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Carlo Robelli Club!

#261
Just picked this up off of eBay. Winning bid, just under $200, including shipping. This is one that I've really wanted for my collection but, ever since Joe Dart made this model somewhat famous in a Vulfpeck video, their prices have gone into the $400+ range, which I wasn't willing to spend. Especially because they went for under $200 before that.

It needs a good cleaning, fret sprout taken care of, fret polish, spray clean the potentiometers so they're not scratchy, new strings, and a setup.

As is, it sounds fantastic. Excellent tone, phat, full sound. The neck has a wonderfully thin profile. It feels surprisingly heavy! I do feel the headstock is a bit small for the size of the bass but, otherwise, I love the look of it.

The body has a really thick clear finish, and is in really good shape. The neck has one small ding up near the 2nd fret but nowhere near where my hand sits, so I don't feel it.

All in all, I'm very happy with it. I just bought a fret end file to try my hand at taking care of the fret sprout.

For all intents and purposes, other than if I can ever find and can afford a 12-string, and if the prices ever drop on a couple of MIJ models I've seen, I think my collection is about done.

Once I have this one done, and a couple of others I'm having work done on back in my possession, I'm planning on posting a pic of the entire Carlo Robelli family I've put together.

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#262
Some good news/so-so news about the bass I just received (posted above).

I did a really quick setup to it (neck relief, string height at bridge, string height at nut, intonation) using some used strings I had, just to get four strings on it, tune it to pitch, and see what kind of shape (no pun intended) the neck was in. On initial inspection, it had a pronounced front bow.

After doing the setup and tuning it up, the truss rod adjustment got the bow out (YAY!). I actually over adjusted it just a smidge and let it sit overnight, which allowed it to settle in nicely. There still feels to be plenty of adjustment to the truss rod. Again, Yay! That's the good news.

The so-so news, which actually is quite alright, are two issues. The first is that there is considerable fret sprout. I've learned to do my own setups over the last 15 years, and have been wanting to delve deeper into my know-how, so I ordered a fret end dressing file and will take care of the fret sprout myself for the first time ever, rather than taking it to my luthier. I feel pretty good about being able to get it down properly and well.

The second so-so issue is that, for the first time ever for me, it looks like I'll need to shim the neck because I have two of the saddles completely lowered to the point where the two allen key set screws aren't contacting the bridge. I was able to just about get the E string to 4/32", where I like it. It's actually a hair higher than that, with no more adjustment available. I ordered a 3 pack of wooden shims from Stew-Mac. Once they get here, I'll unbolt the neck, see what's going on inside the pocket (I see what looks like a small gap on the treble side of the neck, so I'm wondering if there's something in the pocket already) and shim accordingly. Let's see if that causes any other subsequent issues, or if it takes care of the problem.
 
#263
Well. I did a ton of work to this the other day. Including installing a set of flatwounds on it like some folks on another site request 🙂

Removed the neck, cleaned all the clear-coat overspray in the neck pocket, installed a .25° neck shim, dressed the sharp frets ends, removed the pickup and put more foam under it to help raise it up higher, sprayed the potentiometers so they didn't crackle anymore, cleaned everything, polished the frets, lemon oiled the fretboard, installed the flatwounds, adjusted the truss rod, set string height at bridge, filed slots in the nut to get the height I wanted, set the intonation, adjusted the pickup height and finally, stuck a piece of foam under the strings at the bridge for that nice, muted flatwound sound.

After all that, it is such a good feeling and sounding bass that I am enjoying playing. Thanks for the flatwound suggestion. They sound awesome!

The funnest part for me with this bass (other than it playing well) is that I've been wanting to expand my repair and setup knowledge. I learned to do setups about 13 or so years ago. Once the mystery was gone I ended up getting food and making my basses okay well. This was the first time I've ever installed a shim, and done fret end dressing. It felt good to learn so new techniques which allow me to take care of my own instruments.
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#266
I have joined the Carlo Robelli club for the low price of $0!

The other day, I was walking around my neighborhood with a friend, and we went down a street I don't usually walk on, and one house had a bunch of stuff sitting in front of it, including an electric bass! I looked very carefully for any sign saying "Yard Sale", but there wasn't anything like that, and no price on anything, and everything was kind of piled up anyway, not set out carefully. After waiting a while to see if anyone came out of the house, I decided that everything had been put out for free (that happens a lot in this neighborhood) and I had a free new bass!

PXL_20260427_191347957~2.jpg

Who knows how old - 1990s is my guess. It feels like it had been sitting unloved in a basement, but not a terrible basement; the strings and frets are a little cruddy, but far from the worst I've seen. (I took this picture after I'd already cleaned it up a little.) The neck seems in fine condition, and the tuners seem to work OK. The electronics work too, once I replaced the world's deadest 9V battery. I'll probably end up selling it or donating it, but it's fun to mess around with.
 
#268
LostJohnny said:
I have joined the Carlo Robelli club for the low price of $0!

The other day, I was walking around my neighborhood with a friend, and we went down a street I don't usually walk on, and one house had a bunch of stuff sitting in front of it, including an electric bass! I looked very carefully for any sign saying "Yard Sale", but there wasn't anything like that, and no price on anything, and everything was kind of piled up anyway, not set out carefully. After waiting a while to see if anyone came out of the house, I decided that everything had been put out for free (that happens a lot in this neighborhood) and I had a free new bass!

View attachment 7483525

Who knows how old - 1990s is my guess. It feels like it had been sitting unloved in a basement, but not a terrible basement; the strings and frets are a little cruddy, but far from the worst I've seen. (I took this picture after I'd already cleaned it up a little.) The neck seems in fine condition, and the tuners seem to work OK. The electronics work too, once I replaced the world's deadest 9V battery. I'll probably end up selling it or donating it, but it's fun to mess around with.
Click to expand...
Sorry for the delay in responding. I was away for several weeks.

Congrats on the find! Those basses have one hell of an active preamp. It should have a push/pull knob to activate, an deactivate it.

Enjoy it!
 
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#270
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#271
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