My bass Got a Crack - Advice Needed

[SDavies]

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to this forum. Am living in China at the moment and the dry air or cold weather or combination of both have finally got to my bass. I have owned it for about 10years and never had any cracks.
In the past few days a 19cm crack has appeared at the bottom near the end pin (photo attached). I almost died when I saw the crack.... actually I heard that my sound wasnt right and then found the crack... but now I am sufficiently calm I need some advice before I get it looked at.
I paid about AUD$6,000 for this when I was at university. Dont know too much about the bass except that the shop I bought from said it is likely German from approx 1930's. I play jazz on this bass and I am very happy with the sound but I dont want to pour money into a lost cause and I have no experience to know if that could possibly be the case.

Any ideas or thoughts?

[Andrew McGregor]

I see no reason to disbelieve that it's a 1930's German bass, and it looks great. So it's absolutely worth getting that fixed, no question.

Cracks happen in string instruments, it's just a fact of life, and that's not a big disaster. However... if it's not fixed right, it might turn into one, so you need to find someone good to fix it. They must exist in China, the trick will be to find someone. Shanghai has a good symphony orchestra, someone must do their string repairs, so that's where I'd start on hunting down a luthier.

[Jake deVilliers]

+1 Stringed instruments need to be tuned, wooden instruments crack...

Good idea on tracking down a luthier.

[PaulCannon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTgm3vpDyms

I guess you could try this place? Evidently there's a city completely populated by luthiers.

Seriously though, that's an easy fix and not a big deal. You should be able to find someone competent in Shanghai.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by PaulCannon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTgm3vpDyms

I guess you could try this place? Evidently there's a city completely populated by luthiers.

Seriously though, that's an easy fix and not a big deal. You should be able to find someone competent in Shanghai.

When I clicked on that link I got a message which read:

This video contains content from CNN (Europe), who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds.

Huh...

[bejoyous]

That's a pretty easy crack to fix. Rub in some hide glue, add 3 or 4 clamps, wipe away squeezed out glue and let sit overnight.

You can do it yourself if you have the equipment and it always feels good to look after your own instrument.

This is a typical spot for a crack when using a wheel and being a bit rough during transport.

This is also where dampits drip water and weaken the wood. It's probably better to use a room humidifier if you feel you must hydrate the bass.

[SDavies]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I took the bass into the Shen bass shop in Shanghai. I met someone (a bass dealer / luthier I think) very very helpful from the U.S. who happened to be their doing some business with Shen (apparently buying a lot of basses to bring back). I wish I could remember his name.
Well he had a close look at my bass and it was very very dry. His opinion was that it would require a lot of pressure (probably too much) to close and glue the crack. The only other option was to take the top off which I was happy to do if it would provide the best solution.
His suggestion was that I should put the bass in a room with a humidifier and get the moisture content right up. The suggestion was to leave it for about 2 months then bring it back to the shop and it could probably be repaired easily without opening the top.
The interesting thing is after just 5 days with a humidifier the crack has closed up almost completely (of course it is still there but I cant see any gap between the split wood).

Now that the crack has closed up do you think I could get it repaired earlier than 2 months or is it safer to wait a while? I really need to play every day so two months is going to go painfully slow!

If the person who helped me in Shanghai on Sunday at Shen's bass shop on Jinling Lu happens to read this then thanks again for your kind assistance.

[Andrew McGregor]

So, it probably is safe to repair it now... but you're obviously going to have to keep the humidity up to keep it closed whatever. It might get easier to repair if you wait a little longer... but really, it would be as well to call your contact at Shen and ask them.

[drurb]

I think it would be even better to call your contact. An expert who can lay eyes and hands on it beats long-distance internet advice any day.

[bigolbassguy]

Originally Posted by SDavies

I really need to play every day so two months is going to go painfully slow!

I don't think you're going to hurt anything by playing it in the meantime. Be careful that you don't over-humidify, though. You only want about 40-45% humidity.