Hi - can you guys & gals help to Identify, and, perhaps put a date on my Blonde 3/4 Double Bass, please

[Stompbox]

I recently acquired a "Blonde" ¾ Double Bass, it plays well, sounds great,  and it's a real good looker, too, and I wonder if you could help me identify it, and maybe put a date to it,  as there is no label or markings at all.

Its previous owner bought it secondhand in the early 1980s, so it must pre-date that - maybe the seventies/sixties - or earlier. 

The lady that I bought it from was a tutor of string instruments, so that it was only ever used for tuition purposes for more than the last 40 years. This means that it is in great condition, never having been outside her house in her ownership.

I know that there are far fewer blonde basses than the regular darker brown finish, so I thought it may be possible to work out its age and maybe the brand of it - the nearest thing I can find in pictures, would maybe be a Kay?

The way that it is constructed is slightly different to "normal" in that there is a broad fillet of wood running round both the belly and the back of the bass where they attach to the sides - not the usual overlap of just the thickness of the top and back. It's finished in a nitrocellulose polish/varnish.

 

Many thanks  for any help you can give.

 

 

[Beer of the Bass]

The bands at the top and back joint are usually referred to as external linings. They're often (but not always) associated with German made basses. I would say the scroll and tuners don't look like a Kay, the outer part of the spiral scroll is a separate glued-on piece on a Kay, and they have tuners with smaller gears than most double basses.

[Stompbox]

Hi Beer of the Bass - thanks for that. I will keep looking to see if I can spot anything similar.

[Stub Mandrel]

I'm no double bass expert, but the checking on the heel is definitely nitrocellulose not poly.

[Stompbox]

Yes, it's Nitro finish, that's for sure.

[Beedster]

It's a lovely looking thing, nice score @Stompbox 👍

[TheRev]

The linings, scroll, tuners and proportions look a lot like my East German Musima.

Loads of them were imported in the 70s as high school level basses, so they're not uncommon.

They're good, solid, ply instruments - real workhorses.

 

 

[Stompbox]

1 minute ago, TheRev said:

The linings, scroll, tuners and proportions look a lot like my East German Musima.

Loads of them were imported in the 70s as high school level basses, so they're not uncommon.

They're good, solid, ply instruments - real workhorses.

 

 

 

[Stompbox]

Just now, Stompbox said:

Thanks, that sounds  right. 

 

[Stompbox]

12 minutes ago, Beedster said:

It's a lovely looking thing, nice score @Stompbox 👍

 

[Stompbox]

Just now, Stompbox said:

Hey, thanks. I'm really pleased to have it. There'scm really nothing quite like holding and playing a DB.....👌

 

[Stub Mandrel]

There's a possibly identical one here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/798552656880700/permalink/8245873918815166/

 

Quite a coincidence, but the owner may be able to help you!

[Stompbox]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

There's a possibly identical one here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/798552656880700/permalink/8245873918815166/

 

Quite a coincidence, but the owner may be able to help you!

 

[Stompbox]

Just now, Stompbox said:

 

Wow. That's amazing, and thanks for getting in 5. I've applied and joined that Facebook group. I'll get in touch with the guy who posted it tomorrow . Brilliant 👍 

[NickA]

East German, 1970s or 80s.  seems to have suffered major neck trauma at some point, cracked varnish along the base of the neck joint.  does that black blob on the heel hide a huge screw perchance.  Not a problem if it's solid.

 

Hopefully you'll never find out.  I dropped my bass and broke its neck earlier this year.  Had to have a new one fitted.  The old one proved to have the bit of neck that dovetails into the block, held in place with three large brass screws... which were definitely not from 1890 like the rest of it.  NB mines German, external linings 🤞.  Strong and protects the edges.

[Stompbox]

Hey, thanks. That's really helpful. Lots of info 

[keeponehandloose]

Definitely not a Kay.. East European I would say, if it is a nitro finish I reckon 60s/early 70s.

 

[PaulKing]

Yeah I can't add much to what this lot of fine fellows have already said, just to confirm it's 100% NOT a Kay.

I'd guess Czech, early Strunal. But impossible to say for sure. They still make basses that look very similar.

