Double Bass Cracked Heel Opinions

[Dudaronamous]

Calling @Hans Gruber —what was the outcome? Did the glue hold?

 

[Hans Gruber]

Calling @Hans Gruber —what was the outcome? Did the glue hold?

We don't know yet.

I'll try to keep it short, but this happened right around early March when no one was sure about the future of city ordinances. I took it in shortly after but Lisa was out of town for a week so I had to wait til she got back, but her assistant Gabriel said it was going to be a 2 person job. One person to hold the cracks and one to apply the glue. I waited for Lisa to get back. But the time she did, the city shut down all non-essential businesses and they never got a chance to work on the bass. He called me to ask if I wanted to pick up the bass or have them hold on to it. I opted for the latter. The bar I played shut down right at the same time as well.

Lisa's able to do some work, but it's a small shop and hard to keep proper distances. Unless she just bolts the neck herself, but I'm opting for the glue.

So the bass is still there, strings loosened, not worked on. The gig I broke it at was my main weekly upright gig venue. I don't know the future of that venue, either. All of it is is the worst timing, it my second to last gig there. Of all times to crack a neck heel and the likelihood of not gigging there again. Ugh.

I talked to Lisa last Saturday and she'll try something, but until then, this could be a while. But I'm not really going anywhere either.

 

[Dudaronamous]

The timing of all this is really unfortunate. I hope she’s able to open soon and get it repaired for you. Take care.

 

[arto alho]

You can try this while waiting

 

[Hans Gruber]

The timing of all this is really unfortunate. I hope she’s able to open soon and get it repaired for you. Take care.

Well wouldn't you know. She called me today to say it's fixed. We'll give it another day to make sure the glue held up, but if it does, then we're good to go and I'll get it Saturday.

 

[OddSenses]

Sinking hardware that doesn’t change with the weather into wood that does is, or should be, a repair of last resort. Pulling the neck or at least the fingerboard to hide the bolt is common sense, as is leaving some sort of sign this repair has been done to avoid damaging some future repair person’s expensive tools.

Agreed, I have seen plenty of cellos and basses break around sunk in neck screws.

 

[AGCurry]

I looked at an Epiphone B-4 yesterday with the thought of buying. The CL ad did state that the soundpost, bridge, and strings were off of it because of a neck heel break. Turns out that the neck heel break was actually a repair that had failed. The repair had been done with a bolt inserted through the back, with a round cap put on to cover the drilled hole. It looked like the original repairer had sawed through the break.

The owner is a nice (honest) guy. He just wanted a trade for something worth around $400. I had to pass on the deal and wish him luck. IF the thing had been broken for the first time, I would have done the deal, but not knowing how much a new neck would cost me, I had to pass.