Bass ID, please?

[Shawn Charniga]

OK...this is my latest find, purchased from a young man from New Jersey who bought it for a college course and discovered he couldn't play a doublebass with gut strings set an inch off the end of the fingerboard. But I can. ;)

Mensure is 42", length of back 44" including the button, lower bout 26", upper bout 19.5" and C-bouts 13.5." Rib depth at the C bout is 7.5" not including the top and back plates.

The bass is quite lightweight, likely due to the back being thin and the ribs paper-thin. The top has been off at least once, and the many cracks in the ribs reinforced with playing-card sized pieces of wood, maybe spruce, maybe not. The back shows a repaired separation on the center line, and there are several repaired top cracks, the worst being on the outside of the soundpost.

It bears a dull reddish varnish which may or not be original. There are several cloudy brown blotches where it has been touched up, and sanding marks abound beneath the varnish.

The bridge is stamped "Amiel DeLuccia." Google turned up a family of violinmakers by that name who were active in Philadelphia between the World Wars, which makes sense.

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos, but iPhone plus iffy interior lighting equals blah. If these are no good I can pull them down and make new photos outdoors in natural light.

I posted a similar query on talkbass and got no better answers than "it's old." :cool: Any insight as to its' origin and value would be greatly appreciated, and thanks for having me aboard.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0373.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0372.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0369.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0368.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0377.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0378.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0366.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/kungfusheriff/Gear/IMG_0367.jpg

[Ken Smith]

If you see sanding scratches 'under' the varnish, it was sanded and re-finished. The bass looks re-finished all over.

The back wood (grain) looks like it could be plywood but I would need to see good pics of the edges to be convinced either way.

The bass however is an old German/Czech factory bass like the 1,000s we have seen imported here and used around the world.

Value is hard to quote from pictures as the actual condition internally has to be inspected. Repairs can sometimes exceed the value of the actual bass. I have a bass here now not too different than yours that needs a full restoration. Mine I think was made on the Czech side on the border so I call it Bohemian (http://www.kensmithbasses.com/doublebasses/bohemian%20flatback/), being made possibly before the first war.

Since you are not all that far from me, you can bring it over on day if you like. Then I can figure the rest out.

[Shawn Charniga]

That does look pretty close, with the exception of the outside linings.

I've been looking at scrolls since I bought this bass, trying to find another with those odd little fillips carved into the back of the pegbox, which seem to be the bass' most distinctive feature.

While it was clearly a cheap shop bass, I wasn't satisfied with being completely ignorant about it.

Bohemian it is, then, with a plain-Jane carved back. Thank you! Figure I should insure it for, what, $5K-$7K?

Next time I have to drive to Youngstown I'll try to detour through Perkasie and drop the bass off for a few days. I'd love to know anything else you could tell me. It's a humble instrument to be sure, but a damned cannon nonetheless.

[Ken Smith]

That does look pretty close, with the exception of the outside linings.

I've been looking at scrolls since I bought this bass, trying to find another with those odd little fillips carved into the back of the pegbox, which seem to be the bass' most distinctive feature.

While it was clearly a cheap shop bass, I wasn't satisfied with being completely ignorant about it.

Bohemian it is, then, with a plain-Jane carved back. Thank you! Figure I should insure it for, what, $5K-$7K?

Next time I have to drive to Youngstown I'll try to detour through Perkasie and drop the bass off for a few days. I'd love to know anything else you could tell me. It's a humble instrument to be sure, but a damned cannon nonetheless.

That seems to be a fair insurance price but watch the bass market for what similar basses sell for. Selling price and Insurance price is usually not the same. In case of a loss, it could cost more to replace it at the retail level. I think your bass is closer to German/Czech than Bohemian so I would call it Germanic. That would include the linings, the gear plates and that Scroll button which looks more German to me.

When you have the time, read this; http://www.smithbassforums.com/showthread.php?t=2176 .. It will help your understand the business over there at that time, say c.1890-1930, my estimate.

[Shawn Charniga]

Heard and understood. Thanks again.