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Double Bass They put a tire...ON MY BASS?????

BassAuD

BassAuD

Guest
Oct 4, 2017
11
14
Ohio
Disclosures
a low B sound wave is 36.61 feet long.
#1
I was heading back to school and on my way out of town when I had a tire blow out. I pulled into a parking lot and noticed Monro Muffler next door so I limped the truck on over and was at their mercy for 2 hours. I had asked for the old tire back in case I could get some warranty coverage later, but as I was checking out and the manager said that the old one was in the back of the truck, I felt ill.

I can't believe that they'd put a filthy tire on ANYthing without first clearing it with the customer, but you can probably imagine my reaction to THIS. Seeing me clearly upset, the manager came out to ask what was wrong. I had to actually explain that placing a tire on a fragile, expensive instrument was a poor decision! She assured me that she placed it on gently!!! Yeah, right over the bridge!

I did a quick bridge and crack check and then got out of there. I went back to my house to put the tire in the garage and then unpack the bass before restarting my 3 hour drive. I was/am rather ticked. Had this been my good bass, I'd have probably made a bigger scene and unpacked everything on the spot.

The bass was okay, but COME ON! I complained to the company and half sarcastically insisted that the $2.50 "tire recycling fee" that I was charged be refunded. They agreed! So now my quest is to just get the word out as much as I can and be a squeaky wheel.
tire on bass.jpg
 
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#4
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
A tire weighs about 25 pounds.

A set of Mittels exerts close to 250 pounds of downward pressure on the table.

I'm pretty sure your bass is OK.
Click to expand...

Well I kind of said it was OK so....

If you want to drop 35 lbs (for this particular tire) on your bridge, go right ahead. Force and pressure are different animals. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has seen damage done by bridge impacts nor the only one that would prefer not to have an unsanctioned bridge adjustment (or bridge knocked down and resulting sound post appointment). I also don't need Monro deciding what my string length should be.
 
#5
If you knew how to maintain your own vehicle by yourself, none of this would be an issue. Changing a tire and patching it later isn't hard at all.

And I've restored basses that have imploded because a lot of bad work all let go at once and wasn't noticed until it was way too late. As a breed, basses are pretty hardy creatures.

But you shouldn't transport your bass on its back with pressure on the scroll, lest you hit a bump and pop the neck out. Always lay it on its side, G string side down, so the soundpost doesn't fall.
 
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#10
A few things.

A.) I do this for a living. Tire warranties generally do not cover road hazards such as nails, etc.

B.) Many tire injuries can be repaired. If this shop did not offer the option, chances are good that you don’t want it repaired.

C.) They should’ve asked you where you wanted the tire if you chose to keep it. Most places won’t load it in your vehicle specifically for these reasons.

D.) Most shops have windows where customers can watch the work being done. I suggest looking up from the phone occasionally to check progress. Often times being attentive and proactive can prevent things like this from happening.

E.) Dont lie your bass flat on its back unless you want the pegbox/neck to break.

F.) They shouldn’t have charged you the scrap disposal fee if you kept the tire, so you didn’t really get anything you didn’t have already coming.

G.) The suggestions about changing the tire yourself are a bit silly. Breaking and seating the bead on modern tires requires some real effort and tire shops have the machinery to do this quickly, as well as balance the tire. You could do it yourself, and I’ll be happy to charge you the $650 to replace the wheel bearing hub in a few months. I’m still saving for that Grace Design FeliX and that would really help me out.
 
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#11
If I have to go to a repair shop with my bass in the car, I always take the bass out before giving the car to them.

Sucks that happened to you, and likely everything is fine, but I'd say keep the instrument on you for the future.
 
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#12
shadow_FIX said:
If I have to go to a repair shop with my bass in the car, I always take the bass out before giving the car to them.

Sucks that happened to you, and likely everything is fine, but I'd say keep the instrument on you for the future.
Click to expand...

Agreed, I'm not victim blaming but this exact scenario has happened to me a couple of times and the bass always stayed with me. I never expect anybody to care about my instrument as much as I do, even if they know what it is
 
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#14
The way the folded seats lay are not ideal since they aren't flush, but they do lay in such a way that the scroll kind of dangles over the edge of the seat. No stress on the neck in this truck. In the past, I've had foam blocks and don't miss them.

The tire was decimated and patching was not an option. I briefly toyed with the idea of doing the change myself, and the spare is fine for an emergency but would need replaced anyway so I just went with it. Especially since the place was the next parking lot over. There is probably a nice automotive forum nearby for those that are interested in this sort of discussion.

I could see the truck the entire time, but was reading a textbook (and trying to stay awake while doing so). There was no reason to think that anybody would go into the back and it wasn't even put on a lift so there shouldn't be a reason to stare at it. Oh well.
 
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#16
B String said:
I do pretty much the same thing. Foam or thick sofa pillow under the top, back of the body. Is this not ok? I have friend who do the "side of the bass, G string side down" thing.
Click to expand...
Just about every luthier I've ever visited has seen me put my bass in the car that way and has never said a word about it so it's cool as far as I'm concerned. The bass on its side isn't stable, at least the way I drive, so forget it
 
#17
Reprehensible. No one with sense enough to pound sand in a hole would do anything like that. Glad to hear there was no damage - but indeed, the act of placing that tire on the bass could EASILY have broken the bridge or caused cracks or an outright fracture in the wood.

AND - if the tire were left there, what happens if the first thing you had done was do drive over a drop-off or hit a large pothole? That tire could easily have hit the instrument with enough force to equal having the tire dropped onto it.

This reinforces the desirability of watching anyone doing work on your car just to be aware if they start doing something stupid.
 

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