LeftyBassist.com

Hey guys, I'm getting an Engelhardt upright it looks like. These get great reviews and seem pretty nice, way better than CCB's on eBay, which I thought I had resigned myself to getting because of my lefty-ness.

Getting it from Fretwell.

Scroll down to the EM-1 Maestro. That's the one I'm going to snag. Anyone here ever tried one?

http://www.fretwellbass.com/index.php?cPath=22

looks great !!!

after having a cheap righty upright where I just turned the bridge and strunged it the lefty way (I know it's not good) - I'm also thinking of buying a true lefty upright.

Thanks for the link and good luck

Good looking bass for the price. I hope it plays well, but more importantly, sounds good no matter what the price! Let us know, or course, what you think of it once you've had a chance to "feel" it out...

Looks great. I assume you got the brown finish? Are they readily available, or do they have to order a lefty from Engelhardt? Lead time? And are they going to set it up for you too?

Lots of questions, but I'm very curious how these basses hold up. The price is certainly right.

They will set up. A bass is on the way to them, then they will call me. They happened to have one on order but don't keep stock. Not sure how long I will wait. I'll keep everyone posted.

If you guys don't already know...I'm a string bass repairman in Reno, Nevada. I'm lefty, as well. I have worked on hundreds of Kay's and Engelhardt basses...they are quite similar. Kay was purchased by Robert Engelhardt in 1969. There are differences, but the basic design was pretty damn good, beginning in 1937, and the design was retained.

These basses are excellent in two regards...the company makes plenty of replacement parts- fingerboards, necks, tuners, endpins, tailpieces, and the other fittings...if you break one really bad- you are going to be able to get parts easily. The other thing is how strong they are. The dovetail neck joint, and strongly laminated plates make these GREAT utility basses for students, band players, and schools. A LOT of rockabilly and bluegrass players use them. I have re-barred them, reset a LOT of necks, and done plenty of upgrade work.

My advice- have a qualified bass repair person scrape the finish off the fingerboard, and plane it correctly for the STRINGS, and STYLE of music you are going to play. The flatsawn bridge they supply with their new basses is the single worst part on them. That bridge will warp fairly quickly, and I recommend the Lemur A-1333B adjustable bridge- once again, cut and fitted by a luthier familiar with the low overstand (shallow neck angle)
of these basses. That is first and foremost. You can get away with the stock bridge for a time, but you'll see what I mean pretty soon.

Hey Matt! Good luck with your new bass!

Awesome. Thanks for the info!

By the way, I'm buying from Fretwell. This is what they have on their site as far as how they set up the basses before they ship:

A set of Innovation Strings of your choice
Sound Post set, replaced, or refitted as needed
Bridges are German Quarter Sawn Maple (not a slab cut bridge that tends to warp)
Custom string action or height per your specifications
Fingerboard is dressed or planed to eliminate any buzzing throughout register
All Basses are test played prior to shipping

I will definitely get them to install an adjustable bridge though.

Good luck with your new bass, I am sure that you are going to enjoy it. I bought an Engelhardt Upright in 1992, Model ES-1. It is a righty with the strings reversed. I put an upgraded bridge with adjusters several years later and had the neck planed. I have used it for years as an option to my electric bass and recently in a local community orchestra with a bow. I upgraded my strings to a set of Obligatos (pricey but worth it!) and am more than pleased with my sound. There are plenty of great options for transducers/mics to amplify the bass. Mine has been a great workhorse with no issues for nearly 20 years. A lefty setup, with the sound board and post correctly positioned, should sound even better under the bow!! Enjoy................

Can anyone tell me what the finishes are like on these basses? Are they really heavy, glossy, etc?

They are most likely some sort of industrial grade lacquer, fairly thick....but not overly so. I have over sprayed repaired areas with nitrocellulose lacquer, for a long time, and have had no compatibility issues whatsoever.