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Double Bass HELP!! DOUBLE BASS DAMAGE!!

B

blah148

Jan 13, 2009
40
2
Calgary, AB, Canada
www.youtube.com
#1
#3
If that's the Bass I'm thinking of, it is going to cost more to fix than you paid for it. The wood was obviously not seasoned enough, and the seams were glued tight, so the pressure went where it could, causing it to bend. If you do want to try to have it fixed, the top will have to come off, and it will have to be pressed into a mold to get the shape back. On the other hand,
maybe you could use a suction cup to pull it back into shape...Just kidding, I'm sorry your Bass is messed up.
 
#5
Possible, sure. Normally, the bass bar is in a bass to prevent exactly what happened to your bass. I don't see how humidity could do what happened to your bass (as in, I don't think your lack of humidifier did this). Usually humidity causes cracks, either from contracting (the wood gets too dry) or expanding (it cracks along the seams). A dent means the wood was soft and there was too much pressure.

I think reedo's point is that, in order to get it out of that state, you would probably have to pay a significant amount of money. You usually can't "un-dent" wood, ya know?
 
#8
I agree I don't think it has much to do with humidity. My guess is that the top has just been carved way too thin and the string pressure has simply caused it to "fold" like that. In my opinion that dent will only get worse until a crack develops. And unfortunately I don't think there is anything you can do other than an expensive repair to the top. If its a new bass you MIGHT be able to claim some sort of warranty, ie that the bass was badly made. But good luck with that ...
 
#14
You also may not want to humidify the next cheapy one; you may have been keeping it too wet. Those cheap basses use wood that's so fresh, sometimes it's still green by the time it gets to the customer. That stuff needs to dry out (although, usually when it's dry is the time that they start imploding, but, whatever).
 
#17
Yes, and please don't humidify your next plywood bass, it is not necessary or even a good idea really. Carved basses, if needed only.

Is that the "Florea" brand bass from MF? I think those are Korean made.

Take a cheap thin plywood bass and humidify the crap out of it with a soggy dampit (look at the pic) and that's what happens.

Wet thin plywood is not good.
 
#18
A dampit can not possibly put out enough moisture to cause this sort of damage. BTW, I treat my LaScala (plywood) like any other bass; I keep it at 35-40% during the heating season. Also, not all carved basses have a "lip" around the edges.
 
#20
Gearhead43 said:
Yes, and please don't humidify your next plywood bass, it is not necessary or even a good idea really. Carved basses, if needed only.
Click to expand...

salcott said:
I treat my LaScala (plywood) like any other bass; I keep it at 35-40% during the heating season. Also, not all carved basses have a "lip" around the edges.
Click to expand...

I gotta go with salcott here. Although maintaining an optimal range of humidity isn't nearly as crucial for a ply bass, there is no harm in doing so and I suspect there is benefit. After all, a ply bass still has glue-joints and still expands and contracts. That said, I never did anything to control humidity for the Kay I had from 1967-2002. There was never any problem-- the neck even remained intact throughout it's entire tenure with me. If I had a ply bass today, I would not let humidity go to extremes. I doubt I'd maintain the tight control that I do with my carved bass, but I'd still be careful. I don't think I'd want to let the humidity fall into the 30s (%, that is).
 

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