Trying to find info on mystery bass

[clanceylufkin]

I've just purchased a lovely warm toned plywood bass. The previous owner had it for 35 years and said it was already quite old when he bought it. There is a paper label inside of the body of the bass that says "Germany East". Does anyone have any insight into a bass labeled as such or will this be an impossible task.

thanks

[Eli_Upright12]

Pictures? those will help mightily

[Nagrom]

http://musicaviva.com/encyclopedia/d...?phrase=musima

A likely answer, assuming "Germany East" means "East Germany"

[littlebill]

My bass is also a Germany East, I've had it about 8 years. There is nothing that I can find as to the maker or origin of this bass, perhaps the link above might be a good answer.

I know of at least 3 more with the same label. I have only been able to talk to one but they had little info to add, the bass had been in the family for a while. I responded to an old post here but never got a response, guess I was too late with that reply.

My bass is well made for a laminate, for example the purfling is carved into the wood and not painted. I love this bass and get a lot of compliments. I've had people come looking for the bass as they say they can hear it from quite a distance, made for some interesting jam sessions.

I would be interested if you have a serial number written on the label. Mine is in pencil, 650399, and looks like it was done through the f hole on the bass bar side. A couple of luthiers that have done some work have said it looks to be in the 1940 to 1950 time frame, it certainly has some age and character about it. Color is a light brown or tan, but not blonde, and quite a bit has flaked off over time.

I've also got a Kay that I use when playing in clubs just because I use a microphone and the bass looks better but I prefer the german 90% of the time.

I'll be interested in hearing more about your bass, especially after you have a chance to play it for a while.

Bill Miller

[clanceylufkin]

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

Pictures? those will help mightily

I'm not sure how to post an image but we'll see if this works.

[clanceylufkin]

Originally Posted by Nagrom

http://musicaviva.com/encyclopedia/d...?phrase=musima

A likely answer, assuming "Germany East" means "East Germany"

That's what I'm guessing too but I also wonder if it might have been a way of simply saying the eastern part of Germany pre wwII. I think there were plywood basses a good deal before that time. This thing looks really old but there are definite signs of larger scale production such as the decorative motifs on the machine heads are stamped in.

[clanceylufkin]

Originally Posted by littlebill

My bass is also a Germany East, I've had it about 8 years. There is nothing that I can find as to the maker or origin of this bass, perhaps the link above might be a good answer.

I know of at least 3 more with the same label. I have only been able to talk to one but they had little info to add, the bass had been in the family for a while. I responded to an old post here but never got a response, guess I was too late with that reply.

My bass is well made for a laminate, for example the purfling is carved into the wood and not painted. I love this bass and get a lot of compliments. I've had people come looking for the bass as they say they can hear it from quite a distance, made for some interesting jam sessions.

I would be interested if you have a serial number written on the label. Mine is in pencil, 650399, and looks like it was done through the f hole on the bass bar side. A couple of luthiers that have done some work have said it looks to be in the 1940 to 1950 time frame, it certainly has some age and character about it. Color is a light brown or tan, but not blonde, and quite a bit has flaked off over time.

I've also got a Kay that I use when playing in clubs just because I use a microphone and the bass looks better but I prefer the german 90% of the time.

I'll be interested in hearing more about your bass, especially after you have a chance to play it for a while.

Bill Miller

Hello Bill and a fellow "Miller" I'm guessing this is a fairly common Bass then if you have run into 3 others with the same "Germany East" label. I'd be curious if the label on yours is identical to the one I posted. I can find no other information on the bass itself other then this. There is no serial number.

The perfling looks to be painted on though that is not clear. At some points there are cracks in the finish following the perfling - almost as if it were somehow inlayed. But this is perhaps due to the finish reacting oddly with the paint. It's not obvious from the pictures but this bass is very dark but this is inconsistent and a bit blochy.

The bass was purchased from one of the bassist with the Winnipeg symphony after a luthier recommended it as the best plywood bass he has ever come across. He contacted the fellow who somewhat reluctantly sold it to me.

I'm afraid my observation on the quality of the bass may be that of a novice as I'm completely new to this. Played electric bass many years ago so my experience with different basses is limited. I do know that it is obviously better then the rental bass I had for a month that retailed for 2500.00 but not as good as the 18,000 dollar bass I tried in a bass shop in Toronto while on holidays. I was ready to purchase that one until the sales person entered the room with a concerned look on his face that I was thumping away on it and told me the price. They should really put price tags on these things.

This bass was purchased for 2000.00 Cdn.

cheers
Greg Miller

[Nagrom]

Shape/details are very similar to my Musima. I don't think the concept of an east or west Germany existed until after the war, anymore than the concept of an east or west France.

[littlebill]

Hey Greg,

The other one that I have seen was the same color and bad finish as mine, that is how I recognized it to be a Germany East. The finish on yours is much darker and in a lot better shape, it looks really nice. I hope you have as much fun with it as I have had with mine, I've not heard or played another ply that I like as well.

The tuners and the label appear to be identical on both as is the body shape so they are both likely from about the same time frame. The purfling is definitely carved on mine and in many places there are also crack lines that follow the purfling (in places where there is any finish left) so you might look closer or ask your luthier. I have a place where it is chipped and I can see the depth of the inlay. I also have an ebony fingerboard and I believe the scroll and volutes are all one piece of wood.

I don't seem to be able to add any pictures. I don't have any available at a website and the "Manage Attachments" function does not seem to work. Maybe I will try a PM to you and see if that works.

Bill

[clanceylufkin]

Originally Posted by littlebill

Hey Greg,

The other one that I have seen was the same color and bad finish as mine, that is how I recognized it to be a Germany East. The finish on yours is much darker and in a lot better shape, it looks really nice. I hope you have as much fun with it as I have had with mine, I've not heard or played another ply that I like as well.

The tuners and the label appear to be identical on both as is the body shape so they are both likely from about the same time frame. The purfling is definitely carved on mine and in many places there are also crack lines that follow the purfling (in places where there is any finish left) so you might look closer or ask your luthier. I have a place where it is chipped and I can see the depth of the inlay. I also have an ebony fingerboard and I believe the scroll and volutes are all one piece of wood.

I don't seem to be able to add any pictures. I don't have any available at a website and the "Manage Attachments" function does not seem to work. Maybe I will try a PM to you and see if that works.

Bill

Hello Bill. Hey...that's very interesting to hear...odd if there's a few of these out there there's no hard information on them. Perhaps something to do with the Soviet Union being something of a closed society. I'd love to see a couple of pictures of your. If you could e-mail to clanceylufkin@hotmail.com.

cheers
greg