Double Bass Another “is this worth looking at?” thread.

[Aragorn35016]

The 5/8th 1880s Bohemian bass I'm restoring had the same Thomastik tailpiece and the "elbow" bend below the bridge. It turned out that during the repairs in the last century the neck had not been set properly. Since I knew this was a major top-off restoration it was ok, but that could have been a real headache. Just for comparison, I paid less than $3K for the bass, knowing that I'm looking at $5-6K in repairs. This kind of bass in good condition (Upton and BVS have a couple) is in the $10-12K asking price. My hunch is that this one would have been $5-6.

One of your numbers is correct

 

[Ed S]

Did the seller have any other interesting basses?

Fun way to spend a day. You made good choices - both to go and learn, and to walk away!

 

[Aragorn35016]

Did the seller have any other interesting basses?

Fun way to spend a day. You made good choices - both to go and learn, and to walk away!

Nope unfortunately that’s all he had!

 

[Eli Brockway]

Old basses are neat, but not sure I’d ever want an old one, this one was kind of “wavy” or “blobby” looking in the ribs.

Rib rippling is a really common thing as carved basses get older. They're only around 2.5-3 millimeters thick most of the time, and when you add on years of various different forces acting on them after they were heat-bent into shape, the wood fibers move and adjust. That, at least, is nothing to worry about, unless you're the one trying to fit cleats where a crack went through one of those warped sections, where it can be a headache.

If you get a newly made carved bass, odds are pretty high within its first twenty years of life its ribs will start to ripple too.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

My NS Cleveland is still the best setup/built bass that I’ve ever played in my small sphere of basses. I kind of now want to follow in Chris Fitzgeralds footsteps and find a hybrid or fully carved lascala so I can have the same level of quality with small shoulders and a carved top. New Standards seem like they’re always a safe bet that’ll never let you down.

I think this is sound logic. But if you’re ever up in my neck of the woods, look me up. Better to experience than to wonder!

 

[Aragorn35016]

I think this is sound logic. But if you’re ever up in my neck of the woods, look me up. Better to experience than to wonder!

That would be awesome! If I ever find myself in that part of the country, I may even get an autograph from you and buy you lunch while I’m there ! I’ve gleaned more than my share of free info from you both on here and all the other forms of bass media that you’ve published!

 

[jmpiwonka]

There’s a hybrid la scala in the classifieds here. Just sayin.

 

[Aragorn35016]

There’s a hybrid la scala in the classifieds here. Just sayin.

Yeah I liked that as soon as it came up, but Utah is a loooong way from alabama…

 

[JBarz]

I’ve got one in Memphis I might could sell you if I can figure out a way to get my hands on this funky long neck J Condino carved bass I’m drooling over sometime this summer. I’ll keep you posted.

 

[Aragorn35016]

I’ve got one in Memphis I might could sell you if I can figure out a way to get my hands on this funky long neck J Condino carved bass I’m drooling over sometime this summer. I’ll keep you posted.

I’m in no super rush! Thanks so much!!

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

A heavy tailpiece can help with the overtone/fundamental balance in a way that’s beneficial to an orchestral player.

That’s a nasty spot for a heel break, especially if the bass hasn’t been blocked to support the heel, but it’s not the end of the world if it was repaired properly.

I’d be more worried about the back repairs and the crack running along the false bass bar. Whoever ends up with it will pay through the nose to have that fixed correctly.

 

[groooooove]

Photos of Bottesini show his Testore bass with three strings, but later ones show it with four. It would be interesting to know what else if anything structural was done to the instrument. A bass of that quality and pedigree would have had the best treatment possible, I would assume. I also like to imagine how these old instruments have traveled to get to some of the places they have ended up. A mentor of mine years ago had a story of a Gagliano(sp?) bass that was owned at one time by a player in Waverly, Ne.

the bigger problem is the tension of modern (especially steel) strings.

going from 3 to 4 gut strings is unlikely to be that big of a deal.

from gut to steel is why you'll see deep sunken tops and many cracks on certain antique basses.

while i do believe this to be true, i'm more or less paraphrasing the great Bozo Paradzik, whom i trust entirely, where I first learned of how "inappropriate" the amount of tension is on most basses.

 

[Bruce Calin]

the bigger problem is the tension of modern (especially steel) strings.

going from 3 to 4 gut strings is unlikely to be that big of a deal.

from gut to steel is why you'll see deep sunken tops and many cracks on certain antique basses.

while i do believe this to be true, i'm more or less paraphrasing the great Bozo Paradzik, whom i trust entirely, where I first learned of how "inappropriate" the amount of tension is on most basses.

This is the reason the luthier who restored my bass back in the 60s put a curved block over the saddle. He believed it relieved the pressure on the top but still thought for whatever reason that steel strings were a better choice for a young student player. I removed the block years later and have never had a problem with the top. He was probably just being cautious.