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Double Bass Restoring My American Standard Bass

dmeador11

dmeador11

Guest
Feb 2, 2013
52
0
Myakka City, Florida
#1
I was on here a while back trying to figure out the best way to repair a spot under the bridge foot of my '56 American Standard.
It also needed to have the neck re-set from an old neck crack with a poor repair.
I got with a luthier and we fixed the neck, removed the top and it had a puncture under the bridge which he repaired and put in a wing for support.
The previous owner had painted it Yellow with black trim and notes on the front, which I never really cared for anyway.
As long as it was already down we decided to take it back down all the way to the wood and leave it as close to natural "blond" as possible. These bases had a blended stain color on them to begin with so it has a little red hue in the wood grain. The fingerboard was a beautiful Rosewood that was painted black, tailpiece was starting to crack so I bought a new Rosewood one to match.

I am also looking to add some pinstripe and looking for ideas. Nothing real crazy, but not just a single line either. Looking for suggestions. The last pictures had a darker stain which we sanded back off.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10200121688924676.1073741837.1824117525&type=3
 
#2
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are the pictures coming through??
 
#8
I feel your pain. I had one that had been spray painted and I refinished her about 9 months ago. A LOT of work but such an improvement.

I think your fingerboard is ebony not rosewood. It looks like mine did and my luthier told me it was ebony.
 
#12
Bass is almost done. New Ulsa Premium Endpin, New Rosewood Tailpiece, New Bridge. Even with the old Black Diamond strings it is opening up. Sounds like a cannon.
New Spirocore E & A and Evah Pirazzi D & G in the mail. This should sound Awesome.
Looking for opinions on pinstriping, color and style, nothing too flashy. I want to keep the Vintage Look.
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#15
Thanks for the kind words, I had a guy cut out the tuning machine keys from stainless. He made them a little larger and cut the note in the center for me. The old girl was loud before but without all that yellow paint it's even better.
I've seen your basses so I am really jealous, almost too pretty to play. Love your work!
I can't wait for the Big Bluegrass festival on Thanksgiving Weekend to really get some playing time in. She's been down for a month.
 
#19
So we thought we had the bass back together but once the strings are on, the tension is causing the neck heel repair to fail, 2 Times.
It originally had a Lag bolt in it which was filled and replaced with a dowel, and it never had a really clean break to begin with.

We have tried Hide Glue and Titebond wood glue. Is there something else we can try or do I need to look for a new Neck??
Where do you find a new neck to fit an American Standard with a long string length. What would a reinforced neck cost? The bass has a dovetail joint.
Thanks for the help.
 

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