Oddball Repairs to the Double Bass

[CultureSliver]

In my life of bass, I have seen many "creative" approaches to repairing a double bass. Everything from roofing tar to car bondo to magic marker. It never ceases to amaze me how well the term "ghetto fabulous" applies to such a large percentage of repairs made to the double bass. I posted this ad not just to hear stories and see pictures of these rather unorthodox repairs, but to get a general concensus of how many basses have been operated on by "Dr. Frankenbass."

[tomshepp]

Undoubtedly, it's the result of how specialized and expensive DB repairs can be. I have an old Juzek plywood bass that I rescued for the trash. The only part it doesn't have is the nut. The bass side rib has a nasty crack and it needs a lot of restorative work. Probably more than the bass is worth. That's the rub, the value of many basses is exceeded by the cost of proper repair.

[ArenW]

I opened up a late 1800s German bass only to find that the rib cracks, all 7 of them, had been patched with pieces of paneling (yeah, like the kind you would find in a late 60s mobile home). The person that executed this fine repair didn't even attempt to remove the outer, painted layer before glueing them in! The back was glued on at some point with what appeared to be roofing tar. Two nasty gaps where the back is supposed to meet the lower bout had recieved the "bondo treatment" along with hobby nails just to secure things. Of course there were a few patches on the inside of the back that had been executed with hobby nails, and all luthier's favorite, white foamy glue. This beauty has it all!! I would post pics, but the sight was so sickening, I couldn't bear to have a record of it.

[Paul Warburton]

****!
One of the weirdest one's i've come across, was a fine old German flat back......To hold the sound post in, a NAIL was driven through the top.

PS Happy ending, though..I had just sat in on the bass, and after the gig, I purchased it from the player, the Mayor of Aspen, Co., fixed it and sold it the next week to a good young player from the Aspen Music Festival.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

No big deal...solid pieces of wood have no sound. We're talking about the double bass, and yes it is a club.
Just go away.

60-yr-old Hammig 3/4 standup

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

I can only go by what is in your Profile. I see no mention of a double bass of any kind that I recognize.
I am not familiar with a double bass made under the name of Hammig.
They are not stand ups. They ARE double basses, basses, contra basses, string basses or bass violins.
Looking at your Avatar tells alot about you anyway.

That was in his profile, and besides, I have heard of uprights being called standups as much as every other name for them.

[MollyKay]

My contribution comes more in the form of “bass abuse”. Check out some of the pictures…Sad, sad, stuff. As my husband says…some people should not own power tools…or tools of any kind.

First two pictures are a 1937 AS bass with a "pin up" girl carved into the top layer of plywood and leopard print sides...not to mention the black paint and the orange Frankenstein head painted on the back.

[MollyKay]

Then there is the Frankenstein scroll head with bolts, nails, glue and thick wood. Along with the glued in sound post and block of wood nailed to the carved top as a “cleat” for an open crack. This bass is a 100 year old blockless wonder…it too needs the “full spa treatment”

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by bassteban

*standing up*

I loled in real life!

[MollyKay]

Not to be out done…here we have the classic…white painted bass (1937 AS bass) and then a black pained bass (1948 Kay Bass)…lovely what some people think improves a basses appearance.

[MollyKay]

And lastly…that great bluegrass repair for a missing end pin…stick a broom in and cut it off to length or...let's raise the bridge height with a yardstick and nails.

You have to give credit for making do with what you have.

[fdeck]

Molly wins the thread.

I particularly admire the afterlength silk running up over the bridge on that last one.

My Kay has its own sordid history. It was discarded by a high school, and no shop would touch it. The guy who worked on my 'cello had never touched a bass. We tried to get as much info as we could (in the days before the Internet). Just about the only thing we got right was using hide glue.

We fixed the cracked neck block with steel bolts and glue, but the repair is invisible from the outside. My only validation is that the bass has held up for more than a quarter century without any signs if deterioration. It's the bass that got me interested in playing the bass, and that's a good thing too. Had we not attempted to repair it, I would probably still be playing electric.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by bassteban

I shall flog myself w/a Corelli B-string & say three All Hail Bobs. Happy?

That's the usual penance bassteban, I'm sure the DB Gods will be appeased.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by MollyKay

First two pictures are a 1937 AS bass with a "pin up" girl carved into the top layer of plywood and leopard print sides

I guess its a matter of taste but I think the pin-up girl is as American as apple pie, Mom & plywood basses and captures the era perfectly.

These, on the other hand, are just 'farmer repairs'. My apologies to real farmers who have the sense not to work on stringed instruments.

[Treyzer]

Most of these repairs should be in the Smithsonian! The screws through the fingerboard are gonna leave a mark! Thanks all for the pics...Wow

Glad it's morning here. Hopefully I'll forget the carnage before bedtime and won't have Frankenstein bass dreams!

[Damon Rondeau]

Jake, are those springs between the tailpiece and the string ball-ends?

[MollyKay]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

I guess its a matter of taste but I think the pin-up girl is as American as apple pie, Mom & plywood basses and captures the era perfectly.

Yeah…we struggled with this…fix it…don’t fix it?

Now that the black paint has been removed we found another pin up girl on the back, but not yet carved in to the surface. Since we were able to keep the original finish in tact the pin up girls are going to stay. As you say it just becomes part of the bass’s history. I’ll get use to them. I am sure they will be a good discussion starter at a jam for a female bass player.

[mheintz]

Originally Posted by Jake deVilliers

I guess its a matter of taste but I think the pin-up girl is as American as apple pie, Mom & plywood basses and captures the era perfectly.

These, on the other hand, are just 'farmer repairs'. My apologies to real farmers who have the sense not to work on stringed instruments.

Are you kidding me? That first picture is the next evolution of the wire tailpiece, the Spring Wire tailpiece with auto-vibrato. No more pesky wiggling of the hand.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by bassteban

[bows deeply]
Thank you. I will refrain from posting in the DB side until my avatar has been replaced w/a picture of a real bass.

Or a pin-up girl! They work for both sides of TalkBass.

[Jake deVilliers]

Originally Posted by Damon Rondeau

Jake, are those springs between the tailpiece and the string ball-ends?

Oh yeah, bedsprings, I think.........

Here's the hanger.