old German bass repair ideas

[LAG]

I have an opportunity to purchase a 100+ year old German upright that presently is a couple pieces, the neck needs to be reattached. A bluegrass guitar player friend of mine has had it in it's present condition for a few years and bought it with intentions of having it repaired for his wife to learn on. They are older now she doesn't wish to start playing bass, and he doesn't want to invest the time and money to have it restored. He told me he had it looked at at a prominent repair shop and they told him it would need about $3000.00 worth of work, but after wards would be worth around $7000.00. I could buy the bass now for about $300.00.

Before I possibly think about pursuing it, what else is there to consider at this point?

Any advice is appreciated.

[jmpiwonka]

i'm in the same situation as you.
i have an old german bass that needs alot of repair.
the luthier i trust to do good work, the bass needs about $1500 in work by that luthiers prices...maybe a bit more if the bassbar needs to be replaced.

saving an old bass is appealing to me, it could sound real nice...but on the other hand i could drop a bunch of money in the bass and end up not liking how it plays or sounds. kinda risky.

[james condino]

Originally Posted by LAG

Before I possibly think about pursuing it, what else is there to consider at this point?

Time, money, life energy, and do you really want another unfinished project sidelined in your closet of life's unfulfilled anxieties?

For someone with the skills to put it together it sounds great; if not, it is an incredible amount of work.

j.