Double Bass Circa 1940 Epiphone bass new neck & scroll graft

[james condino]

We had a beautiful 57 degree F sunny day today, so I moved a bench outside and spent the afternoon working on this beautiful circa 1940 butterscotch blonde Epiphone. The second owner has had her since the early 1970s and played countless gigs, along the way acquiring multiple neck breaks and repairs; today it got a new European maple neck and scroll graft. The same player owns the brownburst one that I showed off a couple of years ago that turned out very well.

A few photos for the snowbound among us:

 

[james condino]

Here is a closeup of the older brownburst Epi scroll graft complete with the hand stamped serial number:

 

[GretschWretch]

Looking great, James. Can't wait to see her when she's done. Based on quality (which is not necessarily the same as desirability), how would you rank the following vintage brands?

American Standard
Epiphone
Gibson
Kay
King Moretone

(Am I leaving out anybody?)

 

[Don Hergert]

Beautiful work James!

Did you replace the neck block with this repair?

 

[james condino]

The original neck block was in good shape, so no replacement but it was opened up to remove the dovetail and now has a big, very clean mortise.

All of those brands have their own issues, so there is no clear winner on quality. They all had weak neck joints; the individual weakness varied.

Kings had probably the best overall build and material quality & they are usually very fair priced.

Kays tend to hold up best at high volumes and they made tons of them so they are easiest to find replacement or donor parts (when, not if!).

American standards generally kick a$$ above the rest when played acoustic for depth, voice, and volume, even though their cosmetic lines are clunky, awkward, and not very attractive, and they have a big scale- 43 3/8, similar to Kings. They are always in high demand and usually cost the most.

I'm not a small person, so the smaller body size of Epiphones is no advantage to me, but they tend to have the nicest necks- carved scrolls and a good heft in hand with nice woods.

I've owned all of them and my current favorite is an early three digit American Standard with a new 41 1/2" D heel Condino neck.

 

[Steve Swan]

This old gigging bass looks like it has gotten good care over the years. Than k you for sharing the photos and Happy New Year !!

 

[notJaco]

-----------------------------snip
(Am I leaving out anybody?)

I have a Framus and have maybe seen one other on the forums. When were these manufactured?
I got it used in the mid 1970's from a school band supplier.

 

[Bisounourse]

I have a Framus and have maybe seen one other on the forums. When were these manufactured?
I got it used in the mid 1970's from a school band supplier.

This might help (I don't know much about the subject, only own a Framus slab from the '60ies).

Framus Vintage

 

[notJaco]

Thanks for that. I am still a bit clueless about my own bass as the sticker does not give a model number or date.
Mine does not have the cutout.
Anyway, that is a subject for another thread.