I am a professional upright bass player, living and working in Nashville TN for the last 12 years. Much of a musician's work in Nashville involves travel, and like so many other traveling upright players, I had to figure out how to get an instrument to my out-of-town gigs. The options were to accept the expense and risk of taking my own bass, borrow or rent a bass at my destination, or take one of the various "travel" basses, none of which are standard acoustic basses.
Dissatisfied with these choices, I modified one of my basses in 2003 to make it easier to take on the road. I joined the John Jorgenson Quintet in 2004, and took this modified bass on hundreds of road dates, traveling around the US, Europe and Asia. I was constantly changing and improving the design to make the bass sound and play better, be more road-worthy, and quicker to pack and set up. It wasn't until 2007 that I was satisfied that I had achieved all these objectives. I bought a new Shen bass, modified it to my final design, and applied for a patent. I chose a Shen because of it's sound, appearance and value.
In January 2008, I got to meet Samuel Shen while playing with the Quintet at the Winter NAMM, and I showed him my modified Shen SB-100. I was a little nervous of what he might think of the "chopped" bass, but he was enthusiastic about the design, and I soon visited his factory in Suzhou, China. I was impressed by his dedication to quality, and his factory's production capabilities. He agreed to make the folding basses for me, and after nearly a year of planning and testing, the first Chadwick Folding Basses started arriving in February 2009.
The bass is a regular ¾ plywood acoustic bass, with a solid ebony fingerboard, violin corners, and a rich oil varnish, indistinguishable from any standard acoustic bass. Because it is a true acoustic bass, you can mic it or use your favorite pickup. The contoured hard shell flight case has foam and liner inside, and is covered in canvas with recessed wheels. The packed case weighs under 50lbs. With a little practice, the bass can be set up or folded ready for shipping in less than 2 minutes. Once packed, you check it just like a piece of luggage. When you get to your gig, you have your bass, your pickup, your strings, your action and scale, and a beautiful bass that you're proud to play.
The price of this bass with hard case is $3599 plus shipping. The bass comes professionally set up, ready to take to a gig, with an installed set of strings and an adjustable bridge. You'll get an instructional video that shows step by step how to set it up and pack it for shipping. It is my belief that you'll find this instrument easy to set up and a pleasure to play, but if for any reason you are not completely satisfied with the bass, you can ship it back to me within 7 days of receiving it for a full refund, you pay only the shipping.
If this is something that you could use, send me an email and I'll arrange to get one to you.
Featured in International Musician May 2009 Cool Tools