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Double Bass Fingerboard Planing Needed?

mchildree

mchildree

Supporting Member
Sep 4, 2000
2,451
203
AL/GA
#1
I've got a fairly new baby bass variant, made by KK Baby Bass. Really plays very nicely, with one nagging issue, with the E string: Open E doesn't buzz at all. Everywhere between the nut and a little on the flat side of G has a pretty bad buzz, no matter how I adjust the neck and with all but the very lightest touch. By G, it's almost gone, and a little sharp of there, it's gone completely. Doesn't happen on any other strings. The board is beveled, if that matters.

Since I can't seem to adjust it out, I suspect I have a high spot on the board that needs to be planed out....anyone care to offer your thoughts? I'd be most appreciative, since the nearest bass luthier is a couple hundred miles from me.
 
#5
Oh, it gets worse. It's not like you're going to drive there and the guy will do it on the spot and you'll drive back for supper.

So before you invest two full days of your life and several hundred bucks, see what it sounds like with a different E string. Try to grab a Spiro even if it's used. Also, if you have an adjustable bridge try raising and lowering the string height (yes, I know, that's contradictory but if one doesn't work give the other a whack anyway).

That could be your problem right there, Mike.
 
#11
Sam Sherry said:
......It's not like you're going to drive there and the guy will do it on the spot and you'll drive back for supper.....
Click to expand...


I let people from out of town set up an appointment and then either do the work that day while they are in the shop laughing and playing tunes and telling stories (I definitely want to hear the nanny stories!)or they go into town for a few hours and them come back. Actually, I prefer to have a customer be part of the process. It is their bass, not mine and given the lack of vocabulary and poor communication skills of some folks, I can only get so close with their caveman grunts, but when everything is perfect for them, you can tell instantly by the look on their face and the big smile.....

Mike- can you somehow break that bass down and fit it on "the last Harley I will ever own" ? 'Saw that on your website and laughed out loud- like the last bass I'll ever own!

j.
www.condino.com
www.kaybassrepair.com
 
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#12
Hey, Mike, how you doing? I guess you're not going to Sach's?

I had an episode with RS a couple of years ago-left the bass with them for fb planning and called to make damned sure before i drove back up to get it, and guess what? So, due to communication difficulties in spite of the extra effort, i had to make three round trips to Atlanta! And I was working 6/12s, only one day off!

Maybe it's worth the trip to Asheville, if Mr. Condino can schedule an appointment.
 
#13
Paul New said:
Hey, Mike, how you doing? I guess you're not going to Sach's?

I had an episode with RS a couple of years ago-left the bass with them for fb planning and called to make damned sure before i drove back up to get it, and guess what? So, due to communication difficulties in spite of the extra effort, i had to make three round trips to Atlanta! And I was working 6/12s, only one day off!

Maybe it's worth the trip to Asheville, if Mr. Condino can schedule an appointment.
Click to expand...

So just how deep is "deepest alabama"?
 
#14
Hey Paul! I haven't really needed any bass work that I couldn't do myself...until now....in a few years. So I'm not even up to date on who's doing bass work in Atlanta now. We dearly love Asheville, so it wouldn't take much to get me heading in that direction. Mr. Condino might be shocked to see me arrive on my Last Harley (har har), with that bass on the back seat :) This thing is actually a half-size baby bass, and with the endpin out, it's not much larger than a bass git-tar. I've been known to pull dumber stunts!

GretschWretch, looks like I'm near you. I'm in Phenix City. Paul is deeper than that....any deeper, and he's in FL.

As it stands, I put a precision straight edge on the bass last night, and the high spot between G and F# is very apparent. So planing looks to be in order. I have a local friend who builds fiddles and mandolins, so I may let him take a look at it. If not, guess I'll be checking into the Atlanta luthier situation.
 
#15
The playability and tone will improve mightily once you get the fingerboard dressed and planed. Most EUB's in general would as a matter of fact. I can't think of one EUB builder that is a trained DB technician...let's see probably Gage, Merchant, and Carruthers..but the Lion's share of the rest don't have clue when it comes to great DB set up.
 

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