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Double Bass Bass repaired without soundpost patch

Whisper

Whisper

Supporting Member
Jun 28, 2001
675
372
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
#1
Hi TalkBass,

I'm looking at purchasing a German carved bass from the 1960's. In 1968, the bass suffered from a fall and the top was damaged, including a soundpost crack. The bass was repaired in 1968 and the repairs have been stable ever since. However, the crack by the soundpost was not repaired with a patch - it was simply glued and cleated.

Obviously, this is not optimal, however, if the bass has functioned for this long, is it something I need to be scared of?

Here's a photo of the affected area:

IMG_2719.JPG


Here's a photo of the top of the bass:

IMG_2722.JPG


Any insight would be appreciated.
 
#2
Nice looking bass.

Ultimately it won't matter if you have work done on the top to add a patch, but it does look like the sound post is not straight (not perpendicular to the top) and has shifted at some point in time.

I have to wonder if the cleat repair was done to avoid changing the tone and volume of the instrument with a patch. It does look like there has been HHG pressed into the cracks themselves.
 
#5
Slightly diverging from your question, I'm wondering about the overall health of the bass. It's hard to say for sure, but I count possibly 11 cracks in the top (I hope I'm not overestimating, but the wonky refinishing doesn't make it easy to tell). That's a lot of cracks for a bass that's still less than 60 years old.

Did all of them happen during the 1968 fall? I'd check around the bottom of the bass bar as well (I thought I saw cracks in that area). Also the soundpost crack, and the possible bass bar crack (on their southern ends), seems to have actual gaps in the wood.
 

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