gypsy bass

[Rob Menapace]

I saw in another thread a discussion about gypsy basses, well I just happen to have one! However, I know little about it's origins, the who, where and when of this bass. It's pretty much been rebuilt, including a whole new neck. I do have a few specific questions:
-the top plates have a "bearclaw" grain pattern in several areas, is this common? is there a tonal advantage? disadvantage?
-I'm having problems with wolftones, the bridge is about 7" high, the breakover angle seems fairly steep. Is this a factor? Should I be using a lower tension string? I suppose I'll take it to a luthier, I did when I first got the bass, we fiddled around with the soundpost, of course it seemed to help at the shop, but when I got home and played it for awhile, the wolftones where still there, even worse. I decided to let out some of the tailpiece wire to shorten the afterlength, which greatly helped the wolftone problem, but now the bass seems a bit tight, not as open sounding.
-also, the tuning machines are reversed (?), meaning the G-D side is offset lower than the E-A side. Does this affect tone? resonance? I've been told it's French in origin.

Anyway, here's the link to the pics:

http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss58/mocorob/

[Ken Smith]

Origin might be Hungarian. Don Higdon had a similar Bass that was slightly fancier looking and had a French label in it. Arnold knows that bass as well.

I see the saddle under the Tailpiece quite snug there in the fit. Have that removed and the ends trimmed and re-glued back in. The Ebony pinching the right angle corners of the Spruce can cause Saddle cracks up the top as the Bass moves within itself.

Tension, set-up, wolfs, Tailwire length, Tuner positions all matter very little within the Bass. The Thickness of the Top, graduations, wood it's made from, bassbar everything, neck set, neck pitch to body and major things like this in my opinion are more responsible for the sound, wolfs, tension etc than any afterwards adjustments that can be made.

I read TalkBass with much amusement these days and sometimes with brief moments of entertainment greater than what I find on TV. People are fixing, adjusting, changing strings and futzing with their Bass in just about every way possible to turn a dead horse into one that will reach the finish line in first place, so it seems.. lol

The fact of the matter is that you start with the Bass in hand and how it's made. Then you look at the construction issues and then, you can adjust it. I think most people miss the most important step in this and that is professional/experienced advice. This cannot be done on-line in most cases if at all. The person giving the advice should play the Bass and look it over. That being IF he/she is the experienced professional you have been looking for.

In most cases, it's just the Bass. That's how it is and what it wants to do. Yes it can be improved and set-up to 'IT's' personal best but it can only be as good as 'IT' can be.

I have owned and played more Basses than I can ever begin to count. One thing I have learned in a way, Basses are like people in that they are individual. They don't have to be rare Italian Basses either to be individual. Once you glue a bunch of pieces of wood together it becomes its own voice and does what it will do.

My advice would be to find the best professional in your area and take it there. Have that person look over the Bass and see if they can get it into it's best possible playing condition short of re-building it. Lisa Gass I hear is one of the best out there in LA and plays the Bass as well. She might be your best bet. Then, if after all is said and done and you don't have form this Bass what you are looking for, sell it and get a Bass you like better if that is at all possible or within your means. Otherwise, live with what it is and be done with it. Then, play and enjoy what you have.

I have some fairly expensive Basses and many of pedigree origins. Still, give me 5-10 minutes or less to warm up the Bass and I will tell you everything about the Bass that I don't like. If I could put about 5 of my basses in a blender, I would have the perfect bass at a cost well over half a million combining the values of each of the 5. Or.... just take each Bass for what they are and enjoy them. Once the music starts and I'm playing, it's just me and the bass. I don't think about this or that. I have the music to think about and to get inside it as we become 'one'. After all, isn't it just ALL about the music?

Years ago, decades actually I was talking about a Bass of mine that was getting adjusted to sound better. I was maybe 18 or so at the time. The guy looks at me and says something like.. 'just play the thing'.. Wow, the money we could have all saved applying that advise.. lol

Hey, nice Tuners by the way. I use them myself. Also I see in your profile that you have a Slaviero French bow. Top notch maker. I have one as well and think its great.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Reducing the breakover angle can often reduce wolf tones as well. On your bass that could be accomplished with a raised saddle. Your bass looks Eastern European to me (Hungary, Romania, Czech). Nice wood!

[Rob Menapace]

Thank you Ken and Arnold for your thoughts. Let me say first that I really like this bass, I feel fortunate to have it and play it everyday. I will be taking it in to Lisa Gass soon, I suppose it's nearly impossible to say anything meaningful about a bass just based on pictures. I like the way the bass responds and sounds as it is, just learning how to deal with the wolfs, but I'm pretty confident it can get a lot better, it really hasn't had a critical setup since I received it.

[Martin Sheridan]

The pictures are of a Chinese bass made by one of the many Chen's in that country. The tuners are an adaptation of the KC Strings tuners.

[Rob Menapace]

[quote=Martin Sheridan;13416]The pictures are of a Chinese bass made by one of the many Chen's in that country. The tuners are an adaptation of the KC Strings tuners.[/quote

The tuners are Chinese made, what makes you think the rest of it is Chinese?