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Double Bass Edges wearing on Kay Plywood

H

Humph

May 23, 2004
34
0
51
Warren, NJ
#1
Was wondering if there is a way to seal the edges of my Kay c-1.
The edges are wearing slightly. When I take my bag of the bass I sometimes hear the edges getting caught on the bag.
It is only on the lower sections of the bass, where it would lay down. there are no big chunks missing or anything like that. But the edges have worn the old varnish or poly-urethene off.
My teacher sanded down some of the rough spots with 150 grit paper and put some old English oil on it after he sanded it. He said he doesn't do this on carved basses.
Can I use a varnish or poly-urethene to seal the edges or is that not the right type of material? Any help is appreciated. :help:
Thanks,
Mike
 
#2
Humph said:
Was wondering if there is a way to seal the edges of my Kay c-1.
The edges are wearing slightly. When I take my bag of the bass I sometimes hear the edges getting caught on the bag.
It is only on the lower sections of the bass, where it would lay down. there are no big chunks missing or anything like that. But the edges have worn the old varnish or poly-urethene off.
My teacher sanded down some of the rough spots with 150 grit paper and put some old English oil on it after he sanded it. He said he doesn't do this on carved basses.
Can I use a varnish or poly-urethene to seal the edges or is that not the right type of material? Any help is appreciated. :help:
Thanks,
Mike
Click to expand...

Go ahead and get the edges as smooth as possible.....
Then apply some Bass Bumpers on the liners of your bass to protect your edges. The liners are the extra piece of wood that follows the profile of your bass.....they are glued to the ribs. You can use pieces of wood about 2" long or a car fan belt works even better because it acts like a shock absorber.
Apply these strips right where the edges contact the floor when you're laying it down....on the basses left side only. Only use hyde glue!
If this confuses you, do a quick search under bumpers. There are several threads on this.
 
#5
Paul Warburton said:
If you use wood, you'll have to sand the bumpers to meet the profile of the bass. That's why I like the fan belt. You can paint them to look like ebony. Some of the cats just used duct tape or leather, which is nice.....
Click to expand...


How would you describe the tonal differences between a premium Goodyear belt and a lesser quality Kelly belt?
 
#7
Chasarms said:
How would you describe the tonal differences between a premium Goodyear belt and a lesser quality Kelly belt?
Click to expand...

The newer, low profile Japanese belts are my choice......and they don't show skid marks as readily as the more expensive American belts.
Seriously, after cutting the pieces to be used, you can stick 'em in a vise over night so that they'll match the curve of the lining or ribs of your bass.
You guys laugh, but i'll put my edges up against yours anytime!
 
#8
Paul Warburton said:
The newer, low profile Japanese belts are my choice......and they don't show skid marks as readily as the more expensive American belts.
Seriously, after cutting the pieces to be used, you can stick 'em in a vise over night so that they'll match the curve of the lining or ribs of your bass.
You guys laugh, but i'll put my edges up against yours anytime!
Click to expand...
I'm not laughing. I thought it was a great idea the first time you suggested them.
 
#9
Paul Warburton said:
. . .You guys laugh, but i'll put my edges up against yours anytime!
Click to expand...

It was really more of a fun and harmless jab at many of the strings at make their rounds here at TBDB.

I'm all for ingenuity. You're chatting with a guy who is convinced there is no better endpin stopper on the planet than a cheap, solid core golfball with a proper-sized hole drilled half through.
 
#12
I don't know if I'd be all that worried about dinging up the edges on a Kay for anything other than not liking the looks of dings. It doesn't seem to affect their resale value at all, and people actually expect that on old Kays. It means they've been played and kept up.

I'm also not sold on this bumpers idea. If I put bumpers on a bass, they would have to be some fancy looking bumpers that you couldn't tell were bumpers. But then something bad will happen to the finish under the bumpers because it's not exposed for years. Like you'll take off the bumpers and the finish will be a different color than the rest of the bass because it didn't fade. Or moisture can get trapped in it and cause the finish to soften.

Basses are made to be played and some of us like to take care of them as good as possible, but if you play them, they're going to get dinged up. Just be as careful with it as possible and hope for the best. At least that's my opinion.
 
#13
JimmyM said:
I don't know if I'd be all that worried about dinging up the edges on a Kay for anything other than not liking the looks of dings. It doesn't seem to affect their resale value at all, and people actually expect that on old Kays. It means they've been played and kept up.
I'm also not sold on this bumpers idea. If I put bumpers on a bass, they would have to be some fancy looking bumpers that you couldn't tell were bumpers. But then something bad will happen to the finish under the bumpers because it's not exposed for years. Like you'll take off the bumpers and the finish will be a different color than the rest of the bass because it didn't fade. Or moisture can get trapped in it and cause the finish to soften.
Basses are made to be played and some of us like to take care of them as good as possible, but if you play them, they're going to get dinged up. Just be as careful with it as possible and hope for the best. At least that's my opinion.
Click to expand...

I don't know why in the world you would care that bumpers didn't look like bumpers....my Bohmann has purfling inlaid in the edges...see The Talkbasses. Eye Candy...under basses. My luthier Bob Ross, made my bumpers out of ebony and purpleheart if you want fancy. But I still prefer the fan belts 'cause they act like absorbers.
Thanks for the lecture. You obviously know more about these here big fiddles than I do!! :eyebrow:
 
#14
Chasarms said:
It was really more of a fun and harmless jab at many of the strings at make their rounds here at TBDB.
I'm all for ingenuity. You're chatting with a guy who is convinced there is no better endpin stopper on the planet than a cheap, solid core golfball with a proper-sized hole drilled half through.
Click to expand...

Right on! When I saw and heard Scott LaFaro with Chet Baker, Phil Urso, Bobby Timmons, and Lawrence Marable at a Denver University concert in about 1958, Scott had a toilet plunger attached to his end-pin.
 
#15
nicklloyd said:
You use a golfball-endpin on hard surfaces?
Click to expand...

I don't now. I have one of those KC Strings endpins in the Shen with the big heavy duty stopper. But when I was playing the Engelhardt with the factory, endpin-like thing they have, I used a golf ball, as anything else would fall apart in a matter of days.

I never had any issues with it on hard surfaces. I can't specifically recall having to deal with it on raw concrete or anything, but I did use it for sure on many different varieties of wood, tile, carpet and plain old dirt. I never had issues with it sliding around or bouncing.

I always used the Pinnacle balls that I found and stuck in my bag. At least they could be used for something. They are almost indestructible.
 
#16
I have seen several and played two kays equipped with golf balls. On a hardwood floor, they were skittering all over the place. Could be due in part to the way I held the basses but the balls just didn't grip very well. It was hard to concentrate on the music when you never knew when the bass would run away.
 
#19
Paul, you don't have to be a 40-years experienced bass player to know about wood and what happens to it if you cover it up with rubber. So do me a favor, please, and don't talk down to me. It's not like I started playing music for a living 2 months ago and don't know maple from rosewood. But you are right in that I've only been playing DB for a short time, so please excuse me for daring to question the logic of putting rubber over wood and leaving it there.
 
#20
Doesn't anyone use a stand? I cringe at the thought of some drunk tripping over my bass as it lays on its side. I guess for guys who take the subway to a gig, a stand is one more thing to carry - but when I go, my bass is in my hands or in its stand.

I've borrowed from the game of golf, too. In my case, I flipped the endpin around so the flat end is down, and used a golf-club grip (Wal-mart, $5 package of 4) as a tip. Cut to fit and squirt in some "Shoe Goo", and it's lasted nearly two years now.
 

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