More beautiful upright basses for sale
This page is really part of the Bass Cafe.
We needed more 'room' so we added the Bistro. It's all the same
menu: Great, old upright basses for sale, Czech, German, French,
English, Italian and Chinese upright basses, with lots of history.
Please feel free to call or email us with more specific questions or
requests and also let us know what you are looking for. We keep
lists of those looking for very specific upright double basses and
many that do come in, never even make it on our page before they are
gone! Don't forget, because we ship so often, we are happy to be
able to ship at affordable rates to almost anywhere in the world. In
the States, it is usually no more than $90 each way. It's also cheap
to fly RT to Phoenix from just about everywhere in the US. We also
make special accommodations for our out of town guests. If you
really want a great an old, upright double bass, then come out to
see us. The little extra money that you pay in flying out, will
easily be made up in the thousands ($) that you can save here. Last
but not least...both professional and serious amateurs are buying
the Wan Bernadel upright double basses.
There is a separate link and page for these basses. They are made in
the same old style tradition of these older basses and sound like
basses which cost 3 times the price!
'Paul N. Bryant, upright double bass, Kidderminster, No.
74, 2008' & No. 89, 2009.
We have two very lovely basses by the contemporary English
maker, Paul Bryant. Both are of his Gofriller models that "work" incredibly well. One bass is numbered #74, 2008 and the other later one, #89 of 2009. We
purposely ordered and imported these basses from him. The Gofriller, by far is his best model. They sound very dark,
deep, are very responsive and quite easy to play on. They
don't sound like a 'new' bass. Over the years we've sold a good
number of his basses and for the most part they have all gone on to
good symphony orchestras and really good players. These basses
which range in the $13,000 range, compare to other contemporary
basses in the $18,000-20,000. Both basses are pretty identical
in appearance, so we show only one in detail here. Both are
made with nicely carved poplar backs and sides and we love the
traditional English style Baker tuners. The top of the back has a
nice break that slopes elegantly into the neck, making this a very
manageable bass to play on in upper registers. (One can see
this more in the photo showing the side of the bass.
Measurements: Upper bouts 20 1/2", lower bouts 27", back 44"
and the string length a nice, 41 1/2". At the moment we have a
nice selection of bigger, professional orchestra type basses in. Be sure to click on any photo shown here for a larger, more
detailed image.
Upright German bass by an unknown maker
This lovely upright bass (unknown maker) is more than likely a
German or Tyrolean bass that is considered at a high level. It
has an elegantly shaped violin outline and a very deep, carved back.
It's a special double bass and would work and perform in any musical setting. It has a nice robust response and tone.
Upper bouts are 19 1/2", the lower bouts 26", the back is 44" and
the string length is 43". This bass has been taken off the
market for now.
Big Upright Bass For Sale (c1800)
We get calls from time to time from folks that want 'that' BIG bass. While I always try to dispel the folklore that big
the biggest basses commensurate the biggest sound....this
actually is the biggest bass and is the deepest, biggest
sounding bass we're ever gotten here at the String Emporium.
It is BIG though. Here's the measurements to prove it:
The upper bouts are 22" apart, the lower bouts, 30", the back
measurements from the bottom edge (middle seam) up to where the neck
heel joins the bass, is 47" and the string length, 44 7/8.
This bass was actually used professionally for a very long time in
the San Francisco Symphony and we attained the bass from that (now
retired) player. He used it exclusively as a 5 string bass
(with low B). We're not sure which direction to go with it
yet: to keep it a 5 or go to the 4 string. It can definitely
use a new bridge, strings and set up, but other than that, the bass
seems fine. More interesting features: The bass has two labels
inside it: One is a repairer's label by Johann Stuber (who was
Dutch) and we've had lots of great, old basses with his repair
labels in them. He must have been very busy in Holland in the
1950's. (The former owner bought this bass in person, while he
was touring Europe in the late 50's.) The other label is my a maker, Fernando Alberti You can tell that both of these
labels have been in this bass for a long, long time and we actually
had to use a long, dry paint brush to sweep all the dust off of them
for the photos. The Alberti label looks older
too. All that we know about Ferdinando is that he worked in
Milan between 1735-1760.
The bass has tons of mysteriousness to it. One rarely sees
this much on or in a bass! The tuners. They're ancient,
but with big gears (look original to the bass.) Also, someone
decided to add some kind kind of inlay in the top two corners of the
upper front bouts. See the photo with the motif on it.
