girls taking up the bass though, so well done to her.

[TPJ]

Have you thought about renting a nicer one?

Also, where are you located?

[sarah thomas]

Spending £450 on a double bass is a waste of money. Could other family members/friends chip in to buy a combined present? Also, your daughter's double bass teacher may know of other basses going and be able to recommend one. Maybe talk to the teacher and find out what to look for in the second hand market. My first (2nd hand) bass cost £1,000 and my next cost over twice as much.Sadly, it's not really that much, for a large musical instrument. Renting sounds like a good idea, too.

[curacao]

Thank you so much for your responses which are a great help.

We are based in Harrow, TPJ.

I hear what you all say but was trying to be sensible and not spoil a 10 year old with a very expensive instrument...even though the £450 is already a very big birthday present but justified for her love of music. She plays in the school orchestra and also the Junior Chamber Strings group and her teacher says that she has a natural affinity for the double bass but we can't be sure she will continue into her teenage years as we see so many children in the school stop once they reach about 14. Obviously, the one she uses at home supplied by the school at present can't be a fantastic quality one yet she doesn't complain about it?

I have a question... Why are so many Double basses available out there in this price bracket if they are so bad? Could we not have a cheaper one for a couple of years and then change over? Especially as she so wants a black one!

Chipping in not an option and she really wants to own her own D bass so rental would be a solution for me but a great disappointment for her.

How about the Harlequin black 3/4 d bass on DJMMusic website??

Edited June 22, 2015 by curacao

[JoeEvans]

Thomann are well spoken-of for double basses - a few on their site at 577 euros including a natty black rockabilly model... Or go up to 700-odd euros for a much nicer one.
But I would always buy second-hand myself. I've seen some nice DBs go on eBay for under £500 recently.

[toastieman]

What style of music is she interested in?

Although a black double bass looks really cool, I think could be a huge problem for playing in orchestras, where people are generally quite traditional! (though maybe youth orchestras are more forgiving now??)

Also from experience, keep some money aside to get the bass set up by someone who knows what they are doing. It's reasonably likely that the bass will arrive in an unplayable (or pretty unpleasant to play) state - this will make a huge difference to her perseverance and enjoyment. This is extra extra important if buying on the internet.

Also check out the quality of strings on the bass. Buying cheaper bass with awful strings you'll end up replacing anyway could be a false economy (might be more than £150 for a nice set). A decent set of strings make a huge difference to sound and how nice it is to play.

Finally other costs: does she need a bow? (these can be extraordinarily expensive)

[ljbass]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Why are so many -ALMOST ANYTHING- available out there in this price bracket if they are so bad? [/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Unqualified work + [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]cheap material = c[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]heap instrument [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif](bad setup, cheap fast dried wood, hardware, strings, everything...). Wi[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]th new set of strings and work made on setup and later repairs (drying the wood causing separation of glued parts pretty often), y[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]ou´ll get on the same price of Thomann (Strunal) or something similar. And you´ll never sell it later for reasonable price...[/font][/color]
[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]My son is almost your d[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]aughters age and I can´t imagine him playing my 3/4 DB. It is too big. B[/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]ut, even if he is able, I´m sure the ergonomy, overall weight of the instrument, the neck profile, good setup with quality light strings etc. are the crucial things for preventing the growing child from harming the hands! And double bass is kind of special this way because of combination of strenght and the right technique! The other thing is sound - that´s what musical instruments are made for If the bass fits all of this, it could be black, green, pink, whatever...[/font][/color]

[JoeEvans]

Here are a few on eBay right now...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3-4-Double-Bass-THE-STENTOR-STUDENT-II-/201373350520?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-2-size-double-bass-Antoni-/221794299998?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beautiful-Bargain-Bass-amp-extras-/121670261566?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
I reckon any one of these would be a far better buy than a cheap new one.

[Dad3353]

... and could be painted black, if that's the principal criteria..!

[SubsonicSimpleton]

[quote name='curacao' timestamp='1434998669' post='2804606']
I hear what you all say but was trying to be sensible and not spoil a 10 year old with a very expensive instrument...even though the £450 is already a very big birthday present but justified for her love of music. She plays in the school orchestra and also the Junior Chamber Strings group and her teacher says that she has a natural affinity for the double bass but we can't be sure she will continue into her teenage years as we see so many children in the school stop once they reach about 14.
[/quote]
If she is interested and talented, a good quality used instrument will be an investment that you will get to enjoy on a daily basis when you listen to her play, she will enjoy on a daily basis when she plays it, and be encouraged and motivated, and you will always be able to get your money back if she loses interest at a later date.

[Mr Bassman]

This could be the answer if you make some enquiries first.

It looks like the same construction as Stentor Student 1950 model I recommended earlier

[url="http://tinyurl.com/pv4ptjp"]http://tinyurl.com/pv4ptjp[/url]

I've owned over 20 double basses, don't overlook this because it's inexpensive!

