Now what?

ADissen · #1 01-11-2010, 03:37 PM

So a foot long crack in my bass has just come forward. It stems directly from the saddle of the bass which I know is a fairly common place for basses to crack. Its a 2008 Kolstein Fendt model, which up to this point has been very low maintenance as far as seams and cracks go, i.e. none up to this point. I know there are 43253 threads probably on cracks and what to do but I'm pretty stretched for time here, as I play Bottesini 2 at the Meyerhoff with the BSO in front of a full house of my county's music program students in 2 days, with a dress rehearsal tomorrow. So what do I do?

Jake deVilliers · #2 01-11-2010, 04:10 PM

Unless its buzzing and making you crazy, make an appointment with your trusted luthier for after the gig and then practise your ass off.

Good luck with the Bottesini!

Schoolhouse · #3 01-11-2010, 04:15 PM

Sorry about the saddle crack. The crack has relieved the stress and probably won't get bigger unless the humidity changes a lot. Play your gig and then take it to your favorite luthier asap. The top has to come off to fix it properly. The repairman will also shorten the saddle.
Good luck with your concerto performance!

Eric Hochberg · #4 01-11-2010, 04:55 PM

Luthiers - Shouldn't saddle cracks of this type be a thing of the past, with contemporary makers installing correctly sized saddles in the first place?

Schoolhouse · #5 01-11-2010, 05:14 PM

Yes, with shaping the ends of the saddle and or leaving a tiny gap at each end, this type of crack should be history. Almost all of the new basses coming into my shop have saddles that are too tight.

forester · #6 01-11-2010, 05:30 PM

not just basses.

AD
typical purifying moment...
best wishes at at Meyerhoff.

Greg Clinkingbeard · #7 01-11-2010, 05:32 PM

Mine included! I intended to have it looked at while it was on the bench last week but forgot. Is this something that I could take care of with a fine dovetail saw and/or knife?
It would seem removing a tiny bit of the top on either side would take care of it.

Schoolhouse · #8 01-11-2010, 05:49 PM

clink,
The best way is to remove the saddle, shorten it, and re-glue. Using a saw or knife can provide a starting point for a crack if you score or nick the top in any way. Good luck, Tom

forester · #9 01-11-2010, 06:08 PM

many have enough relief in the fit, but for some reason, it is loaded up with finnish, and it has the same negative effect. i try to clean it out best i can.

ADissen · #10 01-11-2010, 07:34 PM

Okay so I have talked to my teacher and the plan was for me to "skip school" tomorrow and go to Peabody to try his bass and two school basses on for size. While I wont be telling my mom if the answer is yes (who wouldn't want to skip school to play much some nice basses), is the bass really not going to be at high risk for further damage from 2 more days of playing on it? Because I sure as science don't want to be playing on a completely new instrument if I dont have too. I would slacken the strings in between sessions so it really wouldn't have too much time with full tension on the top.

Thanks so much for all the input, helps relieve a little stress and makes me better informed for the tough decisions tomorrow

Sidenote: Since the top has to come off

can anybody fill me in on the time period where i will be without my instrument? Costs? Is there anything I could get done while the top is off?

Thanks again everybody

Andrew

Schoolhouse · #11 01-11-2010, 08:06 PM

Andrew, I don't think you need to de-tune the bass between sessions. It will be more stable the less you do. The damage has already been done, just be really careful not to give it a hard knock and I wouldn't use a wheel. Play well!

Square Bear · #12 01-11-2010, 08:28 PM

yeah, the last thing you need is to drop the sound post on top of everything else at this point. really sorry to hear about your bass, but best of luck on your performance!

ADissen · #13 01-11-2010, 10:29 PM

Well I tuned it back up and while it will cost some dough and some time to fix, the bass sounds better than it did before. All part of the breaking in/maturation process.
Thanks for the kind words everybody hopefully it will go well

robobass · #14 01-12-2010, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADissen

Well I tuned it back up and while it will cost some dough and some time to fix, the bass sounds better than it did before. All part of the breaking in/maturation process.
Thanks for the kind words everybody hopefully it will go well

You already got it repaired? Maybe you only mean that you got the saddle shortened. As for the crack, this should absolutely be an "under warranty" repair.

drurb · #15 01-12-2010, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADissen

Well I tuned it back up and while it will cost some dough and some time to fix, the bass sounds better than it did before. All part of the breaking in/maturation process.
Thanks for the kind words everybody hopefully it will go well

Quote:

Originally Posted by robobass

You already got it repaired?

+1 on the confusion.

As for saddles, my bass sports one of these.

bejoyous · #16 01-12-2010, 08:23 AM

It sounds like you are well on your way to playing at a professional level.

Here's a little story about a colleague of mine.

Jamie Somerville was about to graduate from UofT when he was offered the the principal horn job of Symphony Nova Scotia. He dropped out of school and went for it. He then went on to become the principal horn of the Boston Symphony and now is the conductor of the Hamilton Philharmonic as well. Maybe he should have stayed in school, who knows what he might have accomplished!

drurb · #17 01-12-2010, 09:26 AM

What's a "horn job?" Don't think I've heard of that one.

arnoldschnitzer · #18 01-12-2010, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Schoolhouse

clink,
The best way is to remove the saddle, shorten it, and re-glue. Using a saw or knife can provide a starting point for a crack if you score or nick the top in any way. Good luck, Tom

This is really good advice. I'd like to point out, however, that even without a saddle, it would be common for tops to crack in that area. That's because the top is glued rigidly to the tailblock, and cannot move with changes in humidity in that area. Meanwhile, the rest of the top in that region is free to move. The result can be a crack, especially if the bass encounters very dry conditions.

ADissen · #19 01-12-2010, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robobass

You already got it repaired? Maybe you only mean that you got the saddle shortened. As for the crack, this should absolutely be an "under warranty" repair.

Sorry for the confusion everybody. I have had nothing repaired yet. What I meant by the bass sounding better than it did before was that the crack has let the top vibrate more freely, it sounds better after the crack than it did before. I will have it repaired right after the gig.

I was able to borrow a bass and am using it for the orchestra part of the concert and using my bass for the solo so that I don't have to fudge around with the tuning, keeping the cracked bass more stable. Is it ideal? No. But its the best solution all involved could think of. Really it couldn't have happened at a better time. (sarcasm)

Sidenote: I dont want anybody to think I'm playing for something bigger than I am. Every year my county has this Side-by-Side event where kids audition to play,wait for it, side by side a BSO member. And from the students chosen, there is another competition for the solo spot they have at the concert. I won that and for the concerto, only the BSO members play the accompaniment. But its right in the middle of a regular orchestra program, hence the 2 bass conundrum. But nonetheless its a great experience. And the dress rehearsal today went really well

But after tomorrow I will start the journey of the repair and I really hope the repair will be covered by the insurance.

Andrew

MDEbass · #20 01-12-2010, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADissen

Sidenote: I dont want anybody to think I'm playing for something bigger than I am. Every year my county has this Side-by-Side event where kids audition to play,wait for it, side by side a BSO member. And from the students chosen, there is another competition for the solo spot they have at the concert. I won that and for the concerto, only the BSO members play the accompaniment. But its right in the middle of a regular orchestra program, hence the 2 bass conundrum. But nonetheless its a great experience. And the dress rehearsal today went really well

But after tomorrow I will start the journey of the repair and I really hope the repair will be covered by the insurance.

Andrew

That's cool (about the concert, not the bass). My youth orch is doing something similar with a side by side with the Houston Symphony this year. Good luck with the performance and bass repair.