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  #46  
Old 11-01-2014, 04:43 PM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Originally Posted by RustyAxe View Post
Terrible idea ... in the upright bass world that's called a CCB (cheap chinese bass). .............................

Laminated basses don't have to be cheap and some sound good. You'll pay $2500+ for a decent 50 year old Kay these days. My Czech Republic "Strunal 50/4" is a high quality laminated bass that cost me $1800 fully set up. Built well, sounds great, plays great.
Begging to differ.

There are some remarkably good sounding Chinese 3/4 double basses available in the UK right now fr less that the equivalent of $1000.

The boards are "ebonised" which wears off quickly, the board under the E string needs flattening work and they need a set up and better strings but they are very loud and sound pretty good.

I have two bassists that I play with who have discarded thier Czech/East German basses for them.
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  #47  
Old 11-01-2014, 06:56 PM
posternutbag posternutbag is offline
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Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
Begging to differ.

There are some remarkably good sounding Chinese 3/4 double basses available in the UK right now fr less that the equivalent of $1000.

The boards are "ebonised" which wears off quickly, the board under the E string needs flattening work and they need a set up and better strings but they are very loud and sound pretty good.

I have two bassists that I play with who have discarded thier Czech/East German basses for them.
In the Upright Bass world there is a difference between a BSO (Bass Shaped Object) bought for $99 on Amazon, and something like a Samuel Shen or an Eastman purchased from a reputable string shop. The former barely qualifies as a musical instrument, while the latter, with proper setup, can serve perfectly well in musical genres where the tonal nuances of a fully carved bass would be lost (bluegrass, rockabilly, perhaps even some jazz).

Laminated instruments do not carry the same stigma in many parts of the Upright world that they do in the guitar and mandolin world. In fact, for some applications, slap bass in particular, the quick decay of a laminated bass is a good thing.
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  #48  
Old 11-02-2014, 10:15 AM
RustyAxe RustyAxe is offline
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Originally Posted by Silly Moustache View Post
Begging to differ.
No need to beg ...

Quote:
There are some remarkably good sounding Chinese 3/4 double basses available in the UK right now fr less that the equivalent of $1000.

The boards are "ebonised" which wears off quickly, the board under the E string needs flattening work and they need a set up and better strings but they are very loud and sound pretty good.
So ... $150 for new strings, $300 or more for the fingerboard planing and refinish (there is "ebonizing" and then there's just plain black stain/paint), and set up. We're up to $1450. Haven't touched the bridge, tail piece, or cheap end pin yet, either. Those bargain basses are deceptively cheap. Cheap to buy, but expensive to own in the long run.
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  #49  
Old 11-02-2014, 10:36 AM
s2y s2y is offline
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I've been using Rob Allen basses for about 10 years. Easier to play than most acoustic basses, SOLID low B string, and sound amazing through a good amp.
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