Scars On Her Back

spoonido · #1 04-13-2011, 10:32 PM

While shopping for my first upright acoustic bass, I found a lovely anonymous make carved Chinese bass this week that sounded really dark and full. Thing is, while I was fondling her back, there were two lines I could feel, each about 4 inches in length or so, that were like creases in the wood. The shop owner said that they were compressions from shipping, but the wood is not split through. Not having a lot of background in upright basses, it kinda weirds me out. It's not a ply bass, so I feel that this is a problem down the road waiting to happen.

It's probably the best sounding bass of the 12 or so in my price range ($3-5K) that I've tried in the past couple of weeks.

So am I right about these "compression" creases, or are they nothing to worry about?

bassist1962 · #2 04-14-2011, 04:26 AM

If they are actually shipment compression marks, did the shop call someone about damaged goods?
I have a carved bass myself, and have a couple of cracks on the top - one has been there for years, the other within the last year. When I had a luthier fix the seams, I was told that neither of these were through and throughs, but keep an eye on them. This may be the case with the instrument you are looking at.
Is there an onsight luthier that has looked at it, and what is their assessment?

uprightben · #3 04-14-2011, 05:05 AM

Do you mean there's a place where the wood has been dented, like if you ran your fingernail down some softer wood? That's probably not a big deal, use it to leverage the price down. When I first read your post I thought you ment there are places where the wood had been folded by forces from the sides. That would be bad.

360guy · #4 04-14-2011, 06:35 AM

Keep looking but put it on your list. The back should be made of a harder wood such as maple and shouldn't have crease marks on it. If it's a new instrument it was probably not inspected well at the factory. So that is cause for concern. What else didn't they notice?

There are many threads about buying basses on TB so please check them out if you haven't already. For whatever reason it seems Chinese and Romanian basses have a poor reputation and that affects the resale value so keep that in mind.

For the price range you mentioned, and in the present economy, you should be able to find an outstanding bass.

spoonido · #5 04-14-2011, 07:07 AM

Great. Yes, if you run your fingers along the back, there's a kind of ridge in a line. Twice, each about four inches long and not along with the grain, just kind of slightly curving in direction. The back is solid carved maple. Not a flat back.

Dan Conwell · #6 04-14-2011, 10:28 AM

My Eastman has similar marks on the back-10 years and no issues.

PaulCannon · #7 04-14-2011, 10:34 AM

Pictures?

spoonido · #8 04-14-2011, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulCannon

Pictures?

Alas, no.

But that's a great idea.

Next time I'm out shopping I intend to record (audio, with a Zoom H-4) and photograph all my top favorites. Then I'll be able to really figure things out.

spoonido · #9 04-14-2011, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uprightben

Do you mean there's a place where the wood has been dented, like if you ran your fingernail down some softer wood? That's probably not a big deal, use it to leverage the price down. When I first read your post I thought you ment there are places where the wood had been folded by forces from the sides. That would be bad.

Not softer, and not forced from the sides. I thought at first the finish was uneven, but it's not. The shop owner seemed concerned, but not overly so. It looks and feels like a simple crease, similar to a fold in paper.

I come from an acoustic guitar background, where the science of manufacturing, marketing, and mass production is amazing. Buying a good instrument is very simple. It seems like the upright bass is a very, very different world!