My school has a bass labeled to Ernst Reinhold Schmidt, which is in desperate need of repair, it has several large cracks and open seams, but my school isn't willing to get it taken to a luthier. I have discussed purchasing the bass from my school and paying for a restoration myself, but I'm not sure if it's worth the cost. I haven't been able to find any information about this specific bass model. The label says 1937, but I'm not sure if that's the year or the serial number. A general estimate of the price and any information about the instrument would be great help to me.
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Double Bass Ernst Reinhold Schmidt bass worth?
- Thread starter oliver-ttt
- Start date
I have no idea about value, but here are some you could look into.
There’s this one:
www.a440violinshop.com
And this other unlabeled bass looks remarkably similar: https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/germanic-bass-maker-unknown-c-1920.1666661/
And this one previously owned by Dave Holland: https://www.talkbass.com/classified...-bass-formerly-owned-by-dave-holland.1467609/
And one that was at the Martin shop:
Good luck!
There’s this one:
E Reinhold Schmidt Double Bass — A440 Violin Shop
SOLD THANK YOU A Saxon double bass from the workshop of Ernst Reinhold Schmidt in the early part of the 20th century. Freshly restored by our luthiers. Fully carved, violin corners, Eb neck, Fishman Full Circle pickup, New Harmony endpin. Sound is warm and focused, with unusually good resonance.
www.a440violinshop.com
And this other unlabeled bass looks remarkably similar: https://www.talkbass.com/classifieds/germanic-bass-maker-unknown-c-1920.1666661/
And this one previously owned by Dave Holland: https://www.talkbass.com/classified...-bass-formerly-owned-by-dave-holland.1467609/
And one that was at the Martin shop:
Good luck!
It appears to be a fully carved bass with a significant bass bar crack. Just speculating, but you may end up putting about as much money into repairs as the instrument is worth. Get it for as close to free as you can.
Yes, I agree; fully carved. The top crack runs the full length of the top and is above the bass bar. It’s a nice bass, but repairs might be costly. The fingerboard looks nice and thick.
Is 1937 the year of production? I can get more pictures of it in a day or two, but the center seam on the back is cracked. I'm very worried about the bass exploding.
Bass could be a fantastic one. Dave Holland recorded a solo bass album with a similar bass. It was more than good enough for him../
1937 is the year it was made. If you don’t need the play the bass, you can loosen the strings. At a certain looseness, the sound post will fall
down. You can buy a sound post setter to put it back it place. All the cracks can be repaired by a competent luthier.
Here is a list of bass luthiers.
Gollihur Music's Famous Upright Bass Luthier Directory
This is an excellent resource company:
Gollihur Music
I'd suggest if you have a serious enough interest in the instrument to get it repaired, slack the strings asap. As has been mentioned, the sound post will probably fall with no string tension, but the sound post will be taken out of the instrument during the repairs anyway. At this point in time, string tension can only make things worse.
1937 as building year might be "a bit difficult", because Ernst Reinhold Schmidt died in 1928..
tarisio.com
Maker Profile - Tarisio
Perhaps, the keyword is ‘workshop’.1937 as building year might be "a bit difficult", because Ernst Reinhold Schmidt died in 1928..
Maker Profile - Tarisio
Afterall, Leo hasn’t been around for awhile either.
Think of it this way - if repaired well, it’s a £5-7k instrument. Cost of a rebuild it’s likely £2k max. I’d jump at it!!
2k seems very optimistic!
Fasinating post.
Cannot the strings, for now, be loosened enough to stave off an explosion but delay it for a while?
Cannot the strings, for now, be loosened enough to stave off an explosion but delay it for a while?
Before you do anything get an in-person estimate for the cost of repairs from a reputable bass shop. Don't just email to get a general idea because the cost could vary considerably once they see what it needs. It could be a very nice bass but if the numbers don't make sense I'd let it be.
How much does the school want for it? If they are not willing to repair it, it is essentially just taking up space. Not sure what they could get for it on the open market, or as essentially "salvage" to a luthier/shop.
I'd suggest they just let you take a problem off their hands. Ya never now. Schools' budgets can be weird. They may not be set up well to try to "resell" assets.
I'd suggest they just let you take a problem off their hands. Ya never now. Schools' budgets can be weird. They may not be set up well to try to "resell" assets.
It's unusable as is. If there's any common sense in the school at all, they'll give it to you. That said ,given the way these things often go, they'll opt to trash it.
