Think I'm "barely" in the market for a DB, finally...

[thisnameistaken]

Well work's been crap for ages and I've been after a DB for ages but if there's one benefit of a slow year at work it's that my tax bill is a lot smaller than they thought it would be and I hardly owe them anything.

I don't want to splash out in a big way (times are still a bit tight) but I'm looking for a DB that I can take out and busk with my guitarist (and maybe drummer) when spring eventually arrives, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on a bass just to take it out and scrape half of it off on kerbs and other public obstacles. So something fairly loud played pizz, not bothered at all about arco sound - I can't bow for toffee anyway. I'll be using it mostly for old '60s Jamaican pop music so a good boomy sound would be ideal, not too bothered about treble detail.

Can I do this on the cheap or is it not really feasible?

Thing is: I met an upright bassist at the back end of last year (don't really want to name him because of his controversial bit that comes next...) who was telling me that I could probably find something ideal for "about 150 quid" (he actually said there were "always loads" of these basses for sale), and if I spent another hundred or so on getting it set up properly it would be ideal. This seems to go totally against the advice I've read on here in the past though. Is he just dead wrong on this?

He seems like a good guy, down-to-earth middle-aged chap, he can certainly play, and he was up for giving me some lessons and helping me find an instrument and he's the sort of guy I think would make a good teacher. But is he totally off his rocker with his buying suggestions?

[Moo]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='728332' date='Jan 29 2010, 01:52 AM']Well work's been crap for ages and I've been after a DB for ages but if there's one benefit of a slow year at work it's that my tax bill is a lot smaller than they thought it would be and I hardly owe them anything.

I don't want to splash out in a big way (times are still a bit tight) but I'm looking for a DB that I can take out and busk with my guitarist (and maybe drummer) when spring eventually arrives, but I don't want to spend a lot of money on a bass just to take it out and scrape half of it off on kerbs and other public obstacles. So something fairly loud played pizz, not bothered at all about arco sound - I can't bow for toffee anyway. I'll be using it mostly for old '60s Jamaican pop music so a good boomy sound would be ideal, not too bothered about treble detail.

Can I do this on the cheap or is it not really feasible?

Thing is: I met an upright bassist at the back end of last year (don't really want to name him because of his controversial bit that comes next...) who was telling me that I could probably find something ideal for "about 150 quid" (he actually said there were "always loads" of these basses for sale), and if I spent another hundred or so on getting it set up properly it would be ideal. This seems to go totally against the advice I've read on here in the past though. Is he just dead wrong on this?

He seems like a good guy, down-to-earth middle-aged chap, he can certainly play, and he was up for giving me some lessons and helping me find an instrument and he's the sort of guy I think would make a good teacher. But is he totally off his rocker with his buying suggestions?[/quote]

Sorry but Yes. Not necessarily off his rocker, but probably has not bought a bass for at least 20 years. Times have changed.


I looked for the last 10 years to find a cheap bass to replace the one I sold for £180 when I left school. I never found one.
An identical hungarian bass sold on ebay for £860 last year.
A friend of a friend recently sold me a european carved front/ ply back bass for £600, which is cheap these days for a student quality playable instrument. It is still not as good as the one I sold for £180.

For £250 you might find a 2nd hand horrible sounding, orange varnished, plywood, unplayable chinese bass, and then spend £130 replacing the nasty strings, £100 on a setup, and £100+ for a luthier to carve the fingerboard somewhere near straight to stop the buzzing, which means you have spent nearly £600 on a bass which still looks and sounds horrible, and is still worth only £250. (Can you tell that that is what I had to do with the 'cheap' bass I bought for my son?)
Also you want a loud bass. I am afraid that what makes a bass loud is a finely carved table (front of the body), of the sort you will not find on a bass costing less than £5000. This type of bass will also be to fragile to stay in one piece after being dragged around the streets.
Having said that, for the vintage thudy sound you are after, a plywood bass will make the right noises, but you will need a pickup and amp to be heard in a busy street.

I sincerely hope you do strike lucky, and find a playable bass for under £200. I looked for a long time, and the only cheap bass I found was £350 and needed lots of work to fix the broken bits. Sorry but these days even £600 is cheap for something reasonable (and not chinese sh*te), so I am afraid that as you say £150 is not really feasible.
Unless the chap you met wants to sell you his for £150?

Good Luck.
Moo.

Edited January 29, 2010 by Moo

[thisnameistaken]

Cheers for the advice. I've seen all those cheap orange basses and I can't have one of those anyway - my girlfriend insists that if I buy a DB it has to have a positive aesthetic impact on the house. So something chestnutty I suppose, pre-scraped and dinged preferably.

I'll give him a ring at the weekend and see what he's got to say. I didn't get a whole lot of time to talk to him before because he was on a gig.

[ardi100]

I think it depends where you look. Ebay and the like are busy and sellers know what they can get.

I bought mine from my school (which had 3 and no students, so I didn't deprive any learners!) which was happy to get some money for something that was just taking up room.

I paid £150 and then spent £350 + pickup getting it sorted by a luthier but it's been well worth it. It was certainly playable when I bought it, just not 'lovely'.

I say try and be creative when looking. Junk sales, clearouts etc could all be fruitfull.

Good luck.

PS Did I see you posting on an android forum recently? Got a Hero?

