I’m in the market for a good upright bass, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from being a guitar player for the past 15 years, it’s that price does not necessarily correlate with quality, if you’re not careful. There are a number of “legendary” guitar brands whose instruments don’t sound any better than more common, modestly priced instruments of lesser pedigree. You pay for the name.
With that in mind, does anyone know of a good brand and model of upright bass that won’t range into the multiple thousands of dollars? That won’t sound like I’m playing a slab of concrete if I don’t mortgage my Immortal Soul on it?
Anyone know of any sleepers? Good quality instruments without the hyper-inflated price?
Former upright bass player here – played for 12 years.
I had a several thousand dollar bass (Lidl - Czech, maple, carved back, absolutely gorgeous) but I think my first one was a crummy Japanese Suzuki model.
It’s hard to find a lot of variety because the demand for them isn’t that great and few companies make them. So you can either get a $$$$$ professional one or a really crummy beginner student model.
I’ve seen beginner models that are crooked and cracked and chipped and sound like crap but still sell for a thousand bucks.
I bought my bass from www.stringbassshop.com in San Francisco. Allan, the owner, is totally cool and a great resource for all things bass related. Give him a call, he’ll help you out.
I used to play upright bass too. I played some in college. You can get a shitty (well playable but not great) practice one off of ebay for under $1k. I had looked into it but decided I wouldn’t be playing it again any time soon. Don’t worry about buying a cheap one. After you get it go to your local luthier shop (the people who make/repair instruments) and have them set it up for you (typically this costs less than $200 but more likely $100) and do any minor adjustments you need. Suddenly your shitty student model bass will become an average student model bass and you will have saved 1500 bucks. I had done that with students before when I was still in college to get the best bang for their buck.
Thanks, guys. After doing a bit of research, I’ve begun considering a 3/4 Engelhardt Maestro (EM-1). I can get it for a little over a thousand bucks, and it seems to be a fairly decent bass. I know it won’t be top of the line, but it should be OK for casual playing, home studio recording, and some informal gigs, right?
For recording allow me to recommend a Fishman pre-amp. Actually, buy mine! And if you need an Trace Eliott acoustic bass amp, talk to me, too. I still have all this stuff lying around.
I bought my bass privately from a bass player in the Kansas City Symphony. It’s German and about 60 years old. Cost about 2 grand, I think (18 years ago). I’ve never been in the market for a bass other than that, so sorry I can’t help you.
