tell me about my bass please!

[groooooove]

my teacher lent me this instrument for my student recital last semester. i was playing the van goens scherzo, and he said it was a shame that my instrument (shen 80) diddnt sound all that wonderful. when i went to return the instrument to him the day of my jury performance, he told me to just hold onto it for a while. when i said i was transfering to a new school next semester, he said "really, if you like playing it, just hold onto it."

so this bass is in my possession until he needs it, witch wont be for a while. the problem is he knows nothing about it and neither do i. all i know is that it sounds lovely, and i really like playing it arco and pizz.

it has a kolstein bridge on it. i know kolstein did some work on it, and i think replaced the neck. can anyone else tell me anything? age? value? origin?

please ask for specific pics if you need them. thanks!

[tyb507]

Late 19th-early 20th century German is my guess. Hard to guess value from just pics...$3-10k maybe depending on lots of variables?

[Gene Fryer]

Groove, if you send Barrie these pictures, he will be able to help you.

I use to own one similar-i was told that it was a well-made German around 100 years old. Sold it for $5000. barriekolstein@gmail.com

[groooooove]

i will email him.

i actually may have a chance to just bring it in and have him look at it. i pass his shop a few times a month...

either way, im happy i have this instrument. shes just a joy to play.

[groooooove]

kolstein has not replied, i doubt he will. he's ignored my emails a few times before, when i was inquiring about instruments- i wonder if he's got a junk filter that hates me or something.

does anyone agree or disagree with the guess that its probably about 100 years old, and likely german? what about it is characteristically "german?" i dont know any of this stuff, just curious.

thanks all,

t

[Plays_For_Dog]

It's beautiful.

[gerry grable]

[quote=groooooove;12800684]kolstein has not replied, i doubt he will. he's ignored my emails a few times before, when i was inquiring about instruments- i wonder if he's got a junk filter that hates me or something.

does anyone agree or disagree with the guess that its probably about 100 years old, and likely german? what about it is characteristically "german?" i dont know any of this stuff, just curious.

grooove,
I almost fell out of my chair when I saw theses pics. It looks so much like the bass I have and play. I've been wanting to put my bass on TB, too, but I can't figure out how to get the pics on the thread.
I'll be looking forward with great interest to read what the guys say about your bass. Mine plays great, too.

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Originally Posted by groooooove

kolstein has not replied, i doubt he will. he's ignored my emails a few times before

Call him. I had him on the phone recently with questions about a transitional-type bow I got with a Czech bass. He didn't strike me as the kind of guy to intentionally ignore someone.

Also, though you didn't ask -- insure the heck out of that bass.

[Jake deVilliers]

The button doesn't say 'German', whatever that means, it looks to be from further south. The curve of the neck where it joins the scroll looks more like Bohemian basses of the mid to late 1800s, as do the f-holes.

Really, the sideways pix and angled presentation make it hard to make a confident identification...

[Gene Fryer]

Groove, Barrie may be away for a few days. Call him at
516-546-9300-Kolstein Music. From reading other forums, there are two others who seem to be knowledgeable and helpful when it comes to bass id. Ken Smith forum(Ken's corner) and Arnold Schnitzer.

Be patient, you'll get enough info to have a good idea of what you have, however, the more and better pictures you provide will be most helpful. Pictures of the inside via the f holes of the blocks and corners might help. Close ups of the neck heel,etc,
good close ups of everything will make it easier for the knowledgeable to help you..
Good luck!

[groooooove]

bumping this old-ish thread

will take some close up pics later, the bass is at school now.

been playing it a lot..

really a nice bass.

and, funnily enough, when i showed this bass to my electric bass teacher/buddy mike frost, he laughed and said he's the one who sold this bass to the teacher who gave it to me!

i asked the owner/previous owner if he bought it off of mike, and it was confirmed!

this one is in the family more than i thought.

[Steve Swan]

This bass looks like a very fine step-up instrument from a contemporary plywood bass. The price sounds very reasonable to me. If you like, I'd go for it! Let us know how it turns out.

[Rocky Young]

Is that really worth $5k?

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Rocky Young

Is that really worth $5k?

It may be worth that and more! It is, after all, a carved bass. Pictures on the internet don't really tell the story. Playing, hearing, and having a luthier check it will tell the story.

[uprightben]

Very nice looking bass. The outer linings and gamba corners are what makes it look Germanic. I wouldn't venture a guess as to whether it came from Bohemia, Saxony or whatever, all of those places are either Germany or Czech Republic now. I find the pufling at the button to be very unique and elegant.

[Violen]

I don't know anything about the bass, except it looks like your instructor thinks you are doing an excellent job and found letting you use it a better investment than using your current bass.

This speaks loads to his belief in you. Beyond the value or the type of bass, you need to understand the value he is puting into you as an artist and cultivate it. It is how you will repay him. Make good music and make it often.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by Rocky Young

Is that really worth $5k?

when i recently asked him about a price on it to make it mine officially, he said he'd like $3.5k.

the other basses i've looked at i did not like as much as this one. some were better for jazz, others were better for arco, but this one i enjoy playing both equally as much, witch is most important for me. most of what i've been looking is in the sub- $7k range.

what its actually worth i dont know, and will ask a luthier when i have it looked over before i take it home for good. but all i know is i like playing on it, and am thrilled to have been loaned the bass for almost a year, and even moreso that i've become financially stable enough to buy it from him.

[groooooove]

Originally Posted by Violen

I don't know anything about the bass, except it looks like your instructor thinks you are doing an excellent job and found letting you use it a better investment than using your current bass.

This speaks loads to his belief in you. Beyond the value or the type of bass, you need to understand the value he is puting into you as an artist and cultivate it. It is how you will repay him. Make good music and make it often.

amen to that!

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Violen

I don't know anything about the bass, except it looks like your instructor thinks you are doing an excellent job and found letting you use it a better investment than using your current bass.

This speaks loads to his belief in you. Beyond the value or the type of bass, you need to understand the value he is puting into you as an artist and cultivate it. It is how you will repay him. Make good music and make it often.

Amen again!

[Hector Wolff]

Hi Grooooove,

Talk about a small world, I took lessons for a short time with Mike Frost on bass guitar, and in one session he had me trying to play that bass (that was an eye opener).

Even stranger, much later, when I started to study the double bass and got a teacher, I found out my teacher had taught Mike Frost.

Oddly enough, my teacher had also loaned me a bass (until I could buy my own) that he described as Bohemian from the 1920's - it was fully carved, flat back also.

I wonder if that could have been the bass.