Double Bass Two small cracks in violin corners, nothing too serious is it?

[ErikvanD]

Today I spotted two small cracks on one of the violin corners of my bass. I don't think these are very serious as there most probably is a solid block of wood underneath. But I thought it would not hurt to ask anyway...

Here a picture of the largest of the two cracks:

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Nothing too serious is it?

Cheers,
Erik

 

[John Sprague]

Hi Erik,
It could continue along its merry way right up the rib. I think you should have it repaired before it gets too spendy.

 

[MostlyBass]

You could piece a tiny piece of tape at the end of the crack and monitor it to see if it worsens (obviously it won't get better .... If it's not buzzing I'd keep an eye on it.

 

[ErikvanD]

Thx guys. I just had a closer look at the underside and noticed that the cracks are visible there too, even a bit longer. So I took some more pictures and send them to the luthier I am renting the bass from. As I am thinking on buying the bass I want to be sure it stays in a good condition. So let's wait and see what she anwers...

 

[ErikvanD]

Her anwer was that the wood is working and air must be dry. Well as my hygrometer shows the humidity as about 60-70% this probably is not the case... I guess I will just keep a close eye on the cracks and will drop the bass off to get it fixed as soon as it is convenient.

 

[Jake deVilliers]

Her answer was that the wood is working and air must be dry. Well as my hygrometer shows the humidity as about 60-70% this probably is not the case... I guess I will just keep a close eye on the cracks and will drop the bass off to get it fixed as soon as it is convenient.

Easy now... Its very common for the exposed end grain at the corners to be the first to show dryness cracks. I see lots of older basses with permanent fissures in those areas - the corners crack and stay cracked, and nothing bad happens.

Its not always good to force wood to do what it doesn't want to do. The corner blocks inside will keep anything truly bad from happening.

And your hygrometer might be wrong! The hygrometers we sell at the store are pathetically inconsistent - I take my own Honeywell unit to the store when I'm working there.

 

[MostlyBass]

Definitely get an accurate hygrometer! 70% may be a touch on the high side but that should affect seams with hide glue not the corner. Radio Shack weather stations have been recommended to me. I bought an expensive scientific hygrometer years ago but it was a high maintenance affair so I've been working with digital ones.

LOTS of basses have cracks that don't get repaired. My Rogeri copy by Solano has a crack in the side that I've just left alone... Well I had it glued once but it opened up. It's not a seam so I just left it.

 

[ErikvanD]

I searched very long an hard to find the best hygrometer I could afford. I settled for a German Fisher hygrometer that has been tested as very good. I calibrated it carefully. We live in a fully wooden house (no wall isolation) in the humid Dutch climate. So the readings could well be correct. But I will calibrate it again and see if I can borrow a reference device somewhere.

I will keep an eye on the cracks and in the mean time just enjoy playing the bass

 

[Jake deVilliers]

I will keep an eye on the cracks and in the mean time just enjoy playing the bass

That's a very sensible plan.

What's your weather been like? If its really 70% RH inside your house, you should probably be using a dehumidifier.
What temperature do you keep the house at?

I just looked up the monthly forecast for Amsterdam and its almost exactly like our weather here in Crescent Beach! The dehumidifier runs quite a bit when its ~50*F. outside and wet but slows down considerably when its in the low 40s outside and the heat is on more. Downstairs were the basses hang out its 62*F at 42% RH at the moment - damn near perfect.

 

[ErikvanD]

During the last few days I have been recalibrating the hygrometer using the "kitchen salt" method which is a lot more accurate as the "wrap in a moist towel" method. Today the meter showed just under 60% all day which is a little more plausible.