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Double Bass Crack near bassbar - how bad?

Adrian Cho

Supporting Member
Sep 17, 2001
1,997
169
Ottawa, Canada
adriancho.com
I'm looking at a bass that has about ten cracks. One on front is about 2 - 3" away from the bassbar. The cracks were all repaired a long time ago and seem to be very stable. The only one that really worries me is the one near the bassbar. Assuming it was well repaired, should I be worried about it's location?
 
Adrian Cho said:
I'm looking at a bass that has about ten cracks. One on front is about 2 - 3" away from the bassbar. The cracks were all repaired a long time ago and seem to be very stable. The only one that really worries me is the one near the bassbar. Assuming it was well repaired, should I be worried about it's location?

I've got a crack about 2 inches outside of the bassbar and my has been stable for the 8 years I've owned it. I'm just guessing that this particular crack happened over 50 years ago. I think it's a real problem if there are cracks immediatley above or below the bass bar that could spread over time to under the bass bar.
Any of the other 9 cracks near the sound post?
 
A crack that is 2-3 away from the bass bar shouldn't been any worse than any other crack on the top. The true bass bar crack runs right along the side of the bar. The problem as far as the repairer is concerned is that the bar itself is sitting where you would normally place the cletes across the crack. Even though bass bar cracks have a very bad reputation, if properly repaired, they should not be any more troublesome in the future than a crack anywhere else on the top.