 

Those external linings were put on 1960s Czech basses (like the pre-Strunal Aria Excelsior imported to UK by Boosey & Hawkes - I've got a blonde that looks very similar to yours).

Yep that neck has come off at some point but it looks like a decent repair.

The grain on the back is very sweet ... nice 'bookmatched' split veneer. Very pretty.

As an owner of quite a few 60s East European ply basses over the years, I'd say that looks a good 'un, definitely a keeper. Hope it sounds as nice as it looks.

 

The market seems pretty slow recently, but when times are good you might sell that for over £1k. A dealer would certainly aim a bit higher.    

[Stompbox]

On 09/10/2024 at 23:41, Stompbox said:

That's very helpful, thanks for the information, I really  appreciate it. Yes, the bass plays well, and has a great, deep tone with good sustain. Just ordered a pickup to the bridge. I wondered if people now use little internal microphones now that clip on and go inside the F holes and link wirelessly to the amp?

 

[Beedster]

15 minutes ago, Stompbox said:

 

I wouldn’t put a mic inside the bass, there be dragons 👍

[NickA]

5 hours ago, PaulKing said:

The market seems pretty slow recently, but when times are good you might sell that for over £1k. A dealer would certainly aim a bit higher.

I recall somone brought a 60s laminate czech bass to a bass bash one time .. best plywood bass I've played.  That was from the Double Bass Rooms priced at £1500.  Not sure this one is quite up there what with the visible neck repair, but forsure a dealer would be asking over £1k.   Hefty ply made in China Eastmans at BassBags are £1400+

[Stompbox]

Thanks for the info. Much appreciated 👍 

[Beedster]

2 hours ago, NickA said:

I recall somone brought a 60s laminate czech bass to a bass bash one time .. best plywood bass I've played.  That was from the Double Bass Rooms priced at £1500.  Not sure this one is quite up there what with the visible neck repair, but forsure a dealer would be asking over £1k.   Hefty ply made in China Eastmans at BassBags are £1400+

 

Nothing at al wrong with ply unless you're a wood snob 👍

[NickA]

Well, I guess I am a bit of a "wood snob".   but only because carved basses are more responsive and sound better.  Or perhaps more accurately, the best sounding basses are carved.

 

I doubt you'd find any laminate basses in a decent orchestra, or being played by a professional jazz bassist.  Once you add pickups, amps, let alone effects, it's much less of an issue, and of course there are good laminates and bad carved basses.

 

But I've never found a laminate that comes close to my 150yr old German beast for acoustic sound ( and it's a scruffy workhorse not some super valuable antique )

 

Good summary:  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiUxNOWupaJAxW4Q0EAHYubHW4QFnoECBAQBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoublebasshq.com%2Fgear_posts%2Fbuying-a-double-bass%2F&usg=AOvVaw2M-uFarhkTQhavbs1JuL9c&opi=89978449

 

Wood snob sadly 👍

 

 

[Beedster]

8 hours ago, NickA said:

Well, I guess I am a bit of a "wood snob".   but only because carved basses are more responsive and sound better.  Or perhaps more accurately, the best sounding basses are carved.

 

I doubt you'd find any laminate basses in a decent orchestra, or being played by a professional jazz bassist.  Once you add pickups, amps, let alone effects, it's much less of an issue, and of course there are good laminates and bad carved basses.

 

But I've never found a laminate that comes close to my 150yr old German beast for acoustic sound ( and it's a scruffy workhorse not some super valuable antique )

 

Good summary:  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiUxNOWupaJAxW4Q0EAHYubHW4QFnoECBAQBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdoublebasshq.com%2Fgear_posts%2Fbuying-a-double-bass%2F&usg=AOvVaw2M-uFarhkTQhavbs1JuL9c&opi=89978449

 

Wood snob sadly 👍

 

 

 

I didn't say that ply is as good as carved, I said there's nothing inherently wrong with ply. A well designed and constructed instrument made from high quality ply will most likely be superior to a poorly designed and constructed carved bass. OK, ply tends to be used for cheaper instruments, so in many cases the construction is also less rigorous, but that's not a function of ply as a medium/material, and even given this there are some very high quality ply instruments out there 👍