Germany East Upright Bass

[melvunne]

I recently bought a Germany East Upright Bass and was curious if anyone out there is familiar with this particular Bass,when they were made,if they still make them,I'd like to know what year it is,it looks like from the wear on it ,it may date back to the 60's,70's or as early as the 50's.I put some spirocore Thomastik strings on it,Do they make all gut strings or is it usually onlt the d and the g strings? If anyone has info, I'd like to hear from you. Thanks,Melvunne

[littlebill]

I've had my Germany East bass since 2002 and have not been able to find out anything about it, evidently they are few and far between. I've seen one on ebay a few years ago and Rhonda Vincent's mom has one that looks exactly mine with the finish that is flaking (serious flaking over the years) off of it. I talked to her and Mickey (Rhonda's bass player) last year and they confirmed it was indeed the same make. Yours is the 4th that I am aware of now. I bought mine at a music store in Melbourne, Fla.

My bass has a little sticker on the inside that says Germany East and a serial number 50375 written in pencil that looks like it was written through the F hole and in talking to luthiers and others regarding the age, my guess is that maybe the 50 indicates a 1950 model, who knows.

I'll tell you that my bass out performs any of the Kays and Engleharts around here that most people are using. It is a well made instrument, even the purfling is carved and not painted. I'm a bluegrasser and use gut G and D and supernil for the E and A. I had gut E and A that were wound and since I couldn't keep them oiled, they broke way too soon so went back to the supernils. The bass has opened up a lot since I started playing and I get a loud, full booming sound on every string that gets a lot of attention when I am at a jam or festival.

I was thinking about trying to re-finish the bass a couple of years ago and posted some inquiries here at TalkBass. I pretty well got talked out of it simply because the bass had opened up so well and doing anything would likely change things and not for the better as far as the sound. I really appreciated the ability to ask that question and the responses I got.

I'll be interested to hear more about your bass.

Bill