Know knext to knothing about Karl Knilling Basses...

[anniemcu]

I've basically discerned that Knilling was/is actually an importer, not a luthier, and so the quality of the instruments bearing that name vary widely, depending on where they were being made, and imported from, at the time. The consensus seems to be that the German and Romanian made ones are decent to better instruments, while the others are of lesser value.

I've just come into ownership of a nice little half size Knilling Bass. The story the guy I got it from, got from its previous owner seemed to be that it was from 'somewhere in the 30's', though I'm beginning to think it may be more likely that 'it is somewhere around 30 years old' ... and I've not found any way to verify dates based on serial/label numbers yet. I have written to the Knilling.com folks asking if there is such a thing.

It's a nice little plywood bass, and I think I'll be happy with it. It has had the neck/body joint repaired, and has a small putty patch at the top of the back/base of the neck, but seems to be solid and stable now. The finish is good, with some crackling on one side that usually can be attributed to some age. It appears to have an ebony fingerboard and tailpiece (I'm doing a scrape test later), as well as separate tuners, that may help identify the era. The purfling is actually inlaid, rather than painted on (except on the patch, where a reasonable attempt was made to match the lines with ink or paint)

The label says,

"Karl Knilling
Handmade in Germany
No. 21323"

So... anybody had any better luck with dating Knillings?? (prepare for the inevitable 'colorful' jokes about romantic involvement to follow)

[RD]

Sarah,
I'll confirm what you've heard. German made are the most desirable, Romanian less so, and Korean the worst. But, I probably got that impression the same place you did, here on TB. Exception is I owned a Romanian Knilling that was all carved (or more truthfully sanded.) If you haven't already don it, a search of TB for "Knilling" may be worth your time.
I had work done to make it a decent bass for me in the end but it cost me about as much as I paid for the bass. The luthier I went to told me that the bass was not as well constructed as a Shen or a Christpher (sloppy work on the neck joint etc.)
Your bass should be fine, even excellent, for your purposes.
RD

[anniemcu]