Buying a double bass...

[Jack Vogel]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

The best way to judge the quality of a Bass in my opinion is with a Bow playing orchestral works. This is the most demanding array of sounds demanded of a bass. Playing Pizz with an Amp is no way to judge quality. The better the Orchestral capabilities, the more valuable the Bass is. You can plug in just about any 'table top' with Spiros on it and sound acceptable for Jazz but acoustic Orchestra Bowing is where we separate the Men from the Boys Bass-wise, and player wise on occasion..lol

Absolutely, I was sold in a minute on my Hungarian bass listening to
my luthier play some Bach passages on it, not only sold me on the
instrument, but was also a life changing sorta event, it convinced me
I had to learn THAT art, the bow is itself an instrument and subtle
brush that can touch the soul like nothing else.

Jack