Double Bass Contrabass sound post repair and evaluating overall condition/worth

[Davino]

This double bass of Czech origin has been in the family for several decades but seldom played. Originally found in the back of a music shop's storeroom missing a fingerboard and bridge in 1990. I paid $75 for it (the store owners were simply interested in clearing space) then $120 for a rather nice new fingerboard mounted by a local luthier. It was occasionally played at home over the years, but the sound post became dislodged at some point and was eventually lost. Later, a frightful attempt was made to tune it up without it once.

Photos attached, including an interior view and of the label; it reads "Copy of Antonius Stradivarius. Fecit anno 19[—?]. Made in Czechoslovakia." Damage from putting the strings under tension briefly without a post needs to be evaluated, along with any cracks visible, to help determine whether taking steps to repair it /reinstall a sound post is warranted. The goal is not and attempt to make it into a well-playing instrument, but just to get it back into somewhat playable condition. Very appreciative of all responses.

 

[Matthijs]

Looks like a typical Czech ply bass. My guess would be that it could date from anywhere from the 30’s to the 50’s and maybe even in a wider range. You’d need a real expert (not me) to have a look at it up close. The two tone colouring on the sides might be a clue. I doubt the Czech were exporting a lot of instruments to the US after ‘38 and before about ‘48. So 30’s or 50’s might seem more logical.

The real concern I’d have is that crack below the treble side bridge foot. The overall deformation doesn’t seem too concerning to me, but I’m not a pro. If that crack is really a crack and not just a surface scratch ( can’t really see ) you’d need to have a luthier look at it.

Al the rest seems solid enough and would not hold me back in just trying to set it up.

 

[Ed S]

Yeah - I expected it to look much worse than it does. I'm not really seeing a crack near the bridge position. If you tap near any of the apparent cracks, does it sound solid? Could you get a light/camera inside to see if they go through or are just superficial?

I've seen a lot worse looking basses being gigged.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Doesn’t it look like the back block is loose?

 

[Davino]

Yeah - I expected it to look much worse than it does. I'm not really seeing a crack near the bridge position. If you tap near any of the apparent cracks, does it sound solid? Could you get a light/camera inside to see if they go through or are just superficial?

I've seen a lot worse looking basses being gigged.

Did you catch this one interior photo among the collection? I see what appear to be a number of thin cracks and various "cleats" (if that's the right term) over them, when examining closely. Tapping, it seems to have integrity, but without a sound post it resonates very differently, less solidly.

I see and feel the indentation where the bridge depressed the front better than any of the photos seem to show, though many angles and different lighting to capture it were attempted.

 

[Davino]

Doesn’t it look like the back block is loose?

It doesn't move. I see what you're seeing, the gap, however, it's on there solid.

 

[Davino]

Looks like a typical Czech ply bass. My guess would be that it could date from anywhere from the 30’s to the 50’s and maybe even in a wider range. You’d need a real expert (not me) to have a look at it up close. The two tone colouring on the sides might be a clue. I doubt the Czech were exporting a lot of instruments to the US after ‘38 and before about ‘48. So 30’s or 50’s might seem more logical.

The real concern I’d have is that crack below the treble side bridge foot. The overall deformation doesn’t seem too concerning to me, but I’m not a pro. If that crack is really a crack and not just a surface scratch ( can’t really see ) you’d need to have a luthier look at it.

Al the rest seems solid enough and would no t hold me back in just trying to set it up.

The crack near the treble side bridge foot... well-spotted. Until we can get a camera with light onto that area, it's difficult to ascertain from the outside the extent/depth of that crack. Tapping on that area and applying some pressure form the outside, it doesn't immediately seem fatal, though a sound post that isn't wide/well contoured could be too much of a hard poke in that spot that a surface crack can't withstand.

The dark two-tone (tobacco-finish, in guitar talk) colouring is on the back and front as well, though more pronounced on the sides. I wonder, as a "Czech ply," if this is considered a very low-end, low-value instrument, an "ugly duckling," and whether pre-war or post-war makes much difference in value.

The fingerboard was initially presumed to be ebony, but in good light, lighter brown striations are visible, more like a mahogany than black ebony. Do these Czech ply basses have a spruce top or are they plywood throughout all the panels?

Not captured in the photos shared before is this one of the tuners with what looks like an insignia that was applied later. It's illegible to me.

Anyway, delighted to learn more about this.

