Hi, wondering if anyone can help, during the summer i noticed a very gradual lowering of the string height, in the last three weeks the problem has accelerated, now the strings are maybe three or four millimeters above the end of the fingerboard, my bass is old carved, lots of cracks and splits,all taped up, i have correlli 370 mediums on, five years old, played alot, can strings stretch so much that this can happen? or is the problem more horrible..she is in a pretty bad way.
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Double Bass sinking
- Thread starter mcgarry
- Start date
If the "lots of cracks and splits" are "all taped up", you should get the tension off of the bass (remove the strings). Maybe the top is sinking. Take it to a bass repair expert.
Hi Ehochberg, thanks for your reply, yes i considered the top sinking, i was hoping the strings stretched,i think i'm in denial a bit, i bought the bass eight years ago with all the cracks and splits, taped them up and everything has been good up till now, lucky, i live in a pretty remote area, not so easy to get to a repair shop, and unfortunately getting her fixed is not an option at the moment, so its play or not play, really really difficult..thanks for the advice!
Matthew Tucker
Commercial User
- Aug 21, 2002
- 2,686
- 387
- Disclosures
- Owner: Bresque Basses, Sydney Basses and Cellos
I'd say get it to a luthier if and when you can. It could be something important, or it could just be the change of season: on every bass I've ever had, string height tends to decrease in winter when the humidity goes down. I usually think my bass has lost it's mojo for a minute, then crank the adjuster wheels up a bit. In the spring, it all evens out and the wheels come back down.
Top "sinking" during the summer? That doesn't sound like the usual seasonal movement of the top. Basses expand over the summer, contract over the winter. Have a luthier take a look and good luck!
