what "schools" of bass playing are there?

[Joel Larsson]

I'm writing a master's thesis on the subject... not for the fun of, mind you, but I need my credits, and might as well do something valuable while I'm at it. So, in order to get other people's views on which schools of classical DB playing there are, I'm asking the members of this honored society. Is there such a thing as a German, Viennese, American, French, Italian, English, even Spanish school of playing? What would you say are the characteristics of each school you list, and what performers would make a good example as someone who's coming from this or that particular school? Have you had any first hand personal experience of any of these schools, and, in that case, what can you tell us about the teaching method, which methods or etudes etc. are used, would you say that there is more or less focus on solo or orchestral playing, on individual or group lessons? Are there any typical recurring remarks that you will hear?

Any help would be much appreciated.