Double Bass Facts/Info about this German bass?

[Capasso]

Hello!
I am gonna buy this beautiful, all-solid bass this week. It's got a well-reinforced flat back. The bass is completely flawless and didn't have a single crack or even repaired crack! The owner wants only 17000 swedish crowns (about 2000 dollars) for it. The owner said that the bass is German, ca 50 years old and handmade. She didn't know much more about the bass though.

Does anyone have a clue about where it comes from and maybe the time it was built? Would be fun to know!

The tuners is not original by the way!

 

[Capasso]

The bass is darker and more brown in real light (camera flash...)

 

[drurb]

The link you posted does not bring me to any pictures.

 

[Capasso]

Sorry, i have a bad computer day today... I'll try again!

 

[bassist14]

imho this is not a 50 years old german bass.
looks like new, hungarian or romanian.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

I don't know what it is, but I agree that it's not old.

 

[Capasso]

I forgot to mention that the bass got new laquer 8 months ago! The wood of the bass looks older in reality than on the pictures. Maybe these photos is a little bit more fair!

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

The interior of the bass looks barely oxidized.

 

[drurb]

No outside linings. Are those not characteristic of old Germans? Maybe not an absolute trait but adds to the suspicion.

 

[Capasso]

Thank you very much for the replies! Didn't completely expect it to be German either due to the pricetag, but it's a nice bass otherwise. Do you think the price is reasonable for it if it's an eastern European bass?

 

[bassist14]

do you have any other basses to compare?
do you have to buy NOW?

 

[PaulCannon]

For the price, this bass looks really nice. It doesn't look old or German, but that doesn't mean anything. Even a new carved Chinese bass in good condition would fetch at least $4k around here.

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

That wood at the top of the back may be covering a broken button and neck reset. Fairly new bass. New lacquer finishes aren't typically a good thing in the DB world.

 

[BrettBelanger]

I have a mid 20th century carved German bass being worked on right now and the only thing that bass and this one have in common is the button looks similar.

 

[arnoldschnitzer]

Those are really cheesy Chinese tuners on there. The shape and wood look Chinese too. Someone is not telling you the truth. But I agree that if the bass is in solid shape, plays and sounds well, it is cheap.

 

[groooooove]

all i can add is thats my bass, my teachers bass, my best friends bass, and my only student with a nice instrument, are all old germans

none of them have anything significant in common with this one

but it doesn't matter, really. a nice sounding bass for $2k is a good deal.

 

[eh_train]

That wood at the top of the back may be covering a broken button and neck reset.

It could be that. OTOH, some Hungarian basses have phoney "repairs" made to make purchasers think the bass has more history than it really does.

Overall, though it looks pretty new. The really new and really crappy tuners don't seem to have replaced anything (ie., no obvious holes from the earlier tuners). And you have to wonder why those crap tuners would ever be used as replacements on a decent bass.

Why don't you ask the seller why they think it's German, and why they think it's 50 years old?

Cheers,

Paul (Eh_train

 

[Valis]

not german, not old and... i don't think it's chinese.

looks like a new eastern european bass (we have so many of these in europe, even cheaper than solid chinese basses here)... price is ok, but get a (bass) luthier to check it.

 

[Sean Riddle]

German basses have gamba corners. I don't believe I've seen any old German basses with violin corners and I doubt anyone tried to.

 

[Kai Sanchez]

German basses have gamba corners. I don't believe I've seen any old German basses with violin corners and I doubt anyone tried to.

My bass, 1963 Roth Made in Germany, with violin corners.