Double Bass Unexpected gift.

[timobee4]

Concert violinist music teacher at my school bit of a moody person, keeps to himself and just not someone you'd think will give you a spare pencil to scribble scores with. Once i helped him out moving classroom when i spotted a student ply double bass in the store prevously locked. Wondered in and picked it up, and after a quick tuning i plucked few notes not realising that he was back doing something next door. Obviously heard my feeble attempt on a very high action bass set for students learning bowing. "So you play bass?" he asked. Little chat about the tropical humidity not gelling with my carved bass, sold it after seem opened here, there, fingerboard popped off with the sound of explosion etc. and no proper luthier in a 1000 mile radius. He listened and asked if i missed my double bass playing. Of course i did, tremendously. Gigging on a pbass and fretless jazz bass was ok but no comparison to playing db. To cut it short, we parted after the job was done and all the kids accounted for left our concert hall. Happy days. Next day he sent for me to go to his office. Had no idea while i was waiting for him to get something from his van. It was a lovely old 50's chekoslovakian carved top bass. "This is for you Tony" Almost passed out. I thought he is lending it to me but no, he was giving it to me!!!! Such a random human kindness! Thanking was insufficient enough i felt. Strings on it were aluminium wound thumpy with buzz all over. After little love like new machine heads, sanding laquer off the back of the neck then tung oil treatment, thick paint removed from fingerboard, bridge adjusters added, new tail gut, strung with spiro mittel E&A, Evah weich D, and Oliv G the bass sounds and plays awesome! Got a new kremona pickup (bloody great pickup!!) and a gigbag from big Bob, im back in business. Pbass is gone, jazz bass is under the bed. I just want to thank the universe for sending an incredibly understanding like minded crazy bugger my way. Hammer fingers (calouses) comming back and playing feels better every day.

 

[JACink]

Congratulations on the bass and on finding one of the good people that are left in this world!!

I hope that someday you can cause the same feeling of happiness to another.

Now enjoy (which you already seem to be doing just fine )

 

[geoffbassist]

Awesome story! Enjoy your new bass

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

That's amazing. I got my start on bass when somebody abandoned an old American Standard bass at a festival that had imploded and a student asked if I wanted it before it got thrown out by the school. $600 later, I had the bass I started learning and gigging on. Hard not to believe there's not some form of Karma at work sometimes.

Anyway, happy playing!

 

[Francois Blais]

Great, and thanks to the teacher!

 

[bassfran]

Welcome back to DB, Tony. Great story and thanks for sharing.

 

[madbass6]

Concert violinist music teacher at my school bit of a moody person, keeps to himself and just not someone you'd think will give you a spare pencil to scribble scores with. Once i helped him out moving classroom when i spotted a student ply double bass in the store prevously locked. Wondered in and picked it up, and after a quick tuning i plucked few notes not realising that he was back doing something next door. Obviously heard my feeble attempt on a very high action bass set for students learning bowing. "So you play bass?" he asked. Little chat about the tropical humidity not gelling with my carved bass, sold it after seem opened here, there, fingerboard popped off with the sound of explosion etc. and no proper luthier in a 1000 mile radius. He listened and asked if i missed my double bass playing. Of course i did, tremendously. Gigging on a pbass and fretless jazz bass was ok but no comparison to playing db. To cut it short, we parted after the job was done and all the kids accounted for left our concert hall. Happy days. Next day he sent for me to go to his office. Had no idea while i was waiting for him to get something from his van. It was a lovely old 50's chekoslovakian carved top bass. "This is for you Tony" Almost passed out. I thought he is lending it to me but no, he was giving it to me!!!! Such a random human kindness! Thanking was insufficient enough i felt. Strings on it were aluminium wound thumpy with buzz all over. After little love like new machine heads, sanding laquer off the back of the neck then tung oil treatment, thick paint removed from fingerboard, bridge adjusters added, new tail gut, strung with spiro mittel E&A, Evah weich D, and Oliv G the bass sounds and plays awesome! Got a new kremona pickup (bloody great pickup!!) and a gigbag from big Bob, im back in business. Pbass is gone, jazz bass is under the bed. I just want to thank the universe for sending an incredibly understanding like minded crazy bugger my way. Hammer fingers (calouses) comming back and playing feels better every day.

cool!! Here's my Xgift to my 16 year old this year hope he likes it!