Double Bass About to buy this DB, my first. Thoughts?

[loukash]

I'll shoot some photos of the fixes tomorrow for comparison with my initial photos on page 1.

Here's some details:

The old nut:


Pedrazzini's refit, reusing the rest on top and adding more wood underneath:

It makes so much difference!

Old fingerboard (as provided by Geigenbau Senn 20 years ago):


Pedrazzini's fingerboard refit:

^ So smooth! A piece of art…

A major problem zone: loose saddle, as well as the end block being 1 mm higher than the lower bout, exposing a gap:


Pedrazzini's refit:

Shortening the endblock, glueing everything properly, replacing the stiff tailpiece wire with a Dyneema string.

As well as reglueing a few other problem gaps between the top and and the bouts.

 

[LouisF]

Earlier in this threat I said, "The Swiss luthier, Pedrazzini, is first class. You'll be in good hands."

And looks like you certainly were! Congratulations.

 

[loukash]

Last week I also asked Pedrazzini if he could make an "educated guess" about the origin of this bass.
He was rather reluctant at first, but eventually he said that it may have been manufactured by a "hobbyist" luthier, even though a skilled one, probably in Germany, and due to the excessive usage of white glue more likely in the 1960s, rather than the 1930s or 1940s as guessed by two other luthiers.
We'll likely never know for sure…

 

[loukash]

I knew about the white glue before I bought the bass. See my photos on page 1. No problem with that, the final price was alright.
Also, Pedrazzini was not the seller; he did some repairs and the setup for me after I bought the bass.
What Pedrazzini explained to me is that white glue was apparently "in" in the 1950s and 1960s, before contemporary luthiers have realized that it can make things hard to repair later. That's why he doesn't think that the bass is older than that, and that's why he thinks it was made by a "hobbyist" luthier. That's all about the white glue in this context.

(edit: @Eric Hochberg apparently deleted his post above, so my reply is now slightly "out of context". I'll keep it here nonetheless.)

 

[loukash]

Hey, it's been exactly one year since I have started this thread.
And my bass is still going strong! Here's a photo from a few weeks ago, busking with the Stereocats:

Thanks again to everyone who chimed in here, you were very helpful! I'm enjoying playing the upright bass so much.