[url="https://youtu.be/4DFlTWfYF1A"]https://youtu.be/4DFlTWfYF1A[/url]

An old thread http://basschat.co.uk/topic/216686-stentor-1950-student-model/

Edited June 22, 2015 by Mr Bassman

[randythoades]

I have a Thomann bass, a slimline European one. It is a lovely bass. Walbassist has just had one delivered so you could get his opinions. Ebony fingerboard, good (ish) hardware and a good sound. It has the benefit of a smaller body cavity so is easier to manage the bulk, but does compromise on the volume because of this which may not be ideal if she plays in orchestra. it is only £520 delivered.
[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_slim_line_double_bass_europe_1.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_slim_line_double_bass_europe_1.htm[/url]

Then they also do the non European version as a full size at £413 [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_111.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_111.htm[/url]

Overall Thomann basses seem to have a reasonable reputation

[Beer of the Bass]

Yes, the Stentors are decent starter basses - I have a friend who is gigging a 10 year old example without issues and a secondhand one will probably be in your price range. They tend to be at the small end of 3/4 size, which might be a good thing in this case.

[Bilbo]

She's ten, guys!!! Give her a break. Buy a cheap black one and let her cover it with stickers!! She has other basses around to compare. If she gets serious, she will find her way. My first guitar was unplayable, had steel strings and two nylon ones. Now look at me. Felixstowe's second best double bass player!!

[sarah thomas]

I'd be inclined towards the black one Mr Bassman posted a link to. And as ever, Bilbo is quite right. Whatever you get, it's not going to be her 'forever' bass. Lord, I wish I'd started when I was ten!

[TheRev]

Our singer's missus has one of the black G4M basses and they are a bit rubbish TBH. The fingerboard is poorly finished, the tuners are stiff and clunky and the whole thing creaks like a Spanish Galleon under full sail when you try to tune it up.

However.....

If someone wanted to try double bass without spending a lot of money to see if they liked it, then yes,I'd say buy the cheap G4M bass and put some very low tension strings on there. You could roll the edges of the fingerboard yourself to make it more comfortable to play and perhaps replace the tuners with something more substantial but that's where I'd stop as everything after that would be diminishing returns.

You would also have to live with the knowledge that if you enjoyed double bass you would probably outgrow the G4M bass quite quickly and selling them on can be difficult.

I'd be concerned that If the OPs daughter is at grade 4, then she may already be way ahead of what the G4M bass has to offer. Is there anyway you can try one beforehand?

Edited June 23, 2015 by TheRev

[Truckstop]

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1435055534' post='2804931']
She's ten, guys!!! Give her a break. Buy a cheap black one and let her cover it with stickers!! She has other basses around to compare. If she gets serious, she will find her way. My first guitar was unplayable, had steel strings and two nylon ones. Now look at me. Felixstowe's second best double bass player!!
[/quote]

Normally I'd agree but she's already at Grade 4. She already knows how to play and, obviously she's still learning, but she'll find a cheap instrument hard and unsatisfying to play.

Buying a second hand one for around £500 is best bet because it's unlikely you'll lose money on it should she lose interest in the coming years. The G4M one will halve in value the second it's dispatched and then lose even more over the years and you may even struggle to move it on at any price point.

[franzbassist]

I think renting a decent bass is a good choice if you get the option to buy it. We did this for my daughter's flute, as we were unsure whether she'd stick at it, but she did, has recently passed Grade 4, and has now ended up with a very nice Yamaha flute that we own.

[Marc S]

Hi curacao,

Have you seen this one for sale on this very forum?
I don't know what it's like, but I've found buying second-hand
you do get more for your money
You could ask whether a friendly local DB playing basschat member could come along + offer an opinion?

Anyways, it's 400 quid, and is fitted with a pickup, ready to go
Just thought I'd give you the heads up
http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264678-double-bass-with-pickup-suffolk/

PS. Not much love for G4M on here either
Although I never bought a bass from them, I did buy a case
and they didn't half mess around - esp with delivery
It was a nightmare!

Good luck with your search & purchase

[curacao]

Thank you all so much for all your input. Having given it all further thought and speaking to my daughter's teacher we agreed that a black one may be slightly embarrassing for her once she enters the senior orchestra. So, we have decided that we will go for the Stentor 1950 3/4 student bass as her first instrument. Daughter is such a sweetheart and completely understood that the rockabilly set up of the black basses was not suitable. The Stentor 1950 is £850 and so many people agree with Mr Bassman that we decided to follow that advice as it seems such good vale for such praise!

I am very touched by the extent to which people on this site have offered advice; especially as I have never posted on any forum before. If I can reciprocate by offering any any legal ( I am a solicitor for my sins) help to anyone please do touch bass... excuse the pun!

[sarah thomas]

Good choice!

[petebassist]

I've used a Stentor 3/4 1950 as my pub-gigging work horse for the last four years, and it's never let me down. Good quality and hard wearing components. Hopefully, your new one will be well set up and ready to go!