Double Bass i just cant catch a break!

[spacecanoe]

So after one replaced chrissy300 I noticed a 3 inch hairline crack in the fingerboard of my new one. ughh. what can be done to repair this or stop it from spreading. Maybe i should just stick to electric!! haha

 

[Ken McKay]

Sorry to say that is a sign that the wood was not properly dried or has an inherent flaw that slipped through the cracks (hah,... sorry). There is not much you can do to repair it, it will get worse in the winter when the relative humidity goes down. Take it back when it is new and request a new one.

 

[spacecanoe]

So do i have bad luck or is this commone in the upright world?. Its always been the factor that kept me out of buying one for ages , now that i've purchased one it seems to all be coming true BAHH , bloody stressfull. hell meybe ill just get an ns electric upright. who knows. thanks for the advice Ken.

 

[Mike Goodbar]

Yikes. I hope that this isn't indicative of the quality that is currently coming out of the Christopher shop.

I would contact Concord Group directly and let them know what's going on.

 

[spacecanoe]

Mike have you had any problems with your christopher? and also a quick question about the busetto model. did it cost more? I was told that that model would cost me 500$ more.. i found that to be a little bit odd.

and i just emaild concord with a curtious email explaining my problems, ive been told they really stand behind there product so lets hope they can help me out.

2 basses 2 strikes..

 

[Tbeers]

Maybe you can stick with this bass and have a nice new board put on, at their expense.

 

[Nick Lloyd]

Where is this hairline crack?

 

[spacecanoe]

The crack starts about 6 inches down from the neck joint and goes up the board about 4 inches. It's about as thick as say a pencile line that you drew on there with a super sharp pencil with a light touch.

 

[Nick Lloyd]

You could solve this problem with little ebony dust and glue. I know this is a new Christopher, but they don't use AA ebony for the boards... just an option.

 

[spacecanoe]

thats cool i figured theres a repair for it , im cool with that. my only concerne is if the crack would continuer to spread or not. but that all depends on the specific piece of wood id imagine

 

[Jeff Bollbach]

Yah, like Nnick said, not too much of a problem. Have a Shen in right now with the same thing, doesn't really affect anything usually.

 

[spacecanoe]

kewl ill rest easier now knowing this. thanks again guys ,advice like gold as usual

 

[christ andronis]

call Concord...call Concord...call Concord....

Whether it should or shouldn't be a problem is not the point...you paid for a new bass....get one with no defects and let it break in (no pun intended) by you playing it. Just my .02; Good luck


peace

 

[spacecanoe]

yea well i have it for 2 more months ( the rental periods are 3 months) so ill probably keep it up till then and then decide weather or not i want to keep it or not. I love playing it and i know im going to catch alot of shi t for this but i might end up just ditching the acoustic and gettin an ns upright next year or something. less portabillity issues , less worry about temp and humidity, and i can play it in a band setting where as i really cant with the acoustic. who knows though i have 2 months to sort it out. but soon as i can im letting the shop know this one is messed up as well. yea i know im a cry baby haha

 

[Nick Lloyd]

now that i've purchased one it seems to all be coming true

Huh? Do you own this thing or not? If this is a rental, have the rental shop deal with the little crack...

 

[christ andronis]

...i'm so confused....

 

[spacecanoe]

yea its a payment play deal. i pay 100$ a month (340 every 3 months) and i am taking it back to have them deal with the crack. All im really saying is that 2 basses and 2 strikes have kind of made me realize im not willing to invest 3 grand into an instrument thats so damn fragile. its what stopped me from getting one ages ago. Maybe it's also the other stress in my life attatching itself to this bass and its problems. either way i have 2 months to make a decision.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Maybe you just have a lemon? I have a Chrissy Bussetto and boy it's taken a beating so far for the year+ that I've owned it. It's holding up fine and never had any problems. Dents, scratches, banged up scroll, you name it. No cracks yet but I noticed a slight buzz from one of the ribs a while back. Took a flashlight and examined the area and didn't find anything. The buzz is gone now.

Who cares if you're doing pay to play? FWIW, I wouldn't ever trade mine for an EUB. Thank god the weather in the Bay Area doesn't change much. Makes it easier to keep a DB.

 

[Brent Norton]

Could be your dealer's a lemon, too... Now matter how great the consistency of a particular maker, flaws occasionally surface... But clearly any flaw should be corrected (or the bass replaced if necessary) before it leaves the shop for its new home. If the bass isn't receiving a final QC at the dealer's / luthier's shop, you might consider looking for a new shop.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I think you might have answered your own question. If trading your double bass for an EUB has even entered your mind, you should just do it. It would be unthinkable for Ed Fuqua, Paul Warburton, myself, and any number of other TBers to even consider doing that, but it seems to be an option for you. An EUB is an easy way to make low sounds in a band context, and a lot of people are really happy to use them for that purpose. I have one for when I'm touring and can't arrange for a DB on the other end. But I could never interchange the two, they're apples and oranges. For me, the double bass is my voice, and I'm perfectly happy to schlep the damn thing around night after night.