Chadwick Folding Bass

[Jeremy Darrow]

I've seen a few at Dustin Williams' shop that were in for normal repairs, though I have not played one. Dustin told me that he has never had to repair any of the moving parts, but there do seem to be a lot of things in there that could work loose and rattle.

Bub has one and I think that he really likes it. I've been thinking about getting one as well, it seems like a great option for the road. That said, I hate to be an early adopter of anything. So, I'll probably wait a little longer before buying one.

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by Jeremy Darrow

I've seen a few at Dustin Williams' shop that were in for normal repairs, though I have not played one. Dustin told me that he has never had to repair any of the moving parts, but there do seem to be a lot of things in there that could work loose and rattle.

Bub has one and I think that he really likes it. I've been thinking about getting one as well, it seems like a great option for the road. That said, I hate to be an early adopter of anything. So, I'll probably wait a little longer before buying one.

I believe that Charlie took Mike Bub's to Folk Alliance, so I played it for a while there. And I've played one of the earlier versions. I didn't know if it's still primarily a Nashville thing, or if it's spread around...

[Brian Casey]

I saw Paul Unger (Ft Worth Symph.) play one in Portland OR at a bass event. He's tuning in 5ths and it's his travel bass now. He hadn't had it long, but seemed to be sold on it. Nobody in the room knew it was a folding bass until he talked about it, then when asked he demonstrated it.

It's funny because my primary duo/trio partner just suggested that I look at getting a travel bass of some kind, and less than a week later, I was introduced to the Chadwick. To make the universe really allign, I just found out my Christopher 401, which had been on consignment since Spring, just sold for pretty much my asking price.

I think a Chadwick is in my very near future, but I would like to hear from more people who have actually played them. I didn't know how close I was to buying one, so I didn't play Paul's. (Not to mention I would have probably been too preoccupied with the 5ths tuning to really give it a fair shake.)

The one thing that I'm not sure about is that Paul had his action REALLY low, which isn't really my preference, and there was a fair amount of string noise and flappnig about of strings. I think that was more set up and strings (Thomastick Red Mitchell set) than the bass itself.

If anyone knows of a Chadwick in the NW US that I might be able to try out, I'd really appreciate it.

brian

[Dave Martin]

Originally Posted by Brian Casey

If anyone knows of a Chadwick in the NW US that I might be able to try out, I'd really appreciate it.
brian

I'd suggest that you give Charlie a shout - he should know of any up in your part of the country, or he might be able to hook you up with one of the guys who tours with one and will be passing through...

If I found a buyer for my Juzek, I think I'd go ahead and move to the Chadwick Folding Bass. My fall holds lots of tour dates that will be a bit awkward for an acoustic bass...

[John Hebert]

It's 2015 now..can anyone comment on The CFB? Im hearing mostly from luthiers David Gage, Bill Merchant, Will from NAS that I shouldn't buy it. That it makes noise after a while and that Ill be disappointed. Comments?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by John Hebert

It's 2015 now..can anyone comment on The CFB? Im hearing mostly from luthiers David Gage, Bill Merchant, Will from NAS that I shouldn't buy it. That it makes noise after a while and that Ill be disappointed. Comments?

My friend here in Philly owns an old English bass, a modern Italian bass and an old Austrian bass. For travel, he now has a CFB and loves it. He is a pro and knows what a good bass is.

[Eric Hochberg]

I have no personal experience with them, but my luthier told me he has worked on two, and they both creaked like an old boat.