More Upright Bass
This page is really part of the Bass Cafe.
We needed more 'room' so we added this Bass 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
$130 each way. It's also cheap to fly RT to Phoenix from just about
everywhere in the US. We also make special accommodations for our
out of town guests. If you really want a great old, upright double
bass, then come out to see us. The little extra money that you pay
in flying out, will easily be made up in the thousands ($) that you
can save here compared to many basses around the country. 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! Lots of recent price drops to make more room in our
facility. All basses are now at much lower 'sale' prices.
'Paul N. Bryant, English 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. Only one bass left now, $13,500!
While these two Bryants have now been sold, we have a terrific
(better!) Gofriller model. This size bass is not for anyone less
than 5-9" in height, but taller and someone that wants a big, full
sounding bass. Please visit the new Romanian
Gofriller bass we have in. These are made better than
the Bryants and sound and play better as well, for $7,500. These
$7,500 basses actually compare quite favorably to the mid ranged
professional basses one sees in the mid $20,000's.
German upright bass
This is a very nice, flat-backed, German upright
bass, possibly by Mǖller
(circa 1920). It has a nice slender taper to the shoulders. With the
upper bouts 19 1/2", the lower bouts, 25 3/4", the back is 42" and
the string length is only 40 7/8. It's a 3/4 size bass, but has a
smaller string length that is very easy to play all the way around.
It's a nice, clean bass which has recently undergone a complete
restoration. $7,000, now
$5,900. Need our
email address?
Robert Tichy, Prague 2000
This bass is a copy of a nice, Czech model and rightly so as the
maker is Czech! The bass was made in Prague in the year 2000
and it is in excellent condition. Robert made the bass in the
truest tradition using the old fashioned ebony peg tuners, flat
back, gamba style tradition. Even the neck goes into the bass
in the same (traditional) dove tail style. Sometimes it is
hard to photograph basses in that flash can cause certain varnish
hues to "pop" more than it would normally. This bass has a
lovely dark, chestnut varnish, though with the super bright light
causes the oranges to come more than normal. A well made bass
too. This is a privately made bass by bass maker/repairman Robert
Tichy that follows the strictest traditions of Czech bass making.
Here, you get a new, "old" bass. All hand made and carved by
the makers hands. This bass makes a great solo or jazz bass
(as most Czech basses do), and aside from a little rippling in the
ribs which is normal, the bass is like new. At the
moment, we have Pirastro Passione strings as the previous owner used
it for a solo bass, but this bass would be great with a set of
medium Thomastik Spirocores and will make a great jazz bass as well.
The price is marked down to sell. Was $6,000, now $4,000.
Zyka, Bohemian bass, c. 1900
This double bass is by an unknown maker, probably
Bohemian (Czech) or Austrian, circa 1890. (It has a 1975 repair
label dating "Zyka, 1975", It has a round carved back and lovely
dark, reddish-brown varnish. The edges are flush on this bass which
would keep with this tradition from basses in Austria as well. It is
in great condition. Length of back 43", upper bouts are 19 1/2",
lower bouts 25" and the string length 41 7/8". This bass plays
evenly throughout all registers with it sloped shoulders, quite easy
to get around on.
$8,000.
$6,500
Come out for a visit. Airfare to Phoenix from just about every city
in the USA is cheap.
Big Upright Bass For Sale, (C.1800)
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. This is bass is sold,
but if you are looking for another big bass, see our Bass Cafe
page: We have a big Mittenwald and a big Neuner & Hornsteiner
bass for sale.
Hungarian upright bass
A Hungarian upright bass by
an unkown maker. Inside the label reads: 'George Luigi
Panormo, anno Budapest'. The bass is at east 20 years
old. It is a smaller 3/4 size bass, with good Rubner, plated tuners
and a nicely carved back. 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 great Jazz bass, with lots of sustain and growl (has medium
Spirocores on it now.)
SOLD
Emanuel 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 have other Wilfer basses to see at our Bass Cafe page, under
Wilfer upright
basses. (Middle of page). We sell Wilfer's nice,
Conservatory model for only $7,000 now on sale.
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 ($3,000)
Often we get good Kays in, so check with us. We now also
offer, fine blonde upright basses (with good ebony fingerboards) for
under $1,500. See our
Thompson upright bass page.
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.
$6,500 Click upright bass to go back
to the Bass Cafe. Also, learn how to ship a bass to you just
to try.
SOLD
Schoenbach upright bass
This is another Schoenbach upright bass, 1910 (i.e.
Czech/German). It has lots of nice character to it's make and tone:
One can trace the purfled cello outline on the back as well as the
front, even though it's still gamba shaped (that is, no violin
corners.) The measurements are upper bouts 20 1/2", lower
bouts 25 1/2", length of back 43 3/4", and the string length is 40
7/8". $7,000 now reduced to
$6,000
Shen plywood, SB80
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.
SOLD
We do usually stock and offer the Shen SB-200,
flat-back willow basses (all hand carved and solid woods used) and a
super nice prices. Please call or
email us to enquire about stock and sales price.
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.
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