Need help identifying a bass part
 

My bass has a thin strip of wood at the top of each rib where the ribs meet the neck heel. It appears to be a separate piece of wood and is dark, maybe black (ebony?). Just wondering what this part is called and what its purpose is. Thanks.

You may be better off posting this on the luthiers forum.. I'm sure they may be able to help.. ;0)

Its a cosmetic filler strip or decoration. The ribs probably don't meet the neck heel cleanly. This is done sometimes when a neck is reset.

we call them shoulders, they are there to hide the neck joint at the top of the bass!

That's not fair, Eric. The high end Wilfer basses have the ebony fillets for decoration, not because the guys don't have basic hand skills! ;)

Man, those Wilfer DB's are really bee-u-tiful! How do they stack up in competition with comparatively priced DB's?

Sorry----no derail meant but the OP question was answered yes? And I just checked out the Wilfers.

Thanks everyone.

Gee, Jake. I did give decoration as one reason for them...

Yeah, and then you threw all makers under the bus with "The ribs probably don't meet the neck heel cleanly."

If you can't make the ribs fit the heel nicely, what do you think the odds are of making those delicate little ebony bits fit? On the rougher Chinese BSOs they just use filler in the gaps and opaque stains... :(

All makers under the bus?, not my intent at all...:rollno: And certainly not regarding Wilfer or other quality basses, unless work was done later
by a repairman to cover up something.

Alright, maybe this is more accurate

The ribs may not meet the neck heel cleanly.