Buy 2nd bass to practice set-up/repair?

[Stev187]

Short question: I am *casually* considering the purchase of an inexpensive Romanian bass to fix up and use as a second instrument. Here it is:

http://elderly.com/vintage/items/110U-5884.htm

I have a playable instrument, and this would be a second instrument that I could "practice" doing set up/repair on with the goal of having it as a second bass or unloading it after it's in decent shape.

What do you think?

--Steve

Longer story: This bass is for sale at Elderly Instruments, a great music store in Michigan where I used to work between college and grad school. Elderly mostly sells fretted instruments and fiddles, but they occasionally get a bass in and sell it as-is. They don't restore or do major repairs on string basses. Most often the basses they get come in on trades toward other instruments. I can't say enough good things about Elderly--if you're into vintage guitars, mandos, banjos, etc. there is no better store on the planet. They don't claim to be a hot place for basses.

Well, back in 1992 I purchased a bass from Elderly, and it was in much worse shape than this one. It was a "diamond in the rough," and when I say rough I mean very rough. We've been talking about that bass on this thread:

Czech factory bass (B&J Salvadore De Durro)

I don't think the recent Romanian bass is anything like my Czech factory bass, but I thought it might be cool to try to learn to do some limited set up and repair in my own shop. Frankly, I need this project like I need a hole in the head, so don't feel badly about talking me out of it. Don't feel badly if you see the bass and decide to buy it.

[Jsn]

Steve, when you say "I need this project like I need a hole in the head," you're telling us everything we need to know.

You already have a hobby: it's called playing the bass, not fixing one up. If you want to become a luthier, apprentice yourself to one. If you want to somehow circumvent luthiers in the future...well, just remember that your bass had amateur repairs to it when you got it (remember that finish?), and what unlocked its potential was investing in professional work.

(Also, you have a sweet bass. Enjoy it.)

[Stev187]

Amen to that. So, consider this thread me letting TB peeps know about this $450 fixer-upper in Michigan. I'm going to stop thinking about it and use that time (and the time I would have spent dinking around with it) on practicing again! Oh, and I'll spend the $ on some lessons. Thanks, Jsn.

[MK1]

What do you guys think repairs on something like this would cost?

[PaulCannon]

Are they sure it's Romanian? The shape, varnish, tuners, and the bolted tailwire all say Christopher to me. Those sell new for maybe $1800, and some of them sound pretty good for factory-made plys.

The neck repair looks awful, but if it's solid then maybe just some serious touch-up would suffice. The open seam is not a big deal at all. From the photos, the bridge looks like it was never thinned down. If it's a Christopher, I'd replace the bridge immediately. Likewise, that end pin is a piece of junk.

If anyone takes a serious look at the thing, definitely have a double bass specialist look it over. $450 would be a great deal if the neck is ok.

[Stev187]

Originally Posted by PaulCannon

Are they sure it's Romanian?

Can't be certain they're sure, but my guess is it says something inside, otherwise they'd say "unknown." Again, they don't really work on basses, and my guess is that this one (like most of the basses you see there) came in on a trade. If you call them--toll free, btw--they will describe the bass and answer questions. Don't expect a bass luthier on the other end of the phone, though. You might learn enough to see if it was worth the trip. Again, if you like vintage fretted instruments and trad/roots recordings & books, there are only 2 or 3 shops in the world like Elderly. You wouldn't be wasting a trip even if the bass wasn't what you were looking for.

[ynot]

I double that on elderly. Their #1 Martin dealer because they are a great company