What have I got?

[Monckyman]

Hello all.
I have a cheap (£350) Double bass I bought off ebay last year to see if I would enjoy getting back into playing one after 20 years.
The action isn`t great, the strings are £20 cheapies and it needs a few minor repairs to the woodwork,mainly filling and sanding though, no cracks.
I`d like to ask if anyone thinks it`s worth spending money on, to get it set up properly,bridge/soundpost etc, or whether I should sell it on, save a bit and spend a bit more?
I know its difficult to give judgement online without playing it, all I can say is, it has a nice tone.
Looks like it`s been laquered with something on the front,like a satin polyurethane type of thing, how easy/advisable would this be to remove?





I can post better pics if needed.
I appreciate any advise anyone can give.
Thanks
Dave M

[PaulKing]

Difficult to say ... any label? Looks like it could be perfectly decent, if it's more than a few years old that's good.

Bridge is warped, or on upside down. Should scoop downwards, so the curved surface is on top, flat surface below.

I wouldn't start messing with stripping or revarnishing, unless you want to go into full refinish as major project.

If it has a nice tone ... what more do you want?

[Monckyman]

Hi Paul ta for the reply.
It looks at least 10 years old, probably twice that. The varnish on the back has a nice pattern of glaze cracks.
The spike adjustment screw has stripped it`s thread, I`m not sure if re-tapping to a bigger screw size or buying a new spike post makes more sense.
It has no label or identifying marks.
What more do I want?
Well lower action and the knowledge I`m not chucking £££ at an old school dog I suppose.
The bridge comment is interesting, shall go and check it out..
DM

[Monckyman]

Bridge is warped and a wing has snapped off
Good excuse to fit an adjustable!

[thisnameistaken]

IMHO if it sounds good now with lousy strings, it is worth putting some time and/or money into. I like the look of it.

[Monckyman]

If anyone has any average prices for fitting of a new bridge please chime in.
Ta,
MM

[BobVbass]

new bridge is about £200 for a decent one - fitting and set up would be about 100-150 on top so probably not worth it unless you can get cheaper parts on ebay and do it yourself....

It looks fairly decent really....couple of questions: is it ply? or hybrid? can you take a closer picture of the stripe around the side of the body is it inlaid or drawn on? and you take a picture of the tuners and the spike? Is the finger board rosewood - looks painted?

Mr King might know where I'm going with this Difficult to tell but you never know

[symcbass]

From the body & button shape, It looks alot like my 70's Boosey & Hawkes ply. Post a pick of the tuners if you can, that'll probably decide It.

[PaulKing]

Are we thinking Aria Excelsior here guys? Maybe.
It's not American, if that's what anyone was thnking.

[fatback]

[quote name='Monckyman' post='1199579' date='Apr 14 2011, 04:35 PM']If anyone has any average prices for fitting of a new bridge please chime in.
Ta,
MM[/quote]

I go t an adjustable bridge from gollihurmusic.com for $78 +pp. Seems fine (to my inexperienced eye), but I can't imagine them selling tat anyhow.

[Monckyman]

Thanks gentlemen for your time and interest, here are some more photos.
The front does look like a different wood grain and finish to the sides and back.
The neck looks like Rosewood, but then painted.















This damage near the spike suggests inlaid rather than painted stripes.





I hope the tuning pegs pics were what you wanted to see. Wasn`t sure if it was the plate or the tuner shape.
Dave.

Edited April 14, 2011 by Monckyman

[Monckyman]

The front, one more time in better light.


DM

[BobVbass]

I was wondering whether we'd discovered another Framus..... the deep gloss finish on back sides and neck is bothering me as the framus' I've seen are more satin finish - although saying that they were made over 35 years so maybe they changed them

It's the right shape for a ply rhythm model - [url="http://www.framus-vintage.de/modules/modells/instruments.php?modellID=20&katID=4668&cl=EN"]http://www.framus-vintage.de/modules/model...=4668&cl=EN[/url]

The tuners and spike are right but again probably fairly common across lots of makers...

[endorka]

[quote name='bob_pickard' post='1199694' date='Apr 14 2011, 06:03 PM']new bridge is about £200 for a decent one - fitting and set up would be about 100-150 on top so probably not worth it unless you can get cheaper parts on ebay and do it yourself....[/quote]

I bought a reasonable bridge from [url="http://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk/"]http://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk/[/url] for £40. No adjusters, but it is harder to fit a bridge after the adjusters are installed, something that was important as I fitted the bridge myself and I didn't want to place additional difficulties in the way.

I used [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Setup-Repair-Double-Optimum-Sound/dp/1892210061/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302806367&sr=8-1-spell"]Chuck Traeger's book[/url] as my guide. This costs £80, but it has paid for itself already several times over in repairs & modifications I've made.

This new bridge has made a huge difference to the sound. I could have done a few more cosmetic tweaks, such as levelling off the bridge feet, but this wasn't a priority. I'd say it took no more than 6 hours to fit, so if you confident with DIY skills this could be an option. The book would be useful to your other repairs as well.

