Austrian School - FAT BOY

basswraith · #1 08-03-2006, 10:11 PM

Here is an interesting bass I have in my shop. It was made by Edhard Hiedeggar in Linz Austria 1883. It is a 3/4 size bass with deep ribs. Rib depth = 9.25". Total thickness of the sides are 9.75" There is no over hang around the edges so the top plates and the ribs are flush. Its a Fat boy.
It has the great big Viennese Scroll with the old hat peg tuners.
Its getting a new FB and a bridge. Might make a kick ass Jazz bass. It already sounds pretty good as is. Will be for sale in late August.
Any one else have an instrument from Austria? They made some great basses. Ludwig Striecher played a Posche I think. The Viennese had a great tradition of bass building. I would like to learn more about it.

Andy Allen · #2 08-03-2006, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by basswraith

Here is an interesting bass I have in my shop. It was made by Edhard Hiedeggar in Linz Austria 1883. It is a 3/4 size bass with 4/4 size rib depth. Rib depth = 9 3/4". Its a Fat boy.
It has the great big Viennese Scroll with the old hat peg tuners. There is no over hang around the edges.

That's a very nice looking bass - how does the extra rib depth affect the sound? I imagine it has a big sound to match it's 'bigness'

, but does it suffer from a slower response?

Steve Kossica has an interesting-looking 'probably-Austrian' bass on his site here (it's the sixth bass down)

- it also has flush edges, but the ribs are nowhere near as deep and it has a normal scroll.

Shoot us some more pictures when the renovations are finished - or how about some sound clips for the "Recordings" forum.

Andy

basswraith · #3 08-03-2006, 11:29 PM

This bass has been in a dormant stage for a little while but Its waking up. In terms of sound its ok and the sustain of the pizz are getting better the more its played. My plans are to change the way FB projects off the neck to give it a taller bridge... around 6 1/2". I think the real sound will come out after that, along with some playing. Now, its got an "old school" set up / very short bridge - 5", and very low over stand with an old maple FB. I am hoping just a little more tension will give me the sound I want. The Jazz players that have come by are in love with it so far and it has really been grabbing peoples eye when they see how thick it is.
Is the extra rib depth helping? I don't know. There are plenty of basses out there that sound just fine with out
9.25" thick sides. There is another thread close by that entertains that subject.
Ill try to get some more pics soon. Thanx