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Double Bass Should I repair it? Advice sought.

Axtman

Axtman

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2008
2,573
4,709
Seattle, WA
#1
A few months back a bought a 1930's German fully carved flatback upright bass for the obscenely low price of $200! When I went to pick the bass up I knew that it needed work. It played and sounded pretty good but the bridge was warped and there were some seams coming loose and there were some cracks in the the face back and front. There also was signs of a previous failed repair. The bass did not seem like a total disaster and did not scream "firewood".

I bought it and took it over to my luthier, who has done lots of work for me over the years. He took a look at it and told me initially that it is going to need a lot of work and will be expensive. A few days ago I get a formal proposal from him for close to $6k! I just about fainted. I knew that it was going to be an expensive repair but had no idea it was going to be that much. He is basically going to take it all apart and rebuild it. He does good work and wants to do it right.

So I am not sure what to do. I could either:
1) Get the bass repaired and keep it.
2) Get the bass repaired and sell it hopefully getting my money back out of it.
3) Sell the bass "as is" and let the buyer have it repaired.
4) Take the bass to other luthiers and get a formal proposal from them.

Advice?
 
#5
The luthier is a good honest guy that does quality work. I don't get the impression that he is trying to gouge me. Also he is local (a few miles from my house). I'm not sure how COVID has affected his business. We got the bad news the other day that the West Seattle bridge is shut down for at least 2 years. Those of you not familiar with Puget Sound, this basically cuts off West Seattle from Seattle. Of course there are a few other minor bridges and routes but getting back and forth will be a major headache. Finally, I am not made of money. I might have to rob a bank. ;-)
 
#9
Don't be surprised if your second opinion estimates are more than the first quote. I regularly pay more than $200 for an old set of tuning machines; you still got a great deal. Many people cannot comprehend the amount of time it takes to do a once very 100 year complete restoration on a double bass. As a general rule, you can figure this for average restoration prices:

-top- $1500 or more
- back + ribs ^^^
- neck, fingerboard, & body joint ^^^
-fittings and setup ^^^

The reality is that it is often MUCH easier to build a complete new bass from scratch than to disassemble, fix/repair/redo/ every single aspect of a project bass, THEN add a professional grade finish job on top of it all.....and it is a h*!! of a lot more enjoyable doing a new build with your own name on the label!

A true professional grade finish can easily cost $2-3000; add a significant dumba$$ tax for having to strip an amateur poly finish first.

Most of the time when you consider several hundred hours of time, the shop full of $50,000 worth of tools, and the 25 years experience to get the proper knowledge, the person actually doing the work will often be doing it for $10 per hour; a labor of love.

Name one well known bass luthier who drives an expensive car that was paid for from their actual instrument work, not their wife's inheritance. Most that I know drive p.o.s. old Toyotas.

If you have a $200 budget, stick with $200 basses. Don't get mad at the messenger for telling you that your busted up project is...a busted up project that needs a lot of work...

'Enough of the rant. $#!t is expensive to do properly such that someone wants their name attached to it and to the point where you will get a return on investment. You already have the results of mediocre amateur work.

The tuners and neck are worth a lot more than the $200; many of us have paid more than that for a single string.

'Better off to use it as a partial trade for the bass you really want.
 
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#10
You could get a really nice brand new bass for the price of fixing this one. If you have that kind of cash to spend on a bass take your time, shop and buy a bass you have played that you love the sound. I am currently working on a disaster bass I bought for $100.00 - it was all in pieces. I have all the tools and skills to put it back together that said it takes a really long time to repair a bass. If you don't have the skills I'ld sell it and focus on getting a healthy bass that sounds great
 
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#13
Guys! I'm not as dumb as I look! ;-)

I knew going into the deal that there is no such thing as a free puppy. I figured it would need work. I guess I am just suffering from sticker shock at how much work.

If this were a family member's, close relative's or famous person's bass I would not hesitate at getting it restored. I'm just going to have to think about this situation. I definitely don't want to spend a lot of money on a bass that will be worth less than the repair bill.
 
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#15
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
That's why you got it for $200.
Click to expand...

Yep, and at least the seller didn't say "It's a 1930's German, so my price is 2k." Many people don't realize that a thoroughly damaged/mistreated bass, unless it's really old / special / or made or owned by someone famous is worth close to nothing: The value comes from the restoration which turns in back into a musical instrument. In this case, 6k of restoration.
 
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#16
eh_train said:
Yep, and at least the seller didn't say "It's a 1930's German, so my price is 2k." Many people don't realize that a thoroughly damaged/mistreated bass, unless it's really old / special / or made or owned by someone famous is worth close to nothing: The value comes from the restoration which turns in back into a musical instrument. In this case, 6k of restoration.
Click to expand...

My dad was always an old wood boat guy. When I started getting into it too he told me "just remember son, you can get a boat for free, and you're still paying too much..."
 
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#19
I don't know if there's a difference in attitude between bassists and luthiers in the US and here in the UK, but I'm sure I see a lot of unrestored basses in active use, that have had just enough work done to be stable and hold a decent setup.
My own bass is in that category but it hasn't needed more than setup work and seam repairs in 12 years I've had it, and I haven't encountered any luthiers unwilling to do that even if a full restoration would be the ideal scenario.
Given that the OP is already in possession of the bass and it reportedly sounded good previously, couldn't there be a case for talking to luthiers and finding one willing to take a more minimal, pragmatic approach to keeping it going without necessarily making it perfect?
 
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#20
Assuming you don't want to spend much if anything more on this instrument...

If it were me, and if I didn't have another double bass that I prefer to play, I'd get this one setup to be as playable as possible without repairs, and play it for all its worth. When and if it disintegrates, I'd sell off the tuners, tailpiece, strings and anything else worth re-purposing, and I'd have some money back for a down payment for my next double bass, plus some nice wood to re-purpose for whatever I have in mind.

If I do have another double bass that I prefer to play, I'd strongly consider gifting it to my trusted local luthier for appropriate credit toward any work I need done on my main-player double bass.
 

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