I agree, Scott. Tone does matter. In my case, the hybrid is much better than the Kay. I was just noting that it is all so subjective.
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I played a mid century era juzek at a shop a while back, the thing looked nice but it just sounded a little dull and un-inspiring, not real loud.
I almost bought a Shen sb-150 this weekend, it was at a shop that I happened to stop in on a whim after an eye checkup...my pupils were dilated, seemed like a great deal for $1200. It sounded pretty nice, reminded me of my sb-200 I used to have. I went back to probably buy and noticed (my eyes were working better now) that the neck had been reset and the button had been broken. The bridge was on backwards and it had a stamp from a shop in N.C., I ended up passing...
I went home and played my old ugly german bass from maybe around 1900, a big boomy son of a gun with gut G and D strings and I thought why am I looking at basses. Just put a new neck on this bass...
I played a shen sb-88 in a different shop here, it sounded really awesome.
I played an old American Standard a few years ago in a guitar store and I definitely have one of those on my radar now.
I really want to play an sb-190.
I played an sb-180 at a shop in Tenn. and the shop smelled really herbal. I remember talking with the shop guy for a long time, played an old Kay that sounded great, pretty big and puffy and also we passed the sb-180 back and forth and talked played for a while. I left that shop thinking I should get an sb-180. lol.
Really, I think the best thing is to just try to play as many basses as you can get your hands on and find one that speaks to you. Different players want different characteristics, so you really have to play basses and figure out what you're looking for. If you're not too picky and want reliability and playability, find a shop that does good setup work and just get something with a good reputation, something you can trust and work on your playing...
An Upton hybrid and a Hofner flatback have stolen my heart, since they both were floor shaking basses under the bow, much better than many-many fully carved basses. Speaking for pizz playing i'd like a Christopher hybrid set up by Jonas in Lando Musik or a Strunal 5/21, since they both can stand unplugged in a small combo and deliver this old school deep, warm sound.
Just piling on here about the New Standards. I have a Cleveland hybrid and it's better, at least for jazz, than any of the many carved basses I had before and many other basses I've tried. As a bonus it's much lighter than you'd expect it to be. Just a totally awesome sound and feel.
Thought I'd chime in and mention my mid century Benedikt Lang hybrid bass, which I'm pretty high on right now. Now, this bass didn't start out as great as it's become, but it's the bass I upgraded to over 10 years ago, back when I knew much less about the intricacies of bass set up, construction, etc. Due to some shoddy repairs that were done prior to my acquiring it, I finally had Keiran O'Hara install a new neck about a year ago. In addition to this, he corrected a number of things about the geometry and setup (as in neck and fingerboard angles, both break angles and literally installing the new neck so that the fingerboard was straight when looked at from the front, which it hadn't quite been before). Whereas in the past the D and G strings felt quite tight, my bass is now wearing a full set of Kaplan heavies and still feels nice and loose (the heavy tension aspect is just right). To top it off, I recently upgraded to a fantastic Les Korus bow, which of course makes a huge difference... this thing roars now. I can hear myself loud and clear within the bass section, and have gotten comments from others about how well they can hear me. Prior to the new neck, I'd almost kind of written the bass off, but now I can't stop playing it!
A solid, well setup hybrid with a great top + a high level bow =
A solid, well setup hybrid with a great top + a high level bow =
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okcrum
in your chest
I played Thompson hybrids in Phoenix and was going to drive to Albuquerque to play an Upton, but found a nice Krutz hybrid in Flagstaff.
I have a 2008 upton hybrid superswing
To my ear it sounds really nice and is very comfortable to play. My 1st hybrid and I am very happy. Yes, try to play a lot of basses.
They are all different!
Good luck
Bigbassguy
To my ear it sounds really nice and is very comfortable to play. My 1st hybrid and I am very happy. Yes, try to play a lot of basses.
They are all different!
Good luck
Bigbassguy
I play a Shen SB 180 and it's a great bass! It's the first bass I've owned and it really has served me well in my undergrad studies and performing around socal. I've had it for 3 years and the sound has definitely opened up a lot and it regularly turns heads when people hear it and find out what it is.
"I played Thompson hybrids in Phoenix and was going to drive to Albuquerque to play an Upton, but found a nice Krutz hybrid in Flagstaff."
there should be a country and western tune set to this somewhere, no?
there should be a country and western tune set to this somewhere, no?
Too bad about Glen Campbell. This would have fit right in with Phoenix, Wichita, Galveston, then Albuquerque.
I've owned my 5/8th's Mirecourt bass since I was in college. It was likely built for pit orchestras
It has a laminate back
Since this instrument is from the early 1900's, apparently hybrids have been around for a while.
It has a laminate back
Since this instrument is from the early 1900's, apparently hybrids have been around for a while.
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