Double Bass Front crack

[jmceachern36]

This bass (shen 150) is up for sale at a decent price but there's a top crack in it. My gut tells me it's not worth the trouble but I figured I'd double check in here. The crack is approx 6 inches at a seem in the front. Is that an expensive repair? See pic.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

You should take it to your double bass luthier for a quote on the repair/repairs needed and offer the seller their price minus the repair/s.

That's fair all around and you might come out of it with a very nice bass. Good luck!

 

[drurb]

...and the price might be negative after that calculation so that the seller will pay you!

 

[eh_train]

It's in an area where a decent-enough repair might happen without taking off the top - that would keep the cost down until the top really needed to come off for some other maintenance.

Just a thought.

Cheers,

Paul (eh_train)

 

[tyb507]

I'm not clear on where the crack is...you mentioned "6 inches at a seem in the front", and the text in the photo is confusing...do you mean that the joint between the top and rib (the side) is open? That would be a very minor and routine repair, if it's the only problem. There is no shortage of excellent bass luthiers in the Boston area (Upton, Zach Martin come to mind), so I'll echo the advice to bring it to one if you can.

 

[Rich Green]

If this is the bass in Lowell, it's about 15/20 minutes from both Mark Carlsen in Tewksbury and Volker Nahrmann in Billerica. I'd take the bass to either one to get an informed option.

 

[John Sprague]

Mark Carlsen gigs with a 150, so I would think he would be the perfect choice for this particular instrument. Volker is also top notch, and you can drool over his massive inventory while you're there.

 

[KUNGfuSHERIFF]

I'll agree wholeheartedly that a 150 is great working instrument -- I loved mine while I had it -- but I disagree that $1850 is a good price for that bass in that condition, even with the accessories that are included. I paid less than that for mine brand new off the showroom floor, if I recall correctly, and when I found a new home for it I took less than $1850 for it still in 99% mint condition. If you want I can point you toward a new 150 that has a few flaws which are much less severe than an open top crack for $1875.

 

[james condino]

Why in the world would anyone waste good money on a Chinese bass that is already broke before you even get it home????? It is not the end of the world, but if it is such an easy and cheap fix, the seller would already have had it done. Unless it is basically free, have a little patience and you will be well rewarded with a much better structurally sound bass. The three months after Christmas are the absolute best time of the year to buy basses; almost everyone is holiday poor and slinging great deals.

 

[jmceachern36]

Thanks James. I'm being patient. Just asking. This one is crossed off the list. Going to look at a couple of Kay and epiphone basses next week.

 

[james condino]

Look at them all- there are some fantastic deals out there right now. In the last weeek I've had someone visit the shop with an beautiful 100 year old German flatback that they got off Craigslist for $100 and multiple nice old American Standards and Kay for less than $1k; 'Plenty of nice structurally sound late models floating around too! The exception is if you are buying with the intention of having the needy bass being part of your larger development and are planning on using it as a lab rat for your luthier interests. That is a whole different set of goals and needs.

Good luck and post a few photos of whatever you wind up with.