The "Heifetz" Bass.

[Brian Gencarelli]

Hello all,

I am going to post pics of my main instrument here in the German section as that is what I have been told my bass is. However, I have heard some varying opinions on provenance. Any opinions would be appreciated, especially Ken, Arnold, Jeff, etc...

My bass is, according to a letter I received with the bass, a Markneukirchen bass from 1820-1840. It has no label. It is known as the "Heifetz" bass because it is signed by Jascha Heifetz in 1940 on the upper right rib.

Take a look and give your opinions please! This bass has a wonderful deep, chocolately sound.

http://photobucket.com/gencarelli_heifetz

The measurements:

Overall Height- 74.5"
Back table- 47.5"
Top table- 46.5"
Bottom Bout- 26.5"
C- Bout- 15"
Top Bout- 20.25"

Ribs- Bottom Bout- 8"
Upper Bout- 7.75"

Mensure- 43.25"

BG

[Ken Smith]

I am curious to know who might have appraised this as being from 1820-1840? If by the previous owner, dealer-seller or paid appraiser, I can see that possibility but the Basses I have seen from German pre-1860 seem to have much more 'experience' evident.

Do you know if those tuners are original to that Scroll? If so, is that Scroll original to that Bass? If not, one or both do you know if the tuners were used from another Bass and put on that Bass?

I say this about the tuners because most basses I have seen with anything similar were estimated to date from 1880-1920. A big range in years but these Basses are mostly unlabelled so we usually hear of these 'ages' from dealers selling them. In my mind, that's not always the most reliable $ource of information.

On the Gears, I have seen some Gears like this pic below on several Basses from both Germany and England. I have a set myself that were on my Mystery English Bass. They date about 1820-1850 or so and are not the original to my bass as there were 4 of these. However, one of them was slightly different by about 5% at most, same handle and Gear but the teeth and handle engraving looked to be from a different batch so they could be original and a 4th added later. In this picture, you see 2 different Worms, same handles. Mine and the others I have seen had smaller Gears and shorter worms like the upper gear in the pic;
http://www.contrabass.co.uk/images/instruments/2700/scroll.jpg

The style of your Bass, size, construction, Varnish etc. all suggest to my eye a later period closer to the 20th century. There were many makers in operation then making Basses that precede the commercial Wilfers, Pfretschner labelled Basses etc.. Karl Herrmann who branded his works 'Morelli' in the early 20th century was trained by one of the Dölling family. I have seen a few Dölling Basses pictured and they have a similar quality and patina as your Bass.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

You could have paid considerable $ for an opinion like the one by Ken (above), which is 100% on the money, IMHO. Your bass is very nice, but likely built on the cusp of the 20th century. BTW, jazz bassist Bill Crow has a bass that is nearly identical to yours...

[Ken Smith]

You could have paid considerable $ for an opinion like the one by Ken (above), which is 100% on the money, IMHO. Your bass is very nice, but likely built on the cusp of the 20th century. BTW, jazz bassist Bill Crow has a bass that is nearly identical to yours...

Arnold, thanks for the compliment! Can I apply for a Job in your shop as 'Appraiser? ;)

By the way, Bill's Bass was one of the ones similar to the 'Heifetz' that I have seen. I remember when that came in your shop for repair and it was previously appraised as French. I then gave somewhat a similar verbal opinion of it as well. The Bass that Phil M. just bought from my friend here in Philly was along the same lines, Pre 'Wilfer-style production German Basses'. These come in a few flavors. Some of them look German. Some look French and some of them look English. All of them that fit that 'non-factory' type style and are well made, good sounding Basses. Sometimes they are even mistaken for Italian but that is usually more wishful thinking (or creative dealer selling) that factual appraising.

[Ken Smith]

To make it easier to view, I will load some of Brian's pictures here;
http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/bgencare/Heifetz%20Bass/Heifetz004-1.jpghttp://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/bgencare/Heifetz%20Bass/Heifetz003.jpghttp://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/bgencare/Heifetz%20Bass/Heifetz002.jpghttp://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/bgencare/Heifetz%20Bass/Heifetz007-1.jpghttp://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/bgencare/Heifetz%20Bass/Heifetz008-1.jpghttp://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/bgencare/Heifetz%20Bass/Heifetz009-1.jpg

[Brian Gencarelli]

Ken- thanks for that info. I have heard so many varying opinions about the bass... I got the information on the age from a letter that was given to me by the family of the previous player. It was from Kenneth Warren and Son- dated 1954. (I have some knowledge of their reputation in the business) I truly appreciate your experience and knowledge in the field.

Arnold- Thanks for the info on Bill Crow. I hadn't seen that bass before. It does look similar, but hard to tell from the low res pics on his site. Maybe I will try to contact him to compare notes.

I really don't care what year the bass is. It has a wonderful sound and I feel like I got a good deal on it 10 years ago. I am thinking about having a restoration done, as I haven't had any work, other than putting on the extension and adjusting the post done since I bought it. Would you have any suggestions about things I should have done? (Since you have encountered some of these type instruments before) I have had one estimate around $5,500. The hardest part about doing the restoration is being without the bass for that long!

BG

[Ken Smith]

Ken- thanks for that info. I have heard so many varying opinions about the bass... I got the information on the age from a letter that was given to me by the family of the previous player. It was from Kenneth Warren and Son- dated 1954. (I have some knowledge of their reputation in the business) I truly appreciate your experience and knowledge in the field.

Arnold- Thanks for the info on Bill Crow. I hadn't seen that bass before. It does look similar, but hard to tell from the low res pics on his site. Maybe I will try to contact him to compare notes.

I really don't care what year the bass is. It has a wonderful sound and I feel like I got a good deal on it 10 years ago. I am thinking about having a restoration done, as I haven't had any work, other than putting on the extension and adjusting the post done since I bought it. Would you have any suggestions about things I should have done? (Since you have encountered some of these type instruments before) I have had one estimate around $5,500. The hardest part about doing the restoration is being without the bass for that long!

BG

What's broken? What needs to be done? What if any modifications are on your mind? Why do you feel this Bass needs a restoration?

From your photos, I can't see any problems but perhaps you can fill us in on what we can't see in the pics.

[Nathan Parker]

What is the C-Extension made of? I've never seen one that wasn't ebony, at least not to my knowledge. Quite a fine looking bass. I really like the form of the body.

[Brian Gencarelli]

What's broken? What needs to be done? What if any modifications are on your mind? Why do you feel this Bass needs a restoration?

From your photos, I can't see any problems but perhaps you can fill us in on what we can't see in the pics.

Ken-

It has some open cracks, especially in the ribs. The top is solid and so is the back. The edges are chewed up and some of the corners are missing. It needs a new endpin,bridge, and set-up. Maybe "overhaul" is a better term. I was thinking of correcting the overstand of the neck, but don't want to add too much string length?

There is nothing that can't wait until tomorrow, but I want to have a plan. I just want to see my instrument in "tip-top" condition and see if there is any more sound in there? (Not that it is really lacking in that department, but...)

BG

[Brian Gencarelli]

What is the C-Extension made of? I've never seen one that wasn't ebony, at least not to my knowledge. Quite a fine looking bass. I really like the form of the body.

Hey Nathan,

Thanks for the compliments. I made the extension out of Honduran Mahogany with a lacewood fingerboard and capos. I like to try different woods and I am a wannabe luthier. I thought about ebony, but liked the way this looked.

BG