Finally Repaired

[bassist1962]

I have had this instrument in my possession for four and a half years. There were many problems with this instrument, and this was the first year that I could actually afford a budget to get it repaired.

The problems:

Open seam in the back
Cracks on the Top Plate
The nut had a matchbook in one slot to keep one of the strings from laying on the fingerboard
The strings were corroding and rusting
The bridge was warped
Falling soundpost
Bent or twisted endpin
Hair on the bow was brittle and breaking
Totally acoustic
The bag was literally falling apart at the seams, and had holes, handles ripped off, etc.

The fixes:

The top plate cracks were not actually repaired as they were not through and throughs – Just need to keep an eye on them

The back seam repair ended up revealing that the endpin is not actually bent or twisted, but that the ribs had settled differently than the back, and they are actually a bit warped. Again just need to keep an eye on this but should hold for a few years. This open seam is also the reason the soundpost kept falling.

The fingerboard was plained a bit and the strings no longer lay directly on the board

The old ‘fixed position’ bridge was replaced with a new ‘adjustable height’ bridge

A brand new set of Thomastik Spirocore bass strings were installed

The bow was rehaired, and a quiver installed

A K&K Bass Max pickup was installed

A new Gewa bag with ½ inch of foam padding, several handles in strategic places for easy loading and unloading, and zips all the way up and down one side, and halfway up the other side was purchased as well as an Ingles stand.

The tuners are tarnished, but are still functional and may need replaced in the future, but are fine for now.

When I got this home, and started to play (unplugged), My wife's first response was ‘Man, that is so loud now!’ It was, that I could be playing at the end of the hallway, she couldn’t hear me in the living room. Not anymore! This thing sings now.

I also took my first lesson in thirty years to get some pointers, and review some techniques that I had forgotten.

[forester]

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