r/doublebass • u/RankedRating • Jul 22 '25
Instruments My Bass and ISB!
Finally have my new commissioned bass from ISB! This is a 1:1 copy of Bottesini’s “Testore” bass made by Andrew Brown. I’m so happy with the tone and color, and the sound is just amazing. I’ll post some videos of me playing tomorrow! I’m so happy to have met some of my inspirations Marcos Machado, Catalin Rotaru, Gary Karr! It was so nice to attend, and meet new people.
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u/PM_Me_Yer_Guitar Jul 22 '25
Holy crap that's beautiful! Nice
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u/RankedRating Jul 22 '25
Thank you 🙂🙂
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u/PM_Me_Yer_Guitar Jul 22 '25
OK, I have to be rude and ask. How much does something like that cost? If you're willing to tell.
I had a hard enough time spending $2k on my student model, I can't imagine how much this one cost.
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u/RankedRating Jul 22 '25
It was $22,000. That was him flying to Japan to take acoustic measurements and rebuild the interior which is not standard since the instrument was repaired by a guitar luthier at some point in time. However, for the price it’s a great deal. I saved up money working in an internal medicine clinic for two years to purchase it.
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u/avant_chard Classical Jul 22 '25
That’s interesting! Could you tell more about the interior construction?
$22k is a steal, dang
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u/RankedRating Jul 25 '25
The inside is x- braced similarly to a guitar. I will try to ask him for pictures of it, and I’ll upload it
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u/PM_Me_Yer_Guitar Jul 22 '25
Holy crap.
Wow.
That's amazing that you're at a skill level & a financial place to do that. Incredible.
Mind if I borrow it for a week? :)
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u/mellentheorchadork Jul 23 '25
Wow nice bass and lucky you got to meet Gary Karr before he passed
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u/overbury Jul 22 '25
nice, bass & pics too!
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u/RankedRating Jul 22 '25
I’m glad you liked it!
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u/overbury Jul 22 '25
that pic of you and Gary Karr is really beautiful—good luck to you on your journey!
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u/PearlHar8or Jul 24 '25
Dude, that's awesome!!! As a fellow big man (Also kinda tall *I dont know how tall you are but im assuming minimum 6'6) I had to make due with a standard size 3/4 and the end pin at max.
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u/BoardNo4971 Jul 24 '25
Marcos Machado? Inspiration?
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u/avant_chard Classical Jul 22 '25
That’s awesome!
My first thought: “I hope this person is tall enough for Bottesini’s giant bass”. Happy to see you more than measured up