[jakenewmanbass]

I would say that your chap's advice was a little out of date but bargains do come up so it's worth not rushing and waiting for the right thing to come along. I use a laminate bass for my 20s 30s gig which lives in a van, amplifies well, and has a decent tone (especially when used with a decent pre amp) if you're looking for something loud and darker in colour just keep trolling through the various ads and be prepared to kiss some frogs in your search. If you could spend up to about £400 then you will eventually find something. Best of luck and if you spot anything you want an experienced eye cast over then post it on here or PM me or some of the other DB players, we are generally a helpful bunch IME.

[BassBod]

There are playble tough plywood basses around (Czech 70s school basses etc) but you won't get "loud" from them. Mine does "thumpy old trad/bluegrass" with the right strings, but it is low acoustic volume and with no woody complex mids to get all jazzy about. But I can take it around pubs/festivals/weddings/funerals etc without worrying about what might happen to it. And I always have to use a pickup - audiences don't listen to bands anymore. Actually, bands don't listen to bands anymore. Am I sounding old?

Even for a decent but rough ply bass I'd guess you're looking for £400 - £800 plus new bridge, strings and a bit of set up. Plus pickup/preamp. If you buy from a dealer you'll pay more, but may get some of the upgrades already done..if you're lucky.

[slobluesine]

theres a B&H Golden Strand on Ebay at the mo...


[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Golden-Strad-Double-Bass-Jazz-size-Upright-Contrabass_W0QQitemZ270520863834QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Sting_Instruments?hash=item3efc4ccc5a"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Golden-Strad-Double-...=item3efc4ccc5a[/url]

nice Basses apparently

[slobluesine]

oh yeah... check out his youtube clip

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='ardi100' post='728382' date='Jan 29 2010, 08:20 AM']I bought mine from my school (which had 3 and no students, so I didn't deprive any learners!) which was happy to get some money for something that was just taking up room.

...

I say try and be creative when looking. Junk sales, clearouts etc could all be fruitfull.[/quote]

I'm useless at finding bargains that way but I will try. I wonder if the girlfriend's school has any basses they want to shift...

[quote name='ardi100' post='728382' date='Jan 29 2010, 08:20 AM']PS Did I see you posting on an android forum recently? Got a Hero?[/quote]

It's a small internets isn't it? Yes that was me. I also bumped into someone I knew on there - a drummer I haven't seen in over 10 years. Weird.

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='jakesbass' post='728500' date='Jan 29 2010, 10:55 AM']if you're looking for something loud and darker in colour just keep trolling through the various ads and be prepared to kiss some frogs in your search. If you could spend up to about £400 then you will eventually find something. Best of luck and if you spot anything you want an experienced eye cast over then post it on here or PM me or some of the other DB players, we are generally a helpful bunch IME.[/quote]

Will do. I was thinking about £400 would be about right.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='728558' date='Jan 29 2010, 11:56 AM']theres a B&H Golden Strand on Ebay at the mo...

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Golden-Strad-Double-Bass-Jazz-size-Upright-Contrabass_W0QQitemZ270520863834QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Sting_Instruments?hash=item3efc4ccc5a"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Golden-Strad-Double-...=item3efc4ccc5a[/url][/quote]

I was looking at that last night, hard to get an idea of how it sounds from his clip though - his mic seems to only be picking up buzz from the G string and very little else. I've stuck it on my watch list anyway, it seems 'teej' really likes the one he's got.

[Moo]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='728759' date='Jan 29 2010, 02:42 PM']It seems 'teej' really likes the one he's got.[/quote]

I met Teej. I did sound for his band Red Jackson, in Dorchester last year. I was playing his C.D. in the car this week strangely.
Nice bloke. IIRC his 50s Ply Bass was knackered from all the busking, and he was looking for another cheap bass to gig with while he got his main bass repaired.
Is that still his plan? Perhaps he may sell you the cheap No.2 bass when he's finished?
(It is posible I may have confused Teej and that story with one of the other bassists I spoke to last year.)

Edited January 29, 2010 by Moo

[Greydad]

[quote name='slobluesine' post='728561' date='Jan 29 2010, 12:02 PM']oh yeah... check out his youtube clip[/quote]

Interesting bass I checked that out a few days ago - pretty beaten up but sounded pretty good

I thought his video was cool, but there's another one further down which is a more conventional recording on myspace

Edited January 29, 2010 by Greydad

[thisnameistaken]

Well I spoke to this bassist acquaintance today. He says there's a ply bass that I could have for £4-500, it's already well set up with quality strings on it, structurally good, etc. I should have a chance to try it out in the next few days so we'll see. He was making positive noises about it and he's not the sort of guy to wilfully sell a lemon to somebody. I'll report back when I've played it - and more importantly heard him play it, so I'll know how it's [i]supposed[/i] to sound!

[jakenewmanbass]

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='732481' date='Feb 2 2010, 02:07 AM']Well I spoke to this bassist acquaintance today. He says there's a ply bass that I could have for £4-500, it's already well set up with quality strings on it, structurally good, etc. I should have a chance to try it out in the next few days so we'll see. He was making positive noises about it and he's not the sort of guy to wilfully sell a lemon to somebody. I'll report back when I've played it - and more importantly heard him play it, so I'll know how it's [i]supposed[/i] to sound! [/quote]
Good News..
You should really have it at home for a few days. Play on it for a long stint and see how you bear up try to get some sound out of the full register, and if poss play it with some other people. The last Bass I bought I had at my house and did several gigs on for 3 weeks before I agreed to buy. You can discover little niggles a few days in so with such a big commitment a good try out should be expected (although to be fair I did pay 10 times more)

Edited February 2, 2010 by jakesbass