Double Bass Double Bass Restoration in California?

[gbftats]

I picked up an old carved double bass from my local pawn shop. Its in need of some major TLC. Im not familiar with who's who in the area, so I was hoping to get some advice on where I could take this for some major restoration work? Preferably somewhere in Northern CA, but will take it to Southern CA if necessary. Just need to find someone reasonably priced and capable! Thanks in Advance

 

[cacophonic]

I picked up an old carved double bass from my local pawn shop. Its in need of some major TLC. Im not familiar with who's who in the area, so I was hoping to get some advice on where I could take this for some major restoration work? Preferably somewhere in Northern CA, but will take it to Southern CA if necessary. Just need to find someone reasonably priced and capable! Thanks in Advance

It's great that you rescued that bass, especially way out there in Angles Camp. Now that she's in good hands, you may want to make a careful survey of her present condition and consider your objectives and budget. A major restoration is a labor-intensive undertaking and can cost upwards of $10k depending on what must be done, while a neglected but otherwise sound bass may be repaired, adjusted and made playable for less than $1000.

There are three luthiers in the region (that I know of) who may be able to bring that bass back to life while working with your budget. In no particular order...:

Berkeley: Gael McKeon [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Santa Cruz: Matt Bohn http://thebassdoc.com/#home
Los Angeles: Lisa Gass [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


Good luck.

-bob

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

Steve Swan in the Bay Area has a stable of luthiers.

Lemur Music has bass luthiers on staff.

Lisa Gass and Stein on Vine are in LA and are well spoken of.

 

[misterbadger]

Jeff Sahs is in Sacramento - he does a lot of work for Steve Swan, and did a fine job on my bass. If you're looking at bay area luthiers, I highly recommend Pat McCarthy in Berkeley.

 

[Steve Swan]

California is a HUGE state, especially from north to south. From Angels Camp, it is about 7 hours to San Juan Capistrano and a little over 6 hours to Los Angeles. By far the closest qualified professional bass luthier would be Jeff Sahs in Sacramento, 1 1/2 hours away from Angels Camp. Jeff can do major work at a high level, but this time of year, he has a pretty heavy work load working on school instruments and helping with my student bass setups. For top-off repairs and other more involved heavy duty restorations, the extra drive to Gael McKeon's String Bass Studio in Berkeley, 2 1/2 hours from Angels Camp, would be the best bet. Gael has done some very involved bass restorations for me and the work is top notch. I currently have 4 basses in for setup with him.

Both of these luthiers perform top quality work and they are excellent communicators. Having mutually agreed projections on the outcome of major work is a large part of successful repair interactions. You will do very well with either one that you choose. Be aware that we are currently in the middle of the very busiest time of year for double bass luthiers, so scheduled work times for you might be a little longer than it would be in the middle of winter. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

[macteacher]

Los Angeles: Lisa Gass [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Lisa is amazing.

She did the same kind of work for me, new bridge, endpin, fingerboard scaling, neck exam, on a "found" bass and at a very reasonable price.

Also the guys at Lemur are terrific from my personal experience as well, though they're a bit farther from you.

 

[Don Kasper]

Los Angeles: Lisa Gass [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Lisa is amazing.

She did the same kind of work for me, new bridge, endpin, fingerboard scaling, neck exam, on a "found" bass and at a very reasonable price.

Also the guys at Lemur are terrific from my personal experience as well, though they're a bit farther from you.

+ Infinity for Lisa Gass.