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View Full Version : I.D. help with a recent purchase


Nathaniel Meyer
04-12-2011, 08:11 AM
Hi-
I just picked up this bass at a yardsale and was hoping that you good folks might be able to tell me a little more about it. Inside the body it has a sticker that says "bass copy of Antonius stradiuarius cremonensis faciebat anno 1721 made in germany bkn" I've seen similar postings on this site, but nothing real exact to what I've got. The guy I bought it from said he had a picture of his uncle playing a local hotel in 1950...
The metal bridge is not original (you can see the footprint of the old traditional kind) I'm pretty sure its a framus bridge. I included pics of the main issues- a crack in the heel and the endpin is pulling over...
Whaddya think? I'm hoping to get this playable, as it would be a great improvement from my chinese junkybass.

Ken Smith
04-12-2011, 12:09 PM
Show the bass. Then I will comment on it.

First off, without pictures. Strad. never made a bass. It is just a commercial factory lable as used in 1,000's or 10s of 1,000's of string instruments.

Repairs done well and professionally usually cost more than the value of the bass if it's a cheaper factory instrument. I had a fully carved bass here last week that needed 15k of work and would never look great in the end. It would be worth less than a 3rd on the market after fixing.

Nathaniel Meyer
04-12-2011, 12:19 PM
Hmm- I did attach pictures, but image posting is always a little wonky on my work computer- I'll post pictures this afternoon...
thanks,
Nathaniel

Nathaniel Meyer
04-12-2011, 03:47 PM
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5188/5610983094_c3e795c94c.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5103/5611057556_5e0ca104db.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5181/5611001404_9f26d10005.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/5610468135_8c504b2507.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5306/5610417971_78f27cafde.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5030/5610411433_eeddb644ae.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5184/5610414055_29a7851841.jpg

The finish is funky, but I kinda like it...

Eduardo Barbosa
04-12-2011, 04:09 PM
Wow! Congrats!
I need to start looking at the yard sales around here.
I hope you got a good deal.

Nathaniel Meyer
04-12-2011, 04:39 PM
Haha- thanks!
I think I got a pretty sweet deal- I talked the guy down to $140.
Now I just gotta get it playable...

Eduardo Barbosa
04-12-2011, 05:33 PM
Haha- thanks!
I think I got a pretty sweet deal- I talked the guy down to $140.
Now I just gotta get it playable...


Right on!
I can't get strings for $140!

Ken Smith
04-12-2011, 11:20 PM
Still looking for ID?

Made in Germany is all you will find unless you get lucky and find the importer that brought these in, when and who they bought them from.

This is a factory made bass and not made by an individual so don't get too worked up on looking for a specific maker.

If I was you, I would be most concerned about that broken neck. It can be repaired with Bolts and Epoxy or, a neck graft which is way more than the bass itself in cost. The repair joint if done well should look smooth and even, not lumpy.

Then, play and enjoy it.

Nathaniel Meyer
04-13-2011, 07:15 PM
Yeah- still looking. I've found out some real interesting stuff about German factory basses. I've been looking at all the basses I can for ones that look the same.
It's more to satisfy my sense of curiosity than trying to figure out a value. But yeah, I'm psyched to get the neck and endpin fixed and start playin' this beautiful beast!
Thanks for your help.

Eric Swanson
04-14-2011, 06:43 AM
The sunburst finish, "Strad" label, tuners, body shape, and scroll are all identical to those on a Framus hybrid I got as a teenager. Mine was a 7/8 size with a 44" string length.

Hope the repairs work out.

Andy Gross
05-20-2016, 03:52 AM
Nathaniel:

I was so excited to see your post. I have the exact same bass. I bought it 56 years ago from a pawn shop in the NYC area. I had it worked on by a violin maker in Southern Illinois about 40 years ago. He told me that the grain of the sound post was wrong and that some of the wood supports inside the bass were made of inferior wood. My memory is that he corrected those problems. I have always had a normal wood bridge on the bass. The bass sounds great. I had some trouble getting the depth I like out of the low G (on the E string), but about two years ago--for some completely unknown reason--those low notes began to sound magnificent.

People are always blown away when they find out that it's a plywood bass.

Enjoy it!

Andy Gross

Andy Gross
05-20-2016, 04:13 AM
Oh yeah. I just noticed some other old posts about your bass. The neck of my bass was broken twice by a crazy girl-friend. I had it repaired in NYC by a repair guy who used bolts. (I have two bolts holding the neck in place.) The bass specialists at Hammond-Ashley, in Seattle, however, told me that you don't need bolts. They prefer just re-gluing the neck.

And, on the end pin. I had the same problem for years (like 40 maybe). I got a temporary fix in Nashville, Tenn., in 1980, but just two years ago, a violin maker in Jerusalem, Israel, replaced the whole end piece with a new piece and pin. Now it is perfect.

Again, I love this bass and I'm happy to find someone else with the same bass.

John Cubbage
05-20-2016, 10:43 AM
I wouldn't do a neck graft. It would cost more than the bass is worth. I would put a bolt in the base of the neck to fix the crack. It is a factory bass. The varnish looks like it is sprayed on. Is the back a veneer? The end pin looks like it is too small for the hole, thus the strange angle. Changing the tail piece solid wire to a multiple wire cable often improves the sound. The bridge is an after market thing for jazz players back in the day.

In 1973 I ran across a (German) factory bass with a similar Strad label inside. It had carved front and back, 3/4 size, with violin corners (Interesting. How many bass models did Antonio S. have? None?). It might have been originally sold by Roth.

I'm glad you found a bass in a yard sale. You never know what you may find. One time (1970 in California) I ran across a Kay bass that was a 5 stringer! It appeared to be that way from the factory.

-Dr. C.