Some of the italian basses can range up to $50,000...i'm serious i've seen the prices myself!! even bass bows can range up to $2000....the semi professional ones you can pick up for a couple hundred...me? i gots a Glasser fiberglass French bow that goes for about 35 bucks hee hee...
as far as cheaper basses are concerned, you can get a good student bass for about 1 or 2 grand...but be careful about HOW cheap you go...most student basses are set up poorly and are difficult to play...if this is the case you can get the bridge filed down (don't do it yourself, take it to a professional!!!)...or if you can afford it, get an adjustable bridge put on....
here are 2 ways you can see if the action is set up well...
1. take your pinky and put it between the E string and the fingerboard alllllll the way at the bottom of it...where it sticks out over the body...if your pinky actually fits IN there, the action is too high. file the bridge.
2. the distance between the fingerboard and the strings all the way by the nut should be the width of a playing card...if it's any wider, file down the nut...
if you're buying a bass for like 1 or 2 grand, it will almost definitely be plywood...the carved basses tend to be a SHITLOAD more, and are used more by classical players but are good for jazz too...it's said though that plywood basses have a better pizzicato sound for jazz...an old Kay bass is a pretty standard poor man's upright bass hehehe...
nice sound....or englehardt which is made in the old kay factories....
also the plywood basses respond a little better to humidity changes...in the summer the back of the bass fills up with water and the bass bows foreward, raising the action...once the weather gets cooler and the wood dries out, it pulls the fingerboard back into the strings...with a plywood bass (and an adjustable bridge), there's a little bit less of that....and on that same note, if the air is too dry, it's a good idea to get a pair of dampits...foam rubber tubes that fit in the F holes of the bass (with rubber ends which keep them from falling in hehehe)...fill them with water and squeeze them out first....
hmmmmmmm what else....the strings are important too because if you're going to be playing primarily with your fingers, make sure you don't get classical strings because they will be harder on your fingers...spirocore strings are good, and D'addario makes Helicore Flatwound strings for upright bass...they're like $100 a pack but they should last at least a year if you play regularly including outdoor gigs...
maybe a little more than that.....
ummmmm that's about as much info as i can get at 4 in the morning without looking at a book or something....hope i've helped you out!
-J
