Double Bass Fingerboard: when to replace?

[Richard Simon]

I’m used to a thicker neck than the one on This old German bass.
But in addition to feeling thin, this bass also sounds thin all along the G string, so I put on a new Flexacore Deluxe/medium hoping the sound would thicken. Not.
Some have suggested a sound post adjustment.
But when is it time for a new fingerboard?
thank you

 

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

In my opinion, it’s time for a replacement. A thicker fingerboard will feel better to you, stiffen the neck and probably improve the tone. That said, you never quite know what a bass will sound like until the work is done.

 

[Richard Simon]

Points well taken.
Years ago I replaced the thin board on a 1940s Pfretzschner. The result was a somewhat improved tone but a neck that felt too stiff and too big around; it changed my left hand grip completely.
I suppose I could have had it shaved down a bit, but I felt I had inexorably altered the character of the bass by turning the neck into a club. I sold the bass and still miss it.
This, and the end of unemployment payments, doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t have the current fingerboard replaced.