Bass Oddity- Swanson DB.

[Brian Gencarelli]

Hey Everybody,

Been reading, but haven't had much time or anything to post about... until now.

I have in my possesion a Swanson double bass made in Pittsburg, PA in 1974. It is a bass belonging to a colleague in the Asheville Symphony. She purchased this bass on Ebay and when it arrived it was MUCH too big for her to play. She knew it was in bad shape, and was planning on restoring it. She has asked me to either sell as is or do some work to make it playable and sell. I am at a crossroads here and I want to get some opinions on this bass. I am also contacting Bruce Wallace as I am told that he is the Swanson expert.

I just wanted to share this piece of American History with you guys, especially Ken Smith and let me know what you think of this strange bass.

BTW, it sounds pretty good when I actually bring it up to tension to show it.

The measurements:

Overall length- 76"
Top table- 46"
Back table to button- 47"

Bottom bout- 27.25"
C- bout- 17.75"
Uppper bout- 23"

Bottom ribs- 9"
C bout- 9.25"
Upper ribs taper to- 7.25"

Mensure- 41.5"

See pictures at: http://s424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/bgencare/

BG

[Ken Smith]

I have seen a few of these pictured and about a year or two ago a Girl had one for sale maybe on Ebay. She was possibly going to bring it by but we never hooked up.

They are big, crudely made and expensive to fix. I thought that the one she had was a long mensur like 43" or so. Very 'homemade' looking basses.

[Jeff Bollbach]

Wow, I had forgotten about this maker! I saw one at a place of previous employ and for a few weeks it was thought by the boss that it was Italian. Turned out to be plywood. Wonder if this one is. Authentic crudite.

[Sam Sherry]

To paraphrase Theodore Geisel's great American classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, "The three words I would use to describe this are as follows: 'Sink . . . sank . . . sunk!' "

I'd be dubious that the chase is worth the quarry.

[Ken Smith]

To paraphrase Theodore Geisel's great American classic, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, "The three words I would use to describe this are as follows: 'Sink . . . sank . . . sunk!' "

I'd be dubious that the chase is worth the quarry.

This must be the first time that I can remember that I was the 'Least' Negative about a Bass related topic, lol.

Usually I'm 'THE' Party pooper. This time, I just pointed out the stink..

[Brian Gencarelli]

Wow, I had forgotten about this maker! I saw one at a place of previous employ and for a few weeks it was thought by the boss that it was Italian. Turned out to be plywood. Wonder if this one is. Authentic crudite.

From what I can tell, I think it is plywood (oak?) - it is so hard to tell with all the raised purfling and gunk. It is definitely NOT Italian. There is also some previous repair work that makes it more of a "crudite". Don't know if this was done by the maker or another.

I feel the same way about this bass as another classic cartoon, "Charlie Brown Christmas". It seems like the poor little tree that he picks out and tries to decorate.

I don't know whether to crack this baby open (morbid curiosity) or run away screaming. I am pretty confident in my abilities- I am no Arnold or Jeff, but I am not a complete "crudite" either. (Can you tell I like that word?) If I decide to approach this as a "Six million dollar bass" I plan on documenting the whole thing for all to see, ala Matthew Tucker.

Obviously, I don't plan on making any money on this bass... just a test of skill.

Any and all opinions are valued.

BG

[Ken Smith]

Yes, now I remember...

http://theimaginaryworld.com/tvdin13.jpg :D

[Jeff Bollbach]

Ha Ha, Ken! You know that's Talkbass style humor there!:eek:

I would love to know more about this Swanson dude. The one I saw at kolsteins was actually very convincing as something much older than it was. I wonder if it was just a happy coincidental byproduct of a very crude maker or was he actually up to something?

[Jeff Bollbach]

Brian-
Without knowing what is "wrong" with the bass it is of course difficult to proffer any thoughts on whether it is worth tackling.
jeffb

[Brian Gencarelli]

Jeff,

Where do I start? Well positives... the tailpiece, tuners, strings, and bridge are in pretty good shape. :o

If I were to take this bass and do everything I think it needs:

1) Open the top and "clean up" all the shabby repair work to the back... there are these awful "patches" to reinforce the flat back. Really thick and I can't tell exactly what kind of glue... probably alpharetic resin.

2) Try to reshape and patch the top to relieve the sinkage and deformity.
(Get rid of the second sound post. :eek:)

3) New fingerboard, saddle, nut, endpin.

Setup and hope for the best. It will be a long and expensive process. Who knows what I will find when I crack the top? I am also going to have to be really careful and patient with glue removal, etc... Hard to tell what multitudes of sins have been committed here.

Thanks,
BG

[Jeff Bollbach]

Brian-
Why not just set it up without taking it apart? Unless you are looking for a learning experience a restoration on a plywood is almost always a losing proposition.
jeffb

[Brian Gencarelli]

Brian-
Why not just set it up without taking it apart? Unless you are looking for a learning experience a restoration on a plywood is almost always a losing proposition.
jeffb

Jeff... Thanks for the advice. I am wondering if that might be the course to take. There are a few too many cracks for plywood to me... just curious about what "makes this one tick".

BG

[Anselm Hauke]

while bass-surfing i found this:
http://www.holmesbassviol.com/photos_and_prices
a shop that has THREE of these basses...

what happend with yours brian?

[Robert Kramer]

Brian,
That thing is haunted, get it out of your house! :eek: LOL! It's a frustrating, dirty afternoon just waiting to happen without reward. You'll have a hard time getting it apart without the wood cracking from all that slathered top coating. Save yourself now!

[Tim Bishop]

Or...mount a trolling motor on that bad boy and take it bass fishing :D.