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Double Bass Is this bass worth repairing?

GeneralElectric

GeneralElectric

Dec 26, 2007
10,314
1,375
36
NY, NY
#1
Hey everyone, I've posted on this side of the forum a few times before in the distant past. I'm now the not-so-proud owner of, what I'm told, is a no-name Czech made DB. It was given as payment when I fixed a garage door that the owner backed a boat into. He told me that he bought it for $400 some years ago. It came with a nice stand and a new Mooradian gig bag.

My experience with DBs is admittedly rather limited. I had one years ago that fell apart when it caved in on itself and I've fooled around on a buddy's Kay bass for awhile in college and a bass teachers DBs when I got lessons from him where we covered some DB basics. Other than that its been quick noodle here and there on other people's instruments. I'm reasonably sure that I'm holding correctly it although my intonation gets worse the faster I try to play.

When I try to play this bass for more than five minutes, its painful. The strings are a mile high off the fretboard. OK, that's a lie, but not by much. The action is half an inch off the fretboard when I try to play the equivalent of the fifth fret. It is over two inches by the end of the fingerboard. I have the bridge adjusters as low as they'll possibly go.

There are other problems with the bass as well. The top is starting to sink where one of the bridge posts meets the body. The fundamental is weak, especially on the lower notes and pretty much everything on the E string. The saddle is coming off at the bottom.

Is this bass worth repairing/getting a set up on? Should I sell it and hope for an Englehart or a Kay to pop up cheap in my area?
 
#4
Is it a ply or carved bass? We could give you some opinions if you posted a bunch of photos.

Nothing that you've described seems like a deal-breaker, in terms of whether to get it fixed, but pics would really, really, help....
 
#7
First things first. Luthier. Get the bass to one. We can see it in pics, but we cannot inspect it, nor hear it played to know much of anything about its worth.

You will probably want to invest in a set of strings with slightly less tension than whatever is on there, which would alleviate not only your fingering issues, but also some of your string-height issues. A set of D'Addario Chromes on an electric bass, for instance, runs a tension around 35-40 or so pounds on average between the 4 strings. On a double bass, that tension can go up to 70 pounds in some instances. And different strings can also feel a bit softer to finger or pluck, depending on their cores, too.

Having a luthier look the bass over as previously advised however, is going to pinpoint areas and issues of the instrument where improvements can be made, and how much that's going to cost you, whether it's a simple adjustment or a complete reset of the neck for a different angle. In all, you have a bass, and if you don't plan on selling it so that resale value is not much of an issue, and any suggested work is an investment you can afford, then who cares, so long as you get a solid instrument out of it that performs well enough for your needs?

Be warned however, and this is A VERY SERIOUS WARNING. Playing a double bass is HIGHLY addictive. It's also very dangerous if you're not doing it right. You'll have thumb, forearm, elbow and shoulder issues if you don't learn proper technique, so consider investing in some quality lessons regularly if you want to enjoy the instrument as much as you can.
 

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