Identification help

billio · #1 05-21-2005, 03:06 PM

Hi Guys, I'm in a bit of a bind. I'm an Aussie expat, currently live and work in Saudi Arabia. I already play bass guitar in a band and have decided I want to buy a double bass - mainly as a bit of a gimmick for when we do 50's rock. I have found loads of basses in the USA on the web, but shipping to Saudi is extremely expensive.
Some time ago, I saw a bass in a shop in town and although the shop's closed, I tracked the owner down to see if he still had the bass. He did and it is at this moment on my lounge room floor. I haven't paid the guy for it but the price is equivalent to $930US. The trouble is, I have no idea what it is or what it is worth. The only markings on it are a sticker inside with another sticker over the top. I can only read the bottom one partially and it says BUBENREUTH 1985 (the "19" part is printed, the "85" is hand written) GERMANY with KH and a cross emblem. The sticker over the top of that says SCHENKELAARS an SB logo and WITH CARE, BEST HOLLAND.
There's no major chunks out of the instrument and no scratches, although the whole finish has fine crazing. The finger board has a ridge along it's length and the bridge looks new (well, it's a very light coloured wood and doesn't "look" original) with BAUSCH stamped on it. It comes with a gig bag and a bow. Oh, and the soundpost rolling around inside...
Can anyone shed any light on what this thing is and whether I'm paying too much?

PaulCannon · #2 05-21-2005, 03:43 PM

First of all, if the sound post is "rolling around," you shouldn't be touching the bass. You need to take it to a shop asap and get the post set in (I've never paid more than $10 for that, and many shops will do it for free).

However, $930 sounds like a VERY generous price for a bass in good condition, even if it is factory made and crappy. Then again, I don't know what a typical price would be in Saudi Arabia, but I'm sure it's not too different.

As for its origins, I have no idea. I'm not an expert. I'm sure there's somebody on here who can point you in the right direction.

greene · #3 05-21-2005, 08:31 PM

"SCHENKELAARS" was a Dutch manufacturer/wholesaler that made mostly student level instruments - I'd thought only brass but I suppose given your bass they must have had a complete range. I believe they closed up shop a few years back. Someone else here might know who the KH is (Karl Hofner? Karl Hauser?)

billio · #4 05-21-2005, 11:11 PM

Yeah, I thought the sound post would cause me grief. I haven't looked, but I doubt there'd be too many people in this country who would know anything about the bass, let alone know how to reset the sound post - when I was trying to chase the guy's phone number, I asked the guy in the shop next door and when I told him it was because I wanted the bass he had in the window, he was all confused until I said "the big guitar"!!! I've read a few posts on here though and think I should be able to do it myself - you can get real good at doing the weirdest things in this country.

I'd still like to know more about it though, if anyone else can shed some more light on it. I can't find anything about SCHENKELAARS, other than brass instruments. Thanks for the input so far tho...

tobytimber · #5 05-22-2005, 04:07 AM

If it says Bubenreuth on the sticker underneath the Dutch one, chances are that it's been made in Germany and the Dutch shop just sold it with their shop label. There are lots of small and not so small workshops in Bubenreuth, K H could indicate Karl Hofner, they made budget basses in the 80s. Is it solid wood or plywood? Although, either way it's a good price if it's in good nick.
Thing I would suggest is that you at least slacken the strings until the soundpost is up, it might have been like this for ages, but it can cause a lot of continous damage over time.

billio · #6 05-22-2005, 06:01 AM

When I picked it up, the strings were already slackened off and the bridge was in one of the pockets on the gig bag - I'm assuming this is how the sound post moved anyway.

It looks like a ply bass to me. At that price, is a 20 year old ply bass still better than a new, $250 Chinese made ply bass on eBay? Like I said earlier, this bass has no major damage to it, only the finish is starting to craze.

Thanks guys...

PaulCannon · #7 05-22-2005, 02:00 PM

Yes, it's better than a cheap Chinese instrument. I don't care if the Chinese bass is free, your bass is still better.

billio · #8 05-22-2005, 09:29 PM

Thanks Paul, I don't feel so bad parting with the cash now. I've looked at this thing more and it looks like it's received a moderatley recent coat of varnish or lacquer - probably to make it look shiny while it was in the menswear shop. All the crazing that I can see looks like the high points of brush strokes....