This came after the bass was originally varnished because the wood
is "desturbed" around it. Also, later (the former) owner had a
beautiful thick rosewood fingerboard made for this bass.
(Again, maybe we keep this on, maybe we replace it as most serious
upright players prefer Ebony. Though this is one very special
piece of wood and we ca see leaving it on just as easily.
Many of the word's classiest, biggest instruments were often cut
down generations after the bass was originally made. Lots of
beautiful Italian basses with sloping shoulders (never had sloping
shoulders until someone re-cut and re-styled the bass.) A lot
of these basses were just too ridiculously big to play on.
Most of the time, a bass can completely be re-cut, re-modeled
(especially this one with it's beautiful flat (healthy) back.
A big carved back bass is actually hard to re-cut because
when one wants to shorten the length, the swelled part, will then be
in the wrong part of the bass. With a flat back, there is no
problem at all. There are elements that point to a very old
German idea here (with the shape of the top) but it also has some
very mysterious Italian traits as well. You can click each
photo here for the larger image.
Emmanuel Wilfer Upright double bass
Emanuel Wilfer, upright double bass 2006 (Gentlemen's Jazz) model. This is just a great
bass and while the model name "Gentlemen's Jazz" makes it sound like
it's geared for jazz playing, I am sure that is only a marketing
idea (for lack of better terminology!) It has a nice big sound
(7/8 bass), round carved back and it has a matted type varnish.
Works great in any symphony orchestra! The tuners are the
common side plate type, (engraved Rubners) and the bass in mint
condition and is very competitively priced. The upper bouts
are 2- 1/2" , the lower bouts are 26 1/2" , the length
of the back is 45" with the string length, 42 1/4". Very
attractive price (email
us for that please). This one now SOLD, but we expect more
to come in the coming months.
Hungarian upright bass
A Hungarian upright bass by an unkown maker. Inside the label
reads: 'George Luigi Panormo, anno Budapest'.
The bass is probably 12-15 years. It is a smaller 3/4 size bass and
in great condition. It has good Rubner, plated tuners, a
nicely carved back and it is in excellent condition. The upper
bouts measure 19 3/4", the lower bouts 25 1/2", the back is 43 1/2"
and the string length 41" A nice bass for the money.
Kay, M-1 double bass
M-1 Kay upright bass. (American, circa
1950-60, serial number inside reads #37,439) This
double bass is by far the most beautiful Kay we have
ever seen! It is in really exceptional condition. There
are no scratches, no worn edges. There is something very
special about Kay basses, but when you get one in that was so well
preserved, it stops you in your tracks. (Boy, if I had a time
machine...big enough to fit me and one bass!) Upper bouts 19
3/4", lower bouts 26", length of back, 44" and the string length is
41 1/2". SOLD Often we get good Kays in, so check with
us.
Hungarian, 'Grancino' upright bass
This bass is a copy of a rare Grancino (Italian)
upright bass. It has a beautiful transparent varnish that is
found on some of the best made basses. It has the super, sloped
shoulder and narrow shoulders making it extremely easy to get
around. The bass is very well made and enjoys beautifully flamed
wood. It has the flat back style construction with long violin
corners. This one is SOLD. See more basses at the Bass Cafe.
Are you looking for a new case to ship your bass in? We sell the
new Tuff-Lite bass cases. We predict that soon these will be the predominate
bass flight case in the world. (They are incredibly nice cases.)
The Mystery Upright bass
We call this the 'Mystery upright bass' because it
was made by two different makers. For one, the top and sides are
extremely old (circa 1850). Lovely arched and made by someone's
incredibly gifted hands. Then, the neck and the back are definitely
newer but still made at a very high level. Maybe in the last 10-20
years or so. Overall the bass is in excellent condition and a newly
French polish throughout that makes it almost impossible to take
pictures! It is a very lovely bass though and has a great sound:
Even with the brighter Spirocore strings, it has a very focused
cushion of sound! It appears to be a Viennese or Bohemian style. Here to go back to the Bass Cafe
About the Shen hybrid upright basses: Are you thinking
about getting a Hybrid bass (in the $2,500 range). Email us here, as we are about to get some other very
remarkable basses in this price range.
This is the Shen SB80 plywood bass. It is
well made sturdy bass. This we sell them for an affordable
$1,350. If you are looking for a good, cheap plywood bass, then
please check our Basses Under
$3k page.
When comparing prices, make sure you compare 'apples to apples'
whenever possible. You'll find that our prices (by far) are the very
best in the country. Some differ by as much as 40% or less on a
bass.
|
