Antoni Debut or Gear4Music Deluxe?

[BobVbass]

that thomann bass they do is the cheapest one with cheap tuners end, end pin and strings etc etc no case no bow etc as they go up they add a better bits but the one to look out for are the 22's and 33's

[27 frets]

[quote name='bob_pickard' post='867104' date='Jun 14 2010, 03:25 PM']check out www.gedo-musik.de as well - they have a good reputation apparently, I had some replies to my post on here a few weeks ago about them - and they say they're luthiers although you'll probably need some stuff doing to it when you get it[/quote]

+1 on that

I have one of their solid wood models, which cam well set up, but they told me this about their product range:

"First of all, we are working as wholesaler since 1964 in Germany and export to more than 70 countries around the globe.
Right, the cheapest one (approx. 450 Pounds) is all laminate construction, but with proper ebony fingerboards the basses are Made in China and Korea - finishing will be made by our own workshop with 3 violin-makers.
We generally use "normal" steel strings and bridges to be fitted by ourselves.
If you have special requests for better grade, etc., we would be glad to have your corresponding disposal.
Basses in the range of Pounds 630-650 are Made in Korea and Czech, same with the bridge, solid spruce top, ebony fingerboard.
The solid wood models are Made in Czech and improved by our workshop. They are delivered with German fingerboards, good quality strings and Aubert bridge, upon request."

[janmaat]

[quote name='PerryJ' post='866123' date='Jun 13 2010, 04:31 PM']Quick question... can anyone tell me why this laminated bass [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_111.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_111.htm[/url] is so much cheaper than the plywood ones? Other than the finish, I can't see much difference and I've been led to believe that laminated plywood is the superior material. One worrying thing about the Thomann site is their disclaimer concerning errors in site content. Does it mean they can get away with advertising an ebony fingerboard and delivering a softwood one!? I know they can't get away with that in England but, I'm not really up on my German advertising laws...[/quote]

Well as a German I can only say that here in the UK you get away with almost everything while not so in Germany. If you trust UK pages 100% than you can trust German ones 250% - I'm not being patriotic but over there, people are so acribic it sucks.

[CoolCat]

I have the G4M Deluxe you are considering and for first double bass it suits me fine.

You get a case (light wiht velvety lining), bow (decent sintetic hair) and rosin delivered on a huge box.

Sell the case on your favourite auction site to recoup some money. Buy cheap gig bag.

Out of the box you need soundpost placed and probably bridge height adjustment (unless you like to play 2cm away from the fingerboard).

After that obligatory new strings. Select something like spirocores,honeys,obligatos or evahs ... I am partial to evahs light.

And you are ready.

Later you can play with soundpost placement, smoothing the fingerboard,better bridge, pickup, replace endpin for carbon one (my bass got louder), better bow, better rosin...etc.

[fatback]

Hugely informative thread

- thanks to all

[hubrad]

Another one well worthy of consideration IMHO is the Stentor 1950.. solid top, 'wood' fingerboard (ebony available for a bit extra), full list £755 with bag and bow. This is my base level bass for selling in the shop as it's reliably good sounding and generally needs no more than a minor tweak to the setup straight out of the box (as others have said, once the bridge and soundpost are in place). I've sold these to friends, so I know I would hear very quickly about any problems.
Shop around London area and you'll probably find some heavily competitive pricing or even a decent used one; I wouldn't particularly recommend mail ordering a DB, although some do. I'd play it first.

[fatback]

[quote name='hubrad' post='869952' date='Jun 17 2010, 03:21 PM']I wouldn't particularly recommend mail ordering a DB, although some do. I'd play it first.[/quote]

Depends on where you live

Also, a real noob to db, like me, wouldn't know a good DB from a hole in the ground.

Guess I wouldn't be alone in depending on the great advice here and then hoping for the best.

[CoolCat]

I forgot to add on my last post, on the G4M Deluxe the tailwire WILL go! It gets rusty inside the tailpiece and just crumbles after a couple of months out of the box.
So just get the one recomended earlier on the tread (steel cable) and replace the original one when you change to the better strings.It will save you a fright and is easy to do.

Also get the new strings before bridge and soundpost placement or before you do any adjustments yourself (if you are handy with tools) so you will have a good ball park for the string elasticity (they do vary).

To add fuel to the fire, I just could not stretch my budget to a Archer or a Stentor (those are realy nice starter basses) but I do love my orangy box.

If you can try before you buy second hand instruments go for it before ordering online.

Good luck.

[PerryJ]

Thanks to everyone for all the good advice. I'm still undecided as to exactly what I'll do but, if I do buy new, it's between the cheapest Thomann and Gear4Music instruments. I really don't have the cash for anything better and they'll leave me with enough money to have them set up properly. The Thomann has the edge at the moment though, as it has an ebony fingerboard whereas the G4M has an "ebonised" fingerboard, which is worrying me... I think I'll sleep on it for a bit, especially as the Thomann is out of stock until the 30th June!

[PerryJ]

Okay, I'm even annoying myself now but, I'm loathe to start another thread! Ebony finger board from China via Germany (Thomann) or 'ebonised' fingerboard from China via York (G4M)!?

[Bilbo]

Ebony every time. 100%. Don't even think about it. Ebonised is not going to deliver.

[Beer of the Bass]

You need a fingerboard which can be easily planed by a luthier if the relief isn't quite right or there are any uneven parts. Obviously ebony is preferable as it is very hard and doesn't require a finish. Sometimes the very cheapest grade of ebony can be crazily grained and unstable too, but I've only seen this on one bass - unfortunately one that I owned! Some ebonised fingerboards (such as on the Stentor 1950s, IIRC) are a rosewood-ish hardwood with a bit of black stain and should be workable enough, but others are soft, light coloured wood with a thick black painted surface which will never really do a decent job. I'm sure OTPJ could tell you which kind the G4M basses have.

[fatback]

[quote name='PerryJ' post='865951' date='Jun 13 2010, 02:13 PM']I've been watching that one on e-bay. My trouble is location, I'm in North London and the bass is in Bradford.[/quote]


Went for £355.

[Allen]

On 13/06/2010 at 12:23, TheRev said:

at this price- you'll get a lot more tone improvement from a decent set of strings and a few lessons to sort out your technique that you will from the solid top over the laminate

Great advice,  thank you!