Regraduation

[Eric Hochberg]

Ken, maybe you and the other luthiers could share some thoughts on this. You have said that your Morelli had some regraduation done which helped improve it. How does one decide if a bass is a good candidate for this process? Is it strictly through measurement? Are there any generalizations that can be made about the appropriateness of this for other German shop basses?

[Ken Smith]

Ken, maybe you and the other luthiers could share some thoughts on this. You have said that your Morelli had some regraduation done which helped improve it. How does one decide if a bass is a good candidate for this process? Is it strictly through measurement? Are there any generalizations that can be made about the appropriateness of this for other German shop basses?

From what I have learned from many including Arnold there are three main factors to look at. Thickness, Hardness and Arching. You can have excess in only one of these. If the bass has very hard/dense wood, is very thick and has a high arch you have a problem with tone loss. Arnold has told me you can pics one or two of those traits but all three is not good. My Morelli and Gilkes had all three traits. The Gilkes almost 200 years old and made by a master makers was difficult to even think of altering. The thicknesses at the edges were about the size you would want in the center. Also, the Top as raised under the Bassbar as well. The Gilkes was built to last a thousand years as after 200, the Top has still yet to split!

The Morelli was an early shop-type Bass without master grade qualities but all in all, a well made instrument. I was told bythe previous owner that it had a huge sound. In tone tapping the Morelli plates were changed from sounding 'thunk' when tapper to 'boooommmm'. I played that bass in two orchestras and one day I was asked by the third chair not to play on the Extension as it was so loud while the second chair next to me told me that the low C was the resonant frequency of the stage and shook the floor. When I sold that bass it went to a jazz player who took off that weapon of an extension as he didn't need it. If one day he sells it to an Orchestral player, the ext. is ready to go right back on.

Re-graduation is something that should be done with great care and respect. An instrument such as the Gilkes was one of a period-type Bass that was actually a copy of a Strad Cello and not intended for an Orchestra but rather a Chamber Bass for 'High Society' of the London type c.1800.

The Morelli on the other hand was made as a full sized Bass a century later with a factory carved Top and integral Bassbar as well. More carving meant more work so they left that Bass with about 50% more thickness than it needed on both the Top and Back. The Gilkes was even thicker to start with and was only slightly graduated within the restoration but still left plenty thick.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

How does one decide if a bass is a good candidate for this process? Is it strictly through measurement? Are there any generalizations that can be made about the appropriateness of this for other German shop basses?

If a bass is not working as a musical instrument, and its components are considerably thicker than average, it might be a candidate. Also, many shop basses were carved by machine and the graduation work is haphazard. By that I mean that there are thick areas in the plates that act like anchors, preventing the instrument from vibrating. Sometimes just smoothing out the lumps can be very helpful in improving the tone and response.

Major regraduation of master-built instruments is a controversial subject. Some enthusiasts believe it is disrespectful and destroys the value of the instrument. I have seen regraduation "butchery" where the plates were thinned way beyond what is customary or reasonable. And guess what? These instruments sell all the time, for big money. But the owner now has a time bomb on his hands. I feel that respectful, reasonable regraduation is something that should be done only with sober professionalism by luthiers who understand the ramifications. And as little original wood should be removed as is feasible.

In the case of German (or other) shop basses, regraduation or "de-lumpification" is often helpful, as is thinning out the doubled rib linings, and correcting the generally poor neck joints. Also, many of these basses have improperly located and/or oversized bass bars.

[Ken Smith]

Arnold, I also wanted to make it clear that Backs can also be too thick (or too thin) and need alteration as well. Mainly on Roundbacks from what I have seen. On a few Flatbacks I checked recently I have learned they they too are graduated in some way with the thicknesses not being uniform throughout.

One some of my Flatbacks the Hart seems to be thicker where it is wider getting slightly thicker from top to bottom. My Mystery Bass had numbers all over the place but this may not be all original as it has signs of at least 3 sets or crossbars over its long life and alterations could have been made at any time.

Density of the wood as well as grain direction are also factors to weigh in with regardless of it being a Back or a Top.