Help me identify this db!!- please!

[lougtr]

http://s1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff418/telecaster1234/


HI there

I hope you can have a look at the pics of my crumpled and unplayed db!!!

I have no idea od age or origin!-so just thought i'd get some suggestions, also if it would be worth fixing!

Cheers
lou

[hubrad]

Not my area of expertise, but I was once told that those tuners are a throwback to pre-geared pegs so probably 100 years plus in age. Where are you in the country? I'd take it to a decent repairer - someone on here will know of one in your area I'd expect - for a proper appraisal of value and neccessary work.

[lougtr]

hi

Oh thanks for that- im s/e england-- I have contacted a few to ask if it worth doing, but they asked me £300 to just have a look at it, so being a hard up musician (ya de ya- boring!) I thought I'd get some friendly advice on here!

[timo]

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1316536928' post='1379387']
Not my area of expertise, but I was once told that those tuners are a throwback to pre-geared pegs so probably 100 years plus in age.
[/quote]

Is that because they've got the sticky out wooden bits or is there more to it than that? Mine has the wooden things and that's only 65 is years old, or so I believe anyway.

[Beer of the Bass]

I'm not really an expert, but the shape of the body around the heel suggests it is blockless (i.e with the ribs set directly into the neck, rather than using a neck block). Along with the hatpeg tuners and decorative purfling at the heel, this often a characteristic of older Germanic basses - around the late 19th to early 20th century would be a rough estimate. With a decent ebony board fitted and the cracks sorted, it'll probably be a good sounding bass, the sort of thing a lot of working jazzers seem to use. A full restoration on any bass tends to be expensive, to the point of exceeding the value of lower end basses, but it may be possible to get it into a playable state with less than that.

[hubrad]

[quote name='timo' timestamp='1316547333' post='1379583']

Is that because they've got the sticky out wooden bits or is there more to it than that? Mine has the wooden things and that's only 65 is years old, or so I believe anyway.
[/quote]
Eyup Tim, I can't remember just who told me.. someone around Leeds College of Music I think. They gave me the impression it was a sort of changeover peg going from cello-like direct pegs to more 'modern' geared ones. Like I say, all guesswork on my part so if you know yours is more recent I'll not be disagreeing there!

[daflewis]

I'm with beer on this - certainly looks blockless and 100ish years old. Quite a nice bit of flaming on the back too which would up the value a bit.

ballpark estimates IMHO: restoration costs maybe £2000ish (outside central london); value after the works £3500 - £4000... Though I'm happy to be contradicted....

[bassace]

They are 'hat peg' tuners that you find on old basses. The original spindles were made of wood and so had to be of larger diameter than the later/stronger metal ones. Also the larger diameter produced less pressure on the sides of the tuning box (or whatever it's called).

[lougtr]

Hey- thanks everyone for your input and ideas regarding the db- Im wondering what it may be worth 'as is' as Im a guitarist, I only tinker- although I have many friends who would love a new db of some quality!