Handarbeiten aus Mittenwald

[blastoff]

hey BASSIES! just seeking some info here.
So im looking to upgrade from my Palatino bass (which if i may add has served me very well.)
There's a bloke in my town selling a "Handarbeiten aus Mittenwald/ Made in Germany" plywood that is pretty nice.
i was just wondering if anybody had any more info or advice on these.
Ive gathered from the bilingual label that these are post WWII basses.
Shes in so so condition and includes a realist pickup, and old helicores (i think). and a Gollihur baggie. the scroll has been busted off at one point and is rather crudely reattached. a few chips around the lower bouts.
it has a rounded back and a symmetrical fingerboard (no E side wierd angle- not sure about significance of these features. ill do some reading...)
The tone was nice but i think that i couldn't really feel what the bass "wanted to sound like" if that makes any sense. like maybe shes stuffy from neglect and wants a good set up and new strings to open up. (?) id need to drop the action a bit too.
Any ways he wants $1700. is that about right?
My other option is a mint Kay C-1 for 1800. no pickup. acoustically much louder. sweet thin neck. id just throw my bassmax on there. but i know Kays can break necks if mistreated...
soo. yea. thats it. thanks for reading. i play mostly jazz trio stuff. Ron Carter. Chris Wood. Peacock. Eaton. .......
-Nelson

[Dubbin]

I know nothing about that particular bass (or most for that matter) but I wanted to mention that all imported articles have required English country of origin information since at least 1934 so I wouldn't read to much into the label being English.

[Matthew Tucker]

take some *good* pics, post the pics here, then you might get some advice, otherwise no-one's going to be interested in giving you information sight-unseen.

... the price sounds a bit steep for a so-so plywood bass with dodgy repairs though, even from here. If it was solid it might not be the same story.

[txstatebass]

I have one of those. It's been my main (only) axe for about ten years. It's had its ups and downs, but all in all she'd been a good girl. Does the job well, solidly constructed, mic's great, but not the loudest bass acoustically. I would never part with mine, but I am looking for a carved bass. I'll keep my Mittie as a second for life. You'll get a lot of mileage out of it though.
My .02.

P.S. My band website has some sound clips in samples on the "Live at Eddie V's" CD. Just my Mittenwald and an AMT.

[blastoff]

cool, yea. thanks tex. obviously i cant expect anyone to appraise it for me. just any experience they've had with these babys..
she is a solid bass.. the faults are "cosmetic"...
anyways. thanks.
--n

[Bruce Lindfield]

Originally Posted by blastoff

There's a bloke in my town selling a "Handarbeiten aus Mittenwald/ Made in Germany" plywood that is pretty nice.

You do realise that's not a "brand" as such - more like a description...?

[blastoff]

yes. it is the only label on the instrument with which i may identify it, other than saying "BASS" thanks

[Bruce Lindfield]

Well, without pics it's basically impossible for anybody to identify it - even then there's no guarantee...?

But what are you expecting people to say....

[blastoff]

yea i dont know. i guess its stupid. you cant actually touch this thing. my camera is as broke as i am. i was just hoping to hear something like " dude yea those are sweet" "you know there's actually nazi gold hidden in that scroll, thats why is repaired" or " those tuners are actually from U-boat periscopes. " or like "man whatever, get lost, palatino lover" or i don't know some advice? i know theres a thread on these exact labels . this bass was manufactured for export after the end of world war 2, that is why it has English written on it. I'm not reading into it, that's just what i was told.

[Bruce Lindfield]

I think the only reasonable advice would be to go along with your DB teacher and check it out together and see if it suits what you want?

[Ed Fuqua]

Or even more important, what does it sound like. All other considerations are pretty much secondary.

The prices you quote are extremely reasonable in today's market (the Kay can go for $1-2K more than they are asking), so play'em both (or if you are just getting started on upright, get your teacher or another player to play them for you) and pick the one that sounds most like what you hear in your head.

As far as the "english required since 1934", most German and Czech instruments were NOT made for export prior to the end of WWII, so it's doubtful that English would have appeared on a label before 1945...

[blastoff]

yea the sound of the Kay is much more open and boomy, where as the german is more stuffy. im curious how much of a diffrence a set up and strings would make.