Romanian bass rehab

[Fleo]

So,

About a month ago I finally brought my bass to the doctor, it was illing form being build roughly with reasonable wood but terrible ware.

It had horrible tuners, painted tailpiece, low angle neck, scratched painting mixed with dirt to make it look old, too thick top plate, average endpin, dead E-string.

I shall post some pictures of it later. I bought via the web after bidding on it's looks from a student from Colombia just graduated. He 'told' me that he bought in some shop in Germany and thought it was from beginning 1900. Three hours later he would take his plane to NY.

While visiting a luthier, they showed on the inside the bass was brand new with no repairs at all. On the outside it had
scratches all over to make it look aged. The tuners had probably plumbed into battery acid etc..

So Lucas Suringar from Almere is going to adjust all mentioned above. He takes care of all major (jazz) player basses in Holland. He's already working on it and finished thinning the topplate and adjusting the angle of the neck. Now he's concentrating on refinishing it's laquer, also with a darker color. It was kinda dirty yellow. between jobs this is gonna take a while , like four to six weeks.

Aside from the value repair I hope it gonna ring like a bell.

I think it also will give me new inspiration. I found the setup of my main other bass holding back a lot. I discovered this by hearing and watching another respected player 'hampering' over the same ritmical thing in half position while playing my bass on a session.

This costed me more then 15 years to discover; Whenever you thought the setup of your bass, work on it asap instead of wasting precious time.

[Fleo]

She 's still under the knife. Here some pics before the rehab.

[Fleo]

From a-side

[Fleo]

chips for everybody!!

Next to my bass is a bucket full of wood curls taken from the top plate. The angle of the neck is bigger, so I'l probably will need a new ajustable bridge.
He also made some ebony strips next to the heel of the neck as you can see on both pics. With the better angle it'll be easier to play in thumb position.

As you might also see that the drawing in the wood will be promising for the outcome of the refinish that's taken place at the moment. Next to the bucket also the new Rubner tuners.

I'm very excited about the new sound playability, loudness.

[Fleo]

The scroll has been done very poor and rough, so the side will have to be refilled or replaced. The weight of the bucket was not a lot, so the slimmin won't help me carry the bass better.

I'm beginnig to enjoy this radio silence of fellow bass players. Hello anybody out there, internet, it's just another myth. Guess it's just me and notepad

[Eric Hochberg]

so, you think it's a newer Romanian bass with a Viennese scroll? That's kind of odd. I like those scrolls. I wonder why the scroll is so rough...

[Fleo]

Yes,

Indeed the scroll doesn't fit with the shape of the body. It's been done quick and bluntly. On the inside it's brandnew, a lot off odd scratches on the outside as a sort of aging "standin fony cracks"

My other bass is an Vienesse in fact of around 1840, so I have myself to blame being blinded and eager on this "super deal".

Contributing to talkbass is a sort cleaning the conscious.

By the way awesome video with Lyle Mays, what great music!!!

[kurt ratering]

i have been told that those types of boxes were hungarian

[Paul Warburton]

Actually, I thought they were German....Example....Matthias Klotz.

[Matthew Tucker]

Well, Gasparo Da Salo made some scrolls like that, too.

[Eric Hochberg]

Here's one Ken Smith owns with that style scroll.

[kurt ratering]

so we're agreed...its european

[Matthew Tucker]

... but doesn't match the body (also european). Provenance is a funny thing to contemplate, isn't it? I wonder why it is so important?

[eh_train]

That scroll was described by Henry Riedstra (a local luthier) as "in the style of Bina, of Prague" when he was selling a bass with a similar look several years ago.

Did someone mention Hungarian? In Toronto, some members of that community are notorious for their "it's really old, and I have to sell it quickly" marketing techniques. I bought a French looking bass that turned out to be Hungarian (and not really all that well made). At least it hadn't been antiqued, so I didn't pay the extra 300% markup!

Cheers,

Paul

[Matthew Tucker]

Bina of Prague made scrolls with a chainsaw and brown ink?

[kurt ratering]

not much of a history buff, but werent these places ( vienna, hungary, prauge,southern germany, etc.) more or less part of the austro-hungarian empire pre ww1? maybe the habsburgs just liked funky scrolls.

[Fleo]

Here's my other bass I own since 1991. Its made round 1840 in the habsburger empire (sissi) Same scroll Steve Kirby, of NY also owns one , that one is in a gig bag with the initials RC on it!?

[edvon]

Originally Posted by kurt ratering

not much of a history buff, but werent these places ( vienna, hungary, prauge,southern germany, etc.) more or less part of the austro-hungarian empire pre ww1? maybe the habsburgs just liked funky scrolls.

Southern Germany...my bavarian heart nearly stopped when I read that.. Saying this, they were pretty big in those days...

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Fleo

Here's my other bass I own since 1991.

The tie goes with the shirt on that one.

[Fleo]

This week I got my apt-flex pickup. Now all I need is my bass. The luthier promised me that it would be ready in two weeks from now.
Last four weeks I got no bass, after my other bass ran into something.

Even prosponed a recording session. It better be good!