 

[1st Bass]

Initially, looking at the label, I was amused; because (I thought) “Tony Stradivari never made a bass!” But I looked it up and evidently there were at least a couple. They are just super rare.
Glad I didn’t just jump in and say sumpin’ foolish!

 

[walking_line]

The fingerboard was initially presumed to be ebony, but in good light, lighter brown striations are visible, more like a mahogany than black ebony. Do these Czech ply basses have a spruce top or are they plywood throughout all the panels?

$150 for a new fingerboard, wow (even for 1990 prices). I just did a new one on my Italian, and it cost me 10x as much.

Could still be ebony, even if it has brown striations in it. My understanding is that only the most top shelf ebony is black. Most ebony boards, even if very high quality, have some brown in them, and are usually dyed to make them evenly black.

 

[SAlcott]

It might be worth removing one of the tuner plates to see what's under it. #3 shows a lot of cleats, which would be odd in a plywood bass. I couldn't tell from any of the other pics if it's ply or not. It would be strange for a carved bass to have such an appalling finish job, though.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Not captured in the photos shared before is this one of the tuners with what looks like an insignia that was applied later. It's illegible to me.

Anyway, delighted to learn more about this.

Looks, to me, like "Frishe(?) City School(s)".

 

[bassmanbrent]

Initially, looking at the label, I was amused; because (I thought) “Tony Stradivari never made a bass!” But I looked it up and evidently there were at least a couple. They are just super rare.
Glad I didn’t just jump in and say sumpin’ foolish!

I've always been told that he never made any basses so I'm curious to know where you read this...

 

[Davino]

It might be worth removing one of the tuner plates to see what's under it. #3 shows a lot of cleats, which would be odd in a plywood bass. I couldn't tell from any of the other pics if it's ply or not. It would be strange for a carved bass to have such an appalling finish job, though.

I removed one of the tuner plates but, alas, nothing at all underneath. It's not likely or possible that just one of the plates is stamped, is it? I can pull the other plate if there's a chance, but, otherwise, prefer not to twist around and finagle those very old string ends out, lest they break.

In the one good interior pic referred to, I see that the bass bar is clearly ply with its pressed layers, but elsewhere I'm not spotting such signs. Maybe others can direct on where to look.

The body finish is really dark, dull, and low contrast. An ugly duckling among contrabasses? Still, I'd be keen to identify a likely manufacture period, narrowing it further than 1930s–'50s. And get a sense of its approximate monetary worth. Is it worth pulling the other plate for any more clues?

 

[Davino]

$150 for a new fingerboard, wow (even for 1990 prices). I just did a new one on my Italian, and it cost me 10x as much.

Could still be ebony, even if it has brown striations in it. My understanding is that only the most top shelf ebony is black. Most ebony boards, even if very high quality, have some brown in them, and are usually dyed to make them evenly black.

Yes, I somehow managed to bring together a playable bass for well under $300 back then. Minor miracle. Very interesting to learn, and not surprising really, that dyes were used to maintain that even black tone in fingerboards that is so common. The fingerboard piece is very thick, dense, heavy.

 

[walking_line]

The fingerboard piece is very thick, dense, heavy.

Hard to know for sure without seeing it in person, but that could indicate it’s ebony. I couldn’t believe how much my old and new ebony fingerboards weighed when off the bass.

 

[1st Bass]

I've always been told that he never made any basses so I'm curious to know where you read this...

Well, of course, I looked it up on Google! Turns out Dragonetti supposedly had one, and there was another that has disappeared.
But I also read on the internet that Abraham Lincoln sez, “don’t believe everything you read on the internet!”

So, since I had always heard that he never made a bass, and so had you, then maybe Dragonetti was wrong about his bass. I really don’t know.

 

[Bruce Calin]

I've been told stories over the years that the teller claims are historically verified and are completely untrue. One of these is the Dragonetti-Strat tale. Every photo and other depiction of Mr. D shows a DaSalo. I remember one account that claimed he died when struck by a tailpiece that flew up when the wire broke: great story, totally false. I'm sure there are many others. Can anyone verify the dogs in the audience or under the stool story?

 

[Rebop]

Looks, to me, like "Frishe(?) City School(s)".

I spent almost an hour last night trying to decipher the first word and came up with the same thing.
I messed with the photo a bit and seems to help. I was bored.

 

[LouisF]

Could that be "Fresno City Schools"??