How well do low end DBs hold their value?

[Phatbottom]

Hi folks,

I am looking to expand my horizons from EB to DB. I have read a few threads here and understand they are pricey and variable in quality, especially the more affordable new ones, so am thinking of going second hand to hopefully get better price/performance.

I have been offered an all-solid Archer which was £1300 new three years ago and is in very good condition. Question is, how much do they depreciate? I can’t find any comparables to judge its current value.

Thanks in advance for any insights you can offer.

 

 

[Happy Jack]

What's an "all solid Archer"?

[Dad3353]

32 minutes ago, Happy Jack said:

What's an "all solid Archer"?

Something like this, I suspect...

Archer 3/4 Double Bass ...

[Happy Jack]

That's not all solid! It's got f-holes ...

[Dad3353]

[petebassist]

Second hand's a smart move. I don't know much about these Archers except what's on the G4M site, so I couldn't comment on them specifically. Age doesn't really matter with uprights, as good ones age gracefully and just sound better, providing they're good quality wood and parts. I guess if it was me I'd find out whether it's had a setup (i.e. bridge has been set, sound post checked, neck sometimes smoothed out) or is it just straight from the factory/workshop, any upgraded parts, e.g. bridge, string upgrade? If it doesn't play well it might need money spent on a setup. If you could get an existing upright player to try it out that would be ideal if you're not sure yourself. Hope that helps.

[stingrayPete1977]

9 hours ago, Phatbottom said:

Hi folks,

I am looking to expand my horizons from EB to DB. I have read a few threads here and understand they are pricey and variable in quality, especially the more affordable new ones, so am thinking of going second hand to hopefully get better price/performance.

I have been offered an all-solid Archer which was £1300 new three years ago and is in very good condition. Question is, how much do they depreciate? I can’t find any comparables to judge its current value.

Thanks in advance for any insights you can offer.

 

 

Nice to see you're still up for the challenge Mr Bottom

 

[Phatbottom]

Yes, many thanks for the intro Mr Ray

[Phatbottom]

Thanks for the comments, yes that is the bass - all solid wood as opposed to laminate. Please excuse my ignorance of correct terminology. I am informed it has been professionally set up by a luthier. Still none the wiser, will be gut feel thing I think. The seller can demo it 

Edited April 4, 2018 by Phatbottom

[jrixn1]

I'm not familiar with the Archer, but I do play a comparably-priced Chinese bass (a "Christopher" which was £1400 new about five years ago).

It's good that yours has been set up by a luthier. 

What was the asking price... like £700-£900?  I should think it would hold its value - but the market is smaller and moves a lot slower than say for bass guitars.  So patience is required when selling - but it would sell, eventually.

I'm always happy to hear of someone taking the plunge.  Good luck - double basses are wonderful things (well, on the whole...).
 

[Burns-bass]

My suggestion would be to find a good teacher and get a few lessons before you spend a lot of money. Many shops will let you trial a bass for a few quid a month, and they’re usually well set up too (as you’d hope).

Also, your teacher may be able to source an instrument or to test out any instrument you may be interested in.

These are all the things I should have done, but didn’t. I was lucky finding a wonderful sounding bass for little money and then getting an amazing luthier to work on it. If I did it again, I’d do what I’ve described above.

[NickA]

Laminate basses won't hold value too well as a new one will sound as good.  Solid / Carved ones will do better as they generally improve with age .. or at least, people think they do.

[AndyBass]

As with anything, its supply and demand. If you need to sell and no one's looking to buy, I've seen good basses knocked down to crazy (IMO) prices, including on here. Vintage laminate basses like Kays and Kings hold or gain value because of their perceived qualities and because there will never be any more of them. Carved basses may hold value a little better but typically you're looking at the higher end, older ones. A new carved Gedo, Archer it whatever isn't going to be much different to a 3, 6 or perhaps even 10 year old one so it may lose value, dependent on how long you can wait for a sale. There's no hard and fast rule I'm afraid.

I say just buy it and have hundreds of pounds of fun with it so you don't have to care if you make every penny back 😀 consider it an investment in the joy of playing, looking badass on stage and wasting money trying to find the right strings. You'll be in good company.

[Burns-bass]

4 hours ago, AndyBass said:

I say just buy it and have hundreds of pounds of fun with it so you don't have to care if you make every penny back 😀 consider it an investment in the joy of playing, looking badass on stage and wasting money trying to find the right strings. You'll be in good company.

This is good advice. Plus, if you display it in your house just about everyone who ever visits will be impressed even if it's a massively battered Czech beast from the 60s.

I've taken it to the extreme and I now have my DB in my office, which I think has directly led to at least one contract being won.

[TheRev]

5 hours ago, AndyBass said:

 .....wasting money trying to find the right strings. You'll be in good company.

And pickups, don't forget the money to be spent on pickups.

[TheRev]

44 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

I've taken it to the extreme and I now have my DB in my office, which I think has directly led to at least one contract being won.

How do you get any work done?

[Burns-bass]

1 hour ago, TheRev said:

How do you get any work done?

I"m not allowed to play it during the day!

I do sometimes stay late and have a play, and can pop in over the weekend too if I get the chance. I wish I could do an hour a day like I used to when I worked at home and had no kids! 

[Phatbottom]

I plumped for the Archer, got it with a bundle for £1100 in the end - quite happy with it: 

• Double Bass + Bow (3/4 made by Archer) 
• Soft Case (Roth & Junius BSB-01 3/4 DB/BK Bass Soft Bag) 
• Strings (Pirastro Evah Pirazzi - 1.5 years old) 
• Electronic Pick up (Shadow SH965 NFX-B Double Bass PU) 
• Amplifier (TC Electronic BG250-208) 
• The Double Bass has also been professionally set up by a Luthier

 

[stingrayPete1977]

How you getting on with it mate? 

[NickA]

£1100 for all that!  Good deal.

Is that bridge really not at right angles to the strings?   Could be the photo, but it might be squiff or it might have been set up "clever".  

This is something I thought about a while back having realised that on my electric bases the strings are all different lengths as the bridge is adjusted to keep the strings in tune across the frets (or lack of frets, though that's less of an issue) despite different pressures being needed to hold the different thickness strings down.  The bridges of classical guitars have a very complicated slant carved into them.   So why not do that on violins, 'cellos and basses?  Well apparently one reason is that its really hard to seat a bridge on the belly of the bass if it has to be at an angle and the other is that we all learn to compensate for the lack of super accurate tuning (without frets it's less of an issue etc).  anyway every double bass I've seen has its bridge at right angles to the strings.

But maybe your setup is done like a fretted instrument, in which case it's clever but different.  Might play more easily in tune across the strings.

.. or it's the photo .. or someone knocked it!

 

[neilp]

That looks well dodgy to me. The feet of the bridge should be centred on the inner nicks of the f holes. That's the way it's always done. If it's not like that, it's either been knocked or it's been set up by someone with absolutely no knowledge of stringed instruments. get it sorted ASAP

[petebassist]

If it were me I'd loosen the strings down a tone or two and move the bridge to the horizontal and centered between the inner nicks as others have said. Be careful to keep enough tension in the strings to maintain a downward pressure on the bridge to keep the sound bar in place inside the bass, which is positioned somewhere underneath the bridge.

Once in position, if you think any of the strings are pulling the bridge out of place, detune the strings one by one just enough so that you can pull the string to one side out of the groove, and drop in some powered pencil graphite into the grooves to enable the strings to slide in the groove when being tightened or loosened.

Edited April 23, 2018 by petebassist