Double Bass Tololoche?

PennyroyalWe

PennyroyalWe

Sep 2, 2018
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Oregon
#1
I’m mostly an electric player, haven’t really played an upright for 11 years, but I’m considering getting one for a few “acoustic only” venues where an acoustic bass guitar won’t cut it. I found someone an hour away selling what they’re calling a tololoche for under $400. From googling it seems like it’s basically a 1/2 upright thats tuned A-C. My question is, are there any real structural differences? I don’t really want to transpose everything, so I’d like tune down to E-G. Will that cause problems beyond needing a set up? At the price point, I’m assuming it’s an inexpensive mass produced bass, and the sale is in the US, which makes me wonder if it may be a 1/2 bass that’s just been used as a tololoche by this person. I’m going to look at it tomorrow. What should I look for? Anything to check for to tell if it’s a 1/2 bass v. a tololoche, or red flags to look for? Any help is much appreciated.
 
#3
Pablojmz said:
The tololoche's bridge is flat. It's not a double bass. You should only get one if you're really into playing Norteñas.
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The bridge looks pretty normal to me?
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#5
Pablojmz said:
Then it's a double bass! In any case unless money or height is a serious issue I wouldn't consider buying a $400 1/2. I doubt it's a good instrument. However, maybe you'll really enjoy it when you try it out. Play it if it pleases you.
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Awesome! I’m excited to try it. I really just need it for some out door jams and farmers market stuff, so the less expensive the better for the abuse it may see.
 
#6
Looks like it really is a Mexican folk instrument. This is what they use if they don’t have a tololoche. You can have a sip of tequila and work on your chicote technique.

The A - C tuning could be ok, that would be like the high C sometimes on a 5 string bass. It may have gut strings. You don’t have to transpose anything, I believe it is tuned in 4ths. So it’s like the middle strings of a guitar but instead of a high B it has C. Super easy to learn. It could sound best in this tuning, and not so great if you go to E-G.

For $400 it could work for your outdoor gigs. If it sounds horrible, as in has zero bass sound, forget it imho.
 
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#9
Steve Boisen said:
That looks more like a Kay or Engelhardt M-3 than a Tololoche.

- Steve
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I’ll never find out. I contacted the seller and told them I’m going to pass. Just too many uncertainties, and I couldn’t get the mrs. on board with the purchase. Doesn’t seem worth the trouble at this moment. Hopefully I’ll find a sub $1000 3/4 size with a little more patience.
 
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#11
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
Definitely an M3. They’re almost acoustically invisible.
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This is part of a compound problem with a BG player buying a cheap DBesque instrument "just for acoustic gigs". Cheap and small basses don't really produce the acoustic projection you need. Add BG technique to that and you're going to need an amp and pickup and you've basically turned it into an electric bass. It might look cool (to the untrained eye), but the BG you had will almost always be a better instrument and you would have played better on it.
 
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#12
That's not a tololoche. As others have said it looks like a half-sized Kay. The tololoches I've seen and messed around on are built more like a cheap classical guitar with an almost "plastic-like" finish on a very thin instrument. By thin I mean the back, top and sides being super-thin and cheap laminate wood. Also it will usually have those multicolored nylon cojunto strings on them, which slap like crazy cause they're super light tension; although I have seen some with clear nylon strings (like weedwacker line strings). I've come across several of these living in South Texas and I have yet to see one that I could consider a nice build. I'm sure there is somewhere in Mexico that makes great tololoches but none of them appear to be North of the border.

If you really want to play double bass, get you a beater laminate/student 3/4 sized bass to start on and a proper teacher. You'll definitely be paying more than $400 but for the most part your band's guarantee will go up from playing the big bass.
 
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#13
Keith Rawlings said:
That's not a tololoche. As others have said it looks like a half-sized Kay. The tololoches I've seen and messed around on are built more like a cheap classical guitar with an almost "plastic-like" finish on a very thin instrument. By thin I mean the back, top and sides being super-thin and cheap laminate wood. Also it will usually have those multicolored nylon cojunto strings on them, which slap like crazy cause they're super light tension; although I have seen some with clear nylon strings (like weedwacker line strings). I've come across several of these living in South Texas and I have yet to see one that I could consider a nice build. I'm sure there is somewhere in Mexico that makes great tololoches but none of them appear to be North of the border.

If you really want to play double bass, get you a beater laminate/student 3/4 sized bass to start on and a proper teacher. You'll definitely be paying more than $400 but for the most part your band's guarantee will go up from playing the big bass.
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I have played upright for some years before, playing in school and youth orchestras and symphonies as well as jazz band through high school and 2 semesters at music school. I stopped after I joined the army and haven’t had the space for an upright since, but I have a good understanding of the fundamentals. It’ll take a while for my technique and muscle memory to come back though. If I can find a 3/4 size, I’d be pleased, but I’m not going to spend more than $1500ish as it won’t be my main player and mostly played outside. A laminate bass with a heavy poly finish would be perfect. I’ll just have to hold out for now.
 
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#15
PennyroyalWe said:
I have played upright for some years before, playing in school and youth orchestras and symphonies as well as jazz band through high school and 2 semesters at music school. I stopped after I joined the army and haven’t had the space for an upright since, but I have a good understanding of the fundamentals. It’ll take a while for my technique and muscle memory to come back though. If I can find a 3/4 size, I’d be pleased, but I’m not going to spend more than $1500ish as it won’t be my main player and mostly played outside. A laminate bass with a heavy poly finish would be perfect. I’ll just have to hold out for now.
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Well then you're ahead of the game. I wish I would have played orchestra in high school and have been a music major in college. If only I could go back...

You can find a decent plywood bass for that amount of money. It's so much fun playing double bass -- you should come back to it. I've had times throughout the years where I've put it down for sometimes months at a time but I always pick it up again and realize just how much I love it. Good luck on the hunt!
 
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#16
IMO, If you're looking for volume and you're mostly playing folk and singer/songwriter, try going three-string and tune it GDG. You'll barely miss the F# down to E. There's a reason it was preferred by bassists for a century, and you could still buy one from Boosey and Hawkes into the 1920s - It's *loud*.
 
#19
TroyK said:
Tuba
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Then I’d HAVE to learn how to play banda. Though, I did play sousaphone for 2 weeks in high school. I played bass in the marching band, but I couldn’t play electric bass in the Memorial Day parade, so I fell in with the sousaphone crowd. Luckily, “Dirty Deeds” and “Life Is A Highway” have simple bass lines haha.
 
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