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Double Bass Why Dogs and Basses don't mix

P

pmckinney4

Sep 14, 2005
48
0
45
Cuyahoga Falls, OH
#1
Well my worst nightmere occured today. My lovely dogs knocked over my bass. The body seems to be for the most part ok. However, the kneck popped off. It did pop off cleanly without damage to the sides or back.

The bad news is that the scroll is now cracked the whole way up. I have attached a picture of it.

I am looking for some opinions. Is this something that can be repaired?

If it can't be repaired, I am assuming I will need a whole new neck? Should I also assume that I will need a new fingerboard and bridge?

Any guesses on prices for this type of repair?

Thanks for your opinions!(no, my wife won't let me get rid of the dogs)
 

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#2
Of course. Many old Basses have Scroll/PegBox cracks repaired. I don't know how valuable your Bass is but if it is just a Shop German Bass, it may hold better re-sale value with a new Neck. It can be antiqued to look original if you get the right guy to do the job. If it is a Famous Pedigree, then do all you can to save the original Scroll. My English Dodd has its Scroll/PegBox repaired from a long time ago. It's hard to see in pics but up-close, one could find the repair in the back and upper portion. I would rather have a repaired classic Scroll than a new one. On a commercially made Scroll, replacement may be better all around. Your Repair Luthier can advise you better upon examining the Bass in person.
 
#5
Jeff Bollbach said:
If you are close enuf to Cinci call Nnick, he'll do you right.
Click to expand...

I would love to have Nick take a look at it, but Cincy is a good 3 to 4 hours away. I recently had a local luthier put a soundpost in my bass, but I wasn't that impressed with him. I am probably going to have to have that redone at the same time. I think I am going to have to try to find someone else that is in the Akron, OH area.
 
#6
pmckinney4 said:
I would love to have Nick take a look at it, but Cincy is a good 3 to 4 hours away. I recently had a local luthier put a soundpost in my bass, but I wasn't that impressed with him. I am probably going to have to have that redone at the same time. I think I am going to have to try to find someone else that is in the Akron, OH area.
Click to expand...
I'd make the drive. Go eat some chili.
 
#9
Well, it's not the worst that could have happened. At least the dog didn't get hurt and the bass can be fixed. :crying:

I have had indoor dogs most of my adult life and have had to balance this with also having delicate instruments and cameras, etc. in my home. I knew as soon as I got a DB that the dogs were just too curious about it. My current youngest dog is high spirited, part American Pitbull Terrier and Boxer. His acrobatic finesse is unequaled. Still, while unpacked from my bass bag, the bass does not sit in a stand or lean. It is suspended vertically from the scroll by a rope loop that is mounted into a wall stud with a large screw eye. The bass rests gently against a soft cloth on the wall suspended by the rope. Not dog-proof entirely (he licks the bass sometimes) but he can't knock it over.

I've heard that they will chew up some expensive gut strings given the opportunity. I have a goat skin drum that I have to keep out of reach and I may get some guts, so the bass room may become a dog-free zone. Dogs will be dogs and you must admit if you own one, the companionship is worth the trouble.
 
#11
ouch... definately get it taken care of right. My basses aren't worth all that much in the scheme of things, but Is till won't take them to anyone that I don't know for a fact will do a good job with it.
As far as the dogs, keep the bass locked in a closet, bedroom, something. I keep my DB in it's case when it is not in use just in case it gets knocked out of it's corner by some bumbler, or my clumsy self. Put one of those kiddie play-pens around it if you have to!
 
#14
I pointed pmckinney4 to a luthier named Reese Williams - (440) 333-5984. He's up by the Cleveland airport. He did all of the work on my 1907 Hawkes Panormo as well as my wife's 200 year old violin while we lived in Northeast Ohio.

Tbeers - comparing a bass to your child? C'mon.
 
#17
As JAllen mentioned, he pointed me in the direction of Reese Williams up by the Cleveland Airport. My bass is up there now.

He just e-mailed me and said he got the scroll glued up. He is also fixing some cracks, re-fitting the sound post, resetting the neck, adjusting the bridge, and dressing the fingerboard. We'll see how it turns out when it is all done.

Only negative is he will only work on one bass at a time and he is going to have it for a few weeks. Not a problem for me as I am not a professional musician and can play my electric for what I do need a bass for in the mean time. I'll post how it turns out, but I have high hopes.
 
#18
Well, I got my bass back on Saturday. I tried posting on Sunday, but it seems like the forum was down.

Reese did an excellent job. He was able to glue up the scroll and make it real solid. He had to do some work on the joint that the neck fits into. He told me it was way too loose so he had to add some wood to get the neck to fit properly.

He also glued some cracks in the body, refit the end-pin, dressed the fingerboard, refit the sound post, and put adjusters into the bridge. He had to do this because with the new neck angle(new angle is better than the old one was), the bridge was too short, and I was too cheap to pay for a new bridge at this point........Christmas bills and all.

Anyway, I think the bass is better now than before the dogs knocked it down. It sounds great. Next time if I want stuff done to it I'll have to just make an appointment instead of letting my dogs do it for me. I am looking forward to playing it at Christmas Mass.
 

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