Watch The Video Lesson
A few tips about getting your first double bass:
- If you are in school use the school’s bass to get started learning the basics.
- When you’re ready for your own, you can RENT or BUY. (Take an expert with you: Your teacher or a friend who plays bass.)
- Local music instrument stores: Entry level and intermediate basses
- Larger cities should have a violin shop with some basses, or there might even be a bass specialty store.
- Classified ads. Caveat emptor!
Carved or laminated or both?
This is a deeply personal decision with many choices to make. I don’t pretend to be an expert, but I do share my thought process as I made my decisions. In general, there are three construction methods to choose from: A bass that is fully carved which is supposed to have a richer, more complex tone, one that is made of all laminated wood which is supposed to be more durable and for some genres of music where standing on or beating the bass is part of the act this could be a wise choice, or one that uses both carved and laminated wood which is supposed to give you both durability and a better tone than a completely laminated model. After that, you need to choose between new and used and from what country and manufacturer.
My bass is a Samuel Eastman VB-90 hybrid bass. You can watch the video of my review of the Eastman bass in the YouTube clip below.
