Double Bass Is it worth repairing

[P Daddy Jones]

So I finally came over to the DB side of things. It took a few years lol
I picked a bass up at a local acoustic shop that was on consignment. I played a few entry level basses while on the hunt but loved the tone of this beat out all the others. The fingerboard has a heavy scope so it makes it tough on the left hand. I starting looking for someone to dress the fingerboard and found the right shop to do the work. Am I starting to throw too much money at this bass. So here’s the nitty.

The scroll is to the treble side. Slight bow to the neck. An open soundpost crack from the f hole.

Here’s the needed fixes.
Carbon fiber reinforcement for the neck. Dressing the fingerboard to get a ok orchestra scope. And pulling the top to fix the crack by doing a “mold” for the f hole area. Around $2500 for everything.

I talked with the guys in St. Louis Strings for hours about my bass, basses in general, and the family of strings. Makes me wanting to become an apprentice in a shop and dive deep into all around lessons. Got me all excited. Lol.

The shop where I picked up the bass thought it was probably a post ww2 German bass. St. Louis thought maybe pre ww1…

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[P Daddy Jones]

Hopefully I can upload the pics

 

[Don Hergert]

The hat tuners look older than WW2 to me. Are they original to the double bass? Looking at the wood screws that hold the tuners to the pegbox, are they slot-head screws or Phillips-head screws? Philips-head screws didn't start showing up in industry until about 1937 (Cadillac).

(Edit: Magnifying your tuner pic, it looks like slot-head screws holding the "hats" in place. Probably pre-WW2, at least.)

 

[Carl Hillman]

So I finally came over to the DB side of things. It took a few years lol
I picked a bass up at a local acoustic shop that was on consignment. I played a few entry level basses while on the hunt but loved the tone of this beat out all the others. The fingerboard has a heavy scope so it makes it tough on the left hand. I starting looking for someone to dress the fingerboard and found the right shop to do the work. Am I starting to throw too much money at this bass. So here’s the nitty.

The scroll is to the treble side. Slight bow to the neck. An open soundpost crack from the f hole.

Here’s the needed fixes.
Carbon fiber reinforcement for the neck. Dressing the fingerboard to get a ok orchestra scope. And pulling the top to fix the crack by doing a “mold” for the f hole area. Around $2500 for everything.

I talked with the guys in St. Louis Strings for hours about my bass, basses in general, and the family of strings. Makes me wanting to become an apprentice in a shop and dive deep into all around lessons. Got me all excited. Lol.

The shop where I picked up the bass thought it was probably a post ww2 German bass. St. Louis thought maybe pre ww1…

Any help is greatly appreciated.

I am NOT an expert. Far from it, but it doesn't look pre-WWI to me. The interior of it just doesn't look that old, and the outside the same (but that could be attributed to it being well maintained or rarely played).

If I had to guess, I'd say it was 70-75 years old. ???

Now, let's see what the guys who know what they're talking about have to say...

 

[P Daddy Jones]

Here’s a close up. The first thing Strings said is that it had a decent lacquer refinish job done.

 

[Don Hergert]

Those are certainly slotted screws. If the tuners are original to the bass, and I don't see any strong evidence that they are not, I'd vote for the St. Louis age estimate, and possibly before 1937.

I'm just gauging by the slotted-screw hardware because that's something I'm familiar with. Also, my early 1930s Alcoa has German made keys like those... But admittedly this is not much to judge the age of the whole double bass by.

I'd be very interested in hearing from people here who can look at the woodwork, finish and style of the double bass itself and estimate a build date.

 

[jsf729]

Nice looking bass! What did they say about the high saddle? Do you plan on keeping it or replacing?

 

[P Daddy Jones]

Nice looking bass! What did they say about the high saddle? Do you plan on keeping it or replacing?

Thanks. He just talked about it relieving some pressure on the bridge from the easier breakover angle. I plan on keeping it.

 

[unbrokenchain]

Looks like a nice bass! How badly is the neck canted? I'd say definitely get it fixed up if you can afford it.

 

[AGCurry]

@P Daddy Jones, have you ever used Geoff Seitz? I like STL Strings, but Geoff is the best.

 

[P Daddy Jones]

He just talked about it relieving some pressure on the bridge from the easier breakover angle.

@P Daddy Jones, have you ever used Geoff Seitz? I like STL Strings, but Geoff is the best.

No sir. I’m new to the double bass scene. I’m actually in Springfield and couldn’t find anybody to tackle the repair. I didn’t exhaust all resources looking for someone but was pointed to KCStrings. Just so happened that I’ve been in St. Louis a bit more as of recent.

 

[P Daddy Jones]

Looks like a nice bass! How badly is the neck canted? I'd say definitely get it fixed up if you can afford it.

Not bad at all. The neck/fingerboard seam looks fine on the bass side but has a slight bow to the treble side.

 

[LowG]

If financially possible for you and if you love the sound as you say you do my vote is get it fixed.

But don’t do it if you’re adding up the costs and comparing resale value - do it for the sound and not the money! The market is too crazy to be sure that you’ll get $X for it if you need to sell it, too many basses and too few players. Not like bass guitar where there is a more predictable and wider resale market.

But if you’re committed to playing upright and you want to keep the bass a long time, get it fixed to your liking.

 

[P Daddy Jones]

If financially possible for you and if you love the sound as you say you do my vote is get it fixed.

But don’t do it if you’re adding up the costs and comparing resale value - do it for the sound and not the money! The market is too crazy to be sure that you’ll get $X for it if you need to sell it, too many basses and too few players. Not like bass guitar where there is a more predictable and wider resale market.

But if you’re committed to playing upright and you want to keep the bass a long time, get it fixed to your liking.

That’s exactly what was said.