Double Bass Need Help Identifying My Bass

spooonius · Jul 19, 2013

I found this bass in a small music shop in Istanbul about 15 years ago. There was only one string on it and it was basically being used to hold the door open. Needless to say, I got a great deal on it. I've never been able to find out the maker and origin (other than the Russian label), but I'm hoping the community here can help.

I'm not sure yet of the best way to include images, so please bear with me while I figure it out. I've got a lot more images, so as soon as i figure it out, I'll post them.

mlz77096 · Jul 19, 2013

Can't help you with the ID, but I sure like that shape. How does it play?

Edvin · Jul 19, 2013

russian/soviet?
Does it say 1971 in the middle to the right?

spooonius · Jul 19, 2013

It plays great. It has a nice full bottom and a bit of a growl. I think the tag says 1970. I wish I could read Russian. It's a little bigger than a 3/4 and pretty heavy too.

spooonius · Jul 20, 2013

Update: I showed the label to a Russian neighbor and he told me that it was from a factory in Moscow. He translated the round text to "Moscow musician instrument company"

korotkov · Jul 22, 2013

yes this is indeed a soviet hybrid bass made by Moscow factory.

id come up with more information if i could look at it's back.

we've got a lot of these instruments and they're very cheap in Russia. good basses but you need a lot to be done to the one if you want it sound nice. these were made for several decades from the 40s to 90s maybe and the quality varies very much. first basses were Otto's flatback copies. these were true 3\4 hybrid basses. theres an original Otto's carved bass of the same measures in moscow conservatory. I'm not sure of the measures but I could measure one at home when i get there next week. these were the best soundiung basses that are very rarely found nowadays. they swiched to bigger basses with regular 3\4 scale and carved top and back later. these were made fith far less precision but still sounded very good. the fretboard and talipiece were painted and they used regular furniture glue so these are just a sturdy workhorses. several models were made with laminated\carved back, d neck always. the darker sounding ones were covered with red lacquer, the brighter ones got the yellower finish. the quality dropped significally in the late 80s and the factory closed in the 90s cause there vas very little demand and overall economical decrease.

again, id come up with more information on soviet basses and your bass in particular if there's any interest in these.

spooonius · Jul 22, 2013

korotkov said:
yes this is indeed a soviet hybrid bass made by Moscow factory.

id come up with more information if i could look at it's back.

we've got a lot of these instruments and they're very cheap in Russia. good basses but you need a lot to be done to the one if you want it sound nice. these were made for several decades from the 40s to 90s maybe and the quality varies very much. first basses were Otto's flatback copies. these were true 3\4 hybrid basses. theres an original Otto's carved bass of the same measures in moscow conservatory. I'm not sure of the measures but I could measure one at home when i get there next week. these were the best soundiung basses that are very rarely found nowadays. they swiched to bigger basses with regular 3\4 scale and carved top and back later. these were made fith far less precision but still sounded very good. the fretboard and talipiece were painted and they used regular furniture glue so these are just a sturdy workhorses. several models were made with laminated\carved back, d neck always. the darker sounding ones were covered with red lacquer, the brighter ones got the yellower finish. the quality dropped significally in the late 80s and the factory closed in the 90s cause there vas very little demand and overall economical decrease.

again, id come up with more information on soviet basses and your bass in particular if there's any interest in these.

Thanks for the great information, I really appreciate it! For years I've wondered about this bass, but no one has really been able to tell me about it. I've attached some pics of the back to the post. I'm at work so these are all I have right now, but if you need something more, let me know. Also, a poster in another forum told me it's from the Lira factory in Moscow.

korotkov · Jul 22, 2013

hey,

thanks for posting these. I used to own exactly the same bass for quite a long time, this looks like an early '70s to me. sorry im on my mobile maybe there's a production date at the label. this looks like a carved back to me, so this bass should have a chunky D neck like mine. they went back to laminated back and a slim neck profile later in the 70s for a short period of time but the factory was focused on furniture production at that time so they were not nearly as good as the early flatbacks.

most of these basses are now in a very poor state and still cost very little. they are much heavier than european basses but the sound is very rich and well suited for orchestra. wery much like rubner basses, they are ill suited for pizz, to me.

thanks for posting. the whole idea of these basses presence anywhere but russia is pretty new to me ))

Sasha

spooonius · Jul 22, 2013

korotkov said:
hey,

thanks for posting these. I used to own exactly the same bass for quite a long time, this looks like an early '70s to me. sorry im on my mobile maybe there's a production date at the label. this looks like a carved back to me, so this bass should have a chunky D neck like mine. they went back to laminated back and a slim neck profile later in the 70s for a short period of time but the factory was focused on furniture production at that time so they were not nearly as good as the early flatbacks.

most of these basses are now in a very poor state and still cost very little. they are much heavier than european basses but the sound is very rich and well suited for orchestra. wery much like rubner basses, they are ill suited for pizz, to me.

thanks for posting. the whole idea of these basses presence anywhere but russia is pretty new to me ))

Sasha

Yes, it's pretty heavy with a carved back and a chunky neck (and it also needs some work). I've used it as my main bass for mostly jazz over the last 15 years, so it has great value to me. I'd like to take it in to fix a busted seam in the back and for any other structural issues they find. A couple more pictures:

netogv98 · Oct 10, 2024

Hello everyone!
I happen to have stumbled upon a similar bass to this one. Also a LIRA made.
I was wondering if it is worth a restoration for this one.
Do you happen to know the value of this bass in case I decide to buy it as it is?
What could be the price of it after restoration?
I want to start playing upright bass and this one is being offered to me.
It has been used in Orchestra and a couple of professional bassists that have tried it in the past tell me that
the sound was very good.
I am attaching the photos and the translation of the label of the maker.
LABEL TRANSLATED:

лира (LIRA)
московское объединение (Moscow association)
мосгорсовнархоз (Moscow City Council of National Economy).....(I think, not really sure about this translation)

No. 2742
дата сентябр (date September)
вып 1963 г (Issue year 1963)
москва (Moscow)
проспект мира 219 (Avenue of Peace 219)

What is written in vertical with the pen is
бгоров (Bgorov)

Thanks in advance!

KUNGfuSHERIFF · Oct 10, 2024

How much are they paying you to drag it away?

netogv98 · Oct 11, 2024

KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
How much are they paying you to drag it away?

Hahaha

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