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price for a contrabass?

65K views 19 replies 16 participants last post by  milandro 
#1 ·
What would one expect to spend if they wanted to buy a contrabass these days (new and used)?
 
#12 ·
I played a Tubax -- someone had brought his personal horn (the only one in Southern California, he claimed) to NAMM 2010. It was on a stand at the Oleg booth, and I had a bari mouthpiece with me, so I gave it a shot. Figuring out where to put my right hand took a while, but after that it was easy. It's not difficult to play at all -- it behaves a lot like a bari but sounds an octave lower. I was even able to play altissimo on it within the first couple minutes. The only real technique accommodation to be made is that a second octave key has to be used to get the palm keys (and beyond) to respond properly. Unfortunately, it seems to hit maximum volume at about mezzo-forte. It played as expected up to that point, but no matter how hard I huffed and puffed, it just wouldn't emit any more sound.

Aaron Drake got to play it later and noted the same thing. His brother was shooting video on his phone and I have been waiting for him to post it on his site, but so far no luck.

In any case, I'd pay the slightly higher price for a full-size bore contrabass despite the ease of handling of the Tubax. The loss of power was just too severe.
 
#4 ·
The best contrabass saxophone ever made is currently available from Benedikt Eppelsheim. It has a low A key, making it technically the largest saxophone ever made, and It is a truly great instrument. Eppelsheim also makes the Tubax, a compact contrabass sax.

Think along the lines of 30 grand for the true contrabass, but they are getting cheaper as the dollar improves in value.

http://www.eppelsheim.com/
 
#9 ·
I have read the article on Internet and I agree with you that the price of an old contrabass is about 3000 USD. I think that it is too expensive. If you want to own a contrabass to play yourself, you don't need to buy a expensive one. You should buy a normal one. I remember it costs approximately 1000 USD.
Only on SOTW. First we have a response from one of the few people who really knows these monsters and then a post from the totally clueless.

Great playing on the Eppelsheim site, Randy.
 
#5 ·
If you can get extremely lucky, you could find one of the original contrabasses somewhere (there are very, very, very few and by that I mean about 15 on the planet) however they would cost a ton of money but are worth the sound. Chances are they would cost as much as the newer ones made by Orsi or Eppelsheim. Either way, it could be anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 USD
 
#13 ·
I can’t agree with what you describe about your Tubax experience. I play a Tubax and a Bass Sax (made by Eppelsheim). Compare to the conventional Bass or Contrabass the Tubax has a of cource a different sound. The dynamic range is the same. Maybe it is due to the bari mouthpiece used while trying it. I recommend a more open or wide bari mpc, e.g. Vandoren B 75 or Rosseau JDX7 respectivly JDX8. So you get a really powerful, centred sound dependent on your embouchure. Listen to players like Steffen Schorn, Randy Emerick or Alexander Reffgen (Cologne Saxophone Quintet). You always need time to explore the abilities of an instrument. And you know Eppelsheim manufacture the best low sax-intruments on planet. They intonate correctly and give the player an incredible colour of sound. For myself it took me some time to adjust to the bass sax. Eppelsheim manufacture a fine instrument with a big bore.You need a good balancing between you embouchure and the midriff. But then you will be rewarded with a bass sound wich is warm, fat and full of splendid overtones. The Tubax is a little easier to play in the beginning (because of the bore) and has its own characteristics and opportunities in the field of music. It is awesome. You can play it very loud. Give it an another try!
 
#14 ·
I agree with Loops. The Eppelsheim contrabass has a bigger sound in that it has more depth. However, the Tubax can use any baritone sax mouthpiece and it plays very well, even with a high baffle mouthpiece. The stock Tubax mouthpiece when I bought mine was a middle of the road Zinner baritone piece with a medium tip. With a Rousseau JDX8 bari piece, the Tubax may cut through a loud ensemble evn better than the conventional contra.
 
#16 ·
Hi, it was just a Vandoren not a Zinner. I found that my HSM was more expressive and powerful, but I might be bias about it, since I co-operate with HSM designs. Anyway I liked the way they blended and also it was great to play some old Be-Bop stuff (Donna Lee, Confirmation and so on...) on that Tubax. I really enjoyed it.

Stan
 
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