Westbury Double Bass - #2749

Tell me about the Westbury Bass:

At UK £2600-00 the Westbury bass represents absolutely astonishing value for money - for not only is it made from figured maple and good quality spruce it is completely handmade and hand finished.

It looks like a really nice manageable model:

Yes - this is a really well thought out, well-designed instrument that will suit a huge number of up and coming players whatever their size and shape.

What does this mean in terms of playability:

The nicely raked shoulders mean that this is a very easy instrument to get around while aluminium bridge adjusters mean that you can set the strings as high or as low as you like.

What else do I get for my money?

The Westbury bass sports a pretty decent range of fittings including;

i ) An ebony fingerboard, top nut and bottom saddle.

ii) A very functional set of machines-heads set on brass half-plates

iii) A 'factory' maple bridge fitted with aluminium height adjusters.

iv) A choice of Daddario Orchestral, Hybrid or Pizzicato strings.

v) A boxwood or fruitwood tailpiece with high-tension steel tailwire.

vi) A smooth action endpin with brass key.

vii) A 12mm padded cover with shoulder straps, bow pocket, accessory pocket and large music pocket.

Tell me something about the sound quality:

The Westbury bass carries plenty of power coupled with a certain richness of timbre and fullness of tone. The quality of sound is remarkably clean, there is good evenness across the strings and overtones can clearly be heard. In other words you could say 'pretty impressive'.

I can see it's a neatly made Strad outline instrument and I'm really intrigued to know where it originates?

You would be completely forgiven if you thought that this precisely made, hand carved Westbury bass was produced in a top European workshop. This is because very, very few people are aware that these same high standards are now being matched throughout factories in China. Yes – that's right, incredible as it may seem the Westbury instruments have been imported all the way from China. The only difference is not in terms of quality but in terms of the price. We all know that labour costs in China are incredibly low. Had the Westbury bass been made in Europe it would undoubtedly be at least double the price it is here. The question to ask yourself is - how long can this sort of pricing be sustained?

How about a final summary?

The Westbury bass is a really nice instrument to play. It looks good, it feels good and the sound is good too. This is an exceptional instrument at a really excellent price.

Stats:

LOB (length of back) - 111.3cm (43.76in)
Width across upper bouts - 52.2cm (20.15in)
Width across middle bouts - 37.4cm (14.75in)
Width across lower bouts - 66.5cm (26.15in)
Depth of lower ribs inc both plates- 22.6cm (8.85in)
Body Stop - 59.4cm (23.40in)
String length - 104.6cm (41.18in)

Price: £2 600-00 - Convert price with XE.com Personal Currency Assistant

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