Sound post fun

[headache]

well it would seem my soundpost has fallen out of place and is now sitting at the bottom of my bass..

I would like to do any repairs myself (even though I hear this repair is a royal pain)

I just want to know if anybody has some tips for me or mabey some advice on what equipment to use ..

any help is much appreciated

thanks

[drurb]

Originally Posted by headache

well it would seem my soundpost has fallen out of place and is now sitting at the bottom of my bass..

I would like to do any repairs myself (even though I hear this repair is a royal pain)

I just want to know if anybody has some tips for me or mabey some advice on what equipment to use ..

any help is much appreciated

thanks

I suppose it fell when you loosened the strings. Yes? If by repair, you mean reset the sound post, you should use a sound-post setter. Even more appropriate is a good working knowledge of precisely where it should sit in your bass. Especially if your bass is carved, you could do a great deal of damage if you reposition it at a location other than that for which it was (or should have been) precisely carved. My advice: seek a luthier's help.

[Silversorcerer]

Tell us a little more. If it just fell over by itself, it was too short. If you knocked the bass hard enough to jar it loose, you need to inspect the joins of the bass for other possible damage that is more serious. If it fell out when you loosened the strings, next time only loosen one string at a time. If you must remove all of the strings, place a padded weight (not too heavy) on top of the bass belly (bass lying on its' back) while you take them off. If the back of the bass is swelled (carved into an arched shape) the post will only really fit in one position. Your biggest mystery will be figuring out which end of the post was the top and which end was the bottom, and yes, this is critical and a headache. Best short advice;- Take 2 aspirin and call a luthier.

[headache]

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

Tell us a little more. If it just fell over by itself, it was too short. If you knocked the bass hard enough to jar it loose, you need to inspect the joins of the bass for other possible damage that is more serious. If it fell out when you loosened the strings, next time only loosen one string at a time. If you must remove all of the strings, place a padded weight (not too heavy) on top of the bass belly (bass lying on its' back) while you take them off. If the back of the bass is swelled (carved into an arched shape) the post will only really fit in one position. Your biggest mystery will be figuring out which end of the post was the top and which end was the bottom, and yes, this is critical and a headache. Best short advice;- Take 2 aspirin and call a luthier.

Well this is a German Antonius Stradivarius copy laminated bass.. that I bought used and sightly dinged up... the previous owner was jamming the bow into the F-holes whilst not in use, so the sound post was in kind of knocked into a diagonal position as a result..it finally fell out of place last night...

Well if you are suggesting a luthier can ask you roughly what i can be expected to pay?

thank you very much

[drurb]

Originally Posted by headache

Well this is a German Antonius Stradivarius copy laminated bass.. that I bought used and sightly dinged up... the previous owner was jamming the bow into the F-holes whilst not in use, so the sound post was in kind of knocked into a diagonal position as a result..it finally fell out of place last night...

Well if you are suggesting a luthier can ask you roughly what i can be expected to pay?

thank you very much

It fell with the strings under tension???!!! I hope you've loosened all of them! If a luthier only needs to reset the post, I bet some will do it free or certainly under $50. If a new post needs to be carved, figure on $120 give or take.

[headache]

Originally Posted by drurb

It fell with the strings under tension???!!! I hope you've loosened all of them! If a luthier only needs to reset the post, I bet some will do it free or certainly under $50. If a new post needs to be carved, figure on $120 give or take.

yes I reduced the tension...

Thanks alot ..I got a luthier's number an hour earlier and plan on seeing him tomorrow..

thank you for your help...

this information is much appreciated