Getting started...

[Ozmoid]

Old guy, old musician, new Double Bass Player.

It's been a real journey getting to the point of playing. This is a "beater" from the local High School (in a very round-about way, apparently... the local school never had a string program!) that arrived with the neck flopping around on two finishing nails and about a pound of epoxy and random nails/screws holding various bits together from the pegbox to the endpin.



A local small-instrument luthier (mainly bluegrass) had worked on a bass or two and offered to let me use his shop and help me as he could. He was also kind enough to make a few trips to see a "real" bass luthier for advice on some of the fixes.

The pegbox had been completely crushed off to the left of the neck, epoxied back together, and reinforced with a seriously random collection of screws and nails. It will never be square with the neck again, but it is now repaired with only wood fixes.



We finished up enough to get strings on last night, I opted for Corelli Medium. They are still stretching into tune, I brought the bass to work today so I could continue checking the strings and adjusting the tuners. (Good Boss... ) The E is quite floppy, but I have noticed that the tension is better than last night.

Not a great instrument, but my total investment here is very low, and I have the opportunity to learn some bassics and save up towards the purchase of a finer instrument.

I know a lot more about bridges, soundposts, etc. than I ever thought I would need to. If I am ever faced with a project like this again (and I hope I'm not!) I'll certainly be able to do a better job. It has been great to have the resources of TB here, I would never have attempted this without you!

[fdeck]

Congrats! I also acquired an old Kay from a school, with floppy-neck syndrome, in 1982. At the time it would not have occurred to me to try playing double bass, so the instrument was a lucky discovery in many ways.

I was so scared when I finally strung the bass, that I raised it in half step increments every day until it was at pitch.

[Ozmoid]

Originally Posted by fdeck

I was so scared when I finally strung the bass, that I raised it in half step increments every day until it was at pitch.

Well, the neck repair *did* influence the choice of low tension strings.

I played about an hour tonight (I have the middle school beginner books). Coming off BG, the stretches are long, so I spent part of the time with a tuner on the bridge just focusing on pitch and hand position. Walked up and down a bit in G, it's a start.

[MollyKay]

Sorry to break the news to you honey…she is not a Kay Bass.

What you have my friend is an Epiphone B-4 made some where between 1949 and 1957. Rub your finger across the end of the finger board to feel and then look for a four digit stamped serial number. You have been blessed by the bass gods…congratulations.

Read more here...http://www.bassmonkey.net/epiphone.html

[fdeck]

Wow, that's what I get for assuming, based on the tuners.

[MollyKay]

That’s okay…Kay and Epiphone DID use the same Kluson tuner.

Many old Epiphone’s go mistaken for Kay’s once they lose their enamel tail badge as this bass has. Killer clues are the real carved scroll (not glued on volute like a Kay), the large stylist FF holes and the three triangular tack holes on the tail piece from the missing Epiphone badge. This bass may have a replaced fingerboard (does not look like the original factory rosewood fingerboard), if it is a replacement board the serial number is lost forever…but it is still an Epiphone B-4. If it has the loop on the back it is an earlier model, no loop later model.

I am a vintage bass geek…SIGH

[Ozmoid]

Originally Posted by MollyKay

Sorry to break the news to you honey…she is not a Kay Bass.

What you have my friend is an Epiphone B-4 made some where between 1949 and 1957...

Thanks for the ID, MollyKay! No bad news for me, I never made any assumptions. There are no markings anywhere to indicate maker, inside or out.

And yes, it appears to be a real carved scroll.

(Gone to do some reading on Epiphones... )

[Ozmoid]

Yup, that's exactly what we have here, a B-4!

Real purfling, no loop, Serial #1935 at the end of the fingerboard puts this firmly in the "later model" category.

Thanks, MollyKay!

[MollyKay]

Originally Posted by Ozmoid

Yup, that's exactly what we have here, a B-4!

Real purfling, no loop, Serial #1935 at the end of the fingerboard puts this firmly in the "later model" category.

Thanks, MollyKay!

Congratulations! You have rescued a wonderful bass that will become a good musical friend.

An Epiphone bass was more limited in production then a Kay. Kay made approximately 30,000-40,000 upright basses where Epiphone made less then 3,000 and Gibson/Epiphone made around 1,000 basses.

As you say it is all good news, I am happy to help you make a positive identification. I will add your bass’s serial number to the Epiphone database project. Glad you found the website helpful; the Epiphone upright bass history has been an interesting journey.

Give your bass a hug from me and enjoy it!