the most important thing with a double bass is to find out if it's a laminate or solid top instrument .....if it's solid top .......even if it has splits that are repaired and beat up it's worth a lot more than a laminate one............ i have seen and played some double basses that are so beat up from decades on the road and suffered a few splits ect but if they solid top they sound great .........
and obviously another tip is like guitar ...if you gonna want to play the bass..invest in real good double bass strings (they damn pricy ) but they can make the difference in the tonal nuances...cheap strings are fine if you just want that "thump" sound .......
and of course make sure the bridge is well seated to the top ..... they not too expensive to replace but if you do get someone to carve the underside to fit the top snugly cos the basses can vary in arch of top ....
and if you want to learn to play with a bow ....... also toss the old one and get a new top end one ........ and to make life more interesting even bows come in different styles either traditionally the french or german bow BUT now they making high tech carbon fiber ones too even fiberglass ones........ ?
below is a link i found to explain the differences in bows......... i'm just too lazy to type it all out ...but it's helpful and important to understand if you own a double bass
http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/2014-BOWS_DOUBLE_BASS_BOW_CHOICES_A_BUYER_S_GUIDE.html
? least with a double bass one never has to worry about a fret dress or re fretting it ?
and a great tip is if you want to learn to play it yourself ......... i'm sure the bass came with a standard length end pin ......... see if the end pin retracts deep enough so you can sit and play with it only sticking out about 10 - 20 cm ...........makes rehearsing less tiring on the legs if you sit and rehearse ?
enjoy ...........
here's some ear candy to get you motivated ......." AND IT'S JUST DOUBLE BASS AND VOICE " love it ...such an 'organic/soulful" instrument and the joy is when you play a full size double bass(not a modern stick bass like the NS design ones) you feel each note vibrate through your whole body .......
she's hot and current but my all time favourite double bassist is still Ray brown (and the one i'd advise aspiring double bassists to listen to ) d
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