Jennifer

[attachment=77524:double_bass_bridge.jpg]

[derrenleepoole]

That looks a lot like a model I owned, the shape, machine heads, binding etc all look very similar indeed. I managed to narrow the make down to possibly a Meinel or Musima. Essentially a good quality student bass instrument from the 70's era. I got mine from a school for £50!

[Monckyman]

Thanks for the replies all, am currently scouring the tintanet for images of Framus basses.
I`ll admit it does look more like the Rhthym model than anything else I`ve seen, but i`m yet to find any definitive pics. The Framus site ones are too poor to see any details.
Anyone with a framus post your pics here please!
MM

[Monckyman]

Jennifer, that bridge looks really well fitted. did you use your old bridge as a template?

[fonzoooroo]

It might be possible to steam your bridge flat. I've done a few for customers, and it lasts a while. Better to fit new though.
If you know how high you want the action, there's little point in having adjusters (unless the action varies wildly with humidity - but that's less likely if it's a ply bass!) A £40 to £60 blank and a "budget" fit (all important bits done, but only quick trimming up) from a luthier's the way to go. I often turn that kind of bridge-fit round in 60-90 mins on a bass and charge accordingly.
Endpin: If you can get hold of a suitable thumbscrew with a larger thread, and drill/tap accordinly, go for it. Budget endpins start at about a tenner, but unless you're VERY lucky with the shank size, it'll need fitting to the taper (either by machining the taper on the pin, or by the use of a DEAR reamer in the endblock of the bass.

[teej]

That looks very much like my B&H Excelsior.

[TPJ]

My bass was £450. and have spent £500+ on it with work done, strings, bridges etc... If you're happy with the bass then it's worth investing a little time and ££ to get playing well.

I've thought about getting a more expensive one but the bass takes some abuse in our gigging environment and I'd rather knock around a £450 bass instead of a £1500 + bass

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='TPJ' post='1200323' date='Apr 15 2011, 09:47 AM']I've thought about getting a more expensive one but the bass takes some abuse in our gigging environment and I'd rather knock around a £450 bass instead of a £1500 + bass [/quote]

I'm in the same boat. Plus I'm clumsy - I don't want to knock chunks out of an expensive bass on every door jamb in my house like I do with my cheap bass... I am still thinking about buying a second bass to set up for slap though, me and the guitarist started jamming some Elvis numbers during a break in rehearsals the other week and they actually sounded pretty good, so we're thinking about busking them.

[endorka]

[quote name='Monckyman' post='1200021' date='Apr 14 2011, 10:07 PM']Jennifer, that bridge looks really well fitted. did you use your old bridge as a template?[/quote]

Thanks! I did not use the old bridge as a template as it was poorly fitted, I started completely from scratch for this one.

For example, the fingerboard on my double bass is a bit off centre, and Chuck's book tells you how to cut the bridge to compensate for this - that is why one leg on the bridge is longer than the other. The old bridge did not take this into account.

Fonzoooroo: I'm impressed that you can do this job in 60-90 minutes. With some better tools I could have done it quicker than the 6 hours it took me, but even then it is still quite labour intensive. I don't have a good belt sander, so the initial cut of the bridge feet was not great, and consequently it took quite a lot of scraping away at them so they fitted flush to the body of the instrument.

Jennifer

[Monckyman]

Thanks for the replies all, especially Fonzoroo,and Jennifer. It`s fantastic being able to call on your experience here.
Could you elaborate on the "Budget" fit, and what exactly that would entail?
I reckon the cheapest/most elegant solution to the endpin is a retap and larger screw. I don`t fancy trying to hoik that thing out of there.
I do fancy having a go at the bridge myself, I have woodworking tools and some DIY experience, but then again....
There is a Luthier who has been recommended to me by another DBer locally, I`ll get a quote and go from there.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Monckyman

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='endorka' post='1200419' date='Apr 15 2011, 11:00 AM']Thanks! I did not use the old bridge as a template as it was poorly fitted, I started completely from scratch for this one.

For example, the fingerboard on my double bass is a bit off centre, and Chuck's book tells you how to cut the bridge to compensate for this - that is why one leg on the bridge is longer than the other. The old bridge did not take this into account.

Fonzoooroo: I'm impressed that you can do this job in 60-90 minutes. With some better tools I could have done it quicker than the 6 hours it took me, but even then it is still quite labour intensive. I don't have a good belt sander, so the initial cut of the bridge feet was not great, and consequently it took quite a lot of scraping away at them so they fitted flush to the body of the instrument.

Jennifer[/quote]

Hmmmmmmmmmm ... so, tell me Jennifer, is there a Mr. Endorka?

You don't get many lady bass players with excellent DIY skills down south, y'know.

I suppose it's too much to hope that you own a pub ...

[endorka]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1200452' date='Apr 15 2011, 11:16 AM']Hmmmmmmmmmm ... so, tell me Jennifer, is there a Mr. Endorka?[/quote]

I am already happily spoken for

[quote name='Monckyman']I reckon the cheapest/most elegant solution to the endpin is a retap and larger screw. I don`t fancy trying to hoik that thing out of there.[/quote]

Quite right. I had to remove the original endpin from my double bass some time ago because it was a poor quality one. The full assembly was really wedged in, and removing it was a "concerning" experience, to say the least.

Jennifer