Double Bass Is this safe? Slack strings, no soundpost, vertical

[ishepherd]

Hi all,

I have an old double bass, that has had a lot of repair work done in its history. (The restorer claimed some of the front might be >200 years old)

For the last 15 years it has been barely used. But, it's been fully stringed up all that time, until I moved it to Australia. I slackened strings, removed bridge & soundpost. Strings and tailpiece are still attached.

My question:

A bass with no string *pressure* (and no soundpost), can it be stored that way indefinitely?

Or are both needed to maintain the structure? It is stored vertically if that makes a difference.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Schoolhouse]

With no string tension, it should not be a problem. Why not just remove bridge, strings, etc. to prevent someone in the future from tuning it up and causing damage?

 

[Violen]

Why aren't you playing it?

Dont you know that neglecting a bass makes it sad?

 

[chris1125]

Yeah seriously, a 200 year old bass deserves to be played IMO

 

[ishepherd]

Thanks Schoolhouse, I appreciate it.

Yeah, it does deserve to be played. Actually, it deserves to have a checkup by an instrument maker first... there are bulgy bits and stuff, maybe always there but I don't know if they got worse.

It was restored by Ian Highfield, in Birmingham UK. He identified the front as a 'Maggini copy'. That's the main part of the front. At some point it was cut out and new wood grafted onto the edge of it... somehow. Someone must've *really* valued the old front to go to such trouble.

The rest of it is all more recent. It has a flat back (which is unusual I think?) with an inlaid cross pattern. After who knows what, it finally ended up at a school in the UK. Some carpenter had 'repaired' cracks on the back, involving gluing large blocks inside...

I guess you could say, a varied and interesting career

Now this will be heresy, but I was never interested in solo bass playing really. Hence, practice was even more of a chore than for most students. I did enjoy orchestra playing, but not very practical. (Moved around, lived in small flats, and with no car, it would've been a pain to get to rehearsals etc).

Still now I'm more settled I could get onto that. But I'm keener on the piano.

 

[uprightben]

That sounds like a nice bass. Properly restored it could be quite valuable. The way you have it stored is probably the best way, but basses don't store well. If they don't get played regularly with someone keeping up with maintenance they tend to degrade. Regular playing will also keep wood worms away, which is the biggest danger to a stored bass.