Wanting info on old bass
 

I'm considering purchasing this bass. The current owner has bee told it's German and about 100 yrs old. It's carved, 40" string length, 7 1/2" depth, upper bout 19 1/4", lower bout 24 1/2. Folks have told me to list it on Ken's foram because he could tell me more about it than anyone. I looking forward to his opinion.Attachment 2645

I'm having to load the pics one at a time. Here's the back

I'm patricularly interested in the scroll. Could these tuners be original to the bass? All the tuners I've see before have been black. I could probably get more pictues if needed. Thanks.

Hi, can you show me all sides of that head/scroll and the rear button. Those purple pegs are not old. The bass looks fairly old and from the German/Czech/Bohemian school. I can see screws in the gears holding the pegs. The gears are old with replaced pegs. Usually they are pinned with a single nail or steel pin, with or without a head but crimped at the end or bent.

That's about as close as I can get. The finish might not be original either. The repairs around the edges where it looks like putty is suspect as well.

You can private me if you like to keep the sale details private like the seller or the price. This is a small 3/4 bass. If the bass needs to be re-repaired without all the suspect looking work in the end, it could cost quite a bit to correct. The original varnish, whatever it was is long gone. IF that is the original varnish, then the bass is more likely from the 20th century, just before or after the 2nd war.

The shape is nice and the corners and edges better looking than the average factory bass.

Thank you. I hope to be sending you more pictures tomorrow.

Here are some more pictures of the old bass. I have learned the the previous owner was also a woodworker and turned the hat pegs to replace the ones that were there. At least I'm believing the bass originally had hat peg tuners and the new ones are replacements and not additions.

Remainder of the bass pictures. The bass was checked out and set up for the current owner by David Graham in the Dallas area.

ok..
 

From looking at this now with all the pics, I think it is from the Czech side of the German border of Bohemia. The condition looks fairly solid from the pics.

Best guess as to the probable age? Pre- World War II?

Possibly. Hard to tell by style alone. Seeing it in person is best. It could be any age from 60-100 years old. The outer distress is partially gone due to the re-finish so looking inside in person would tell more.

Thank you for your previous assistance. I did buy the bass. It has a very even tone across the strings and up and down the fingerboard. It's easy to play and the price was excellent. I polished it with Orange oil and took some more pictures hoping that would help you in better determining the probable age and place of origin. These pictures show the back and front finish. I notice that there are dings in the wood that seem to have finish in them. The back is particularly that way. Would that indicate the current finish is newer?

These are pictures of the scroll, the button which has the number 7 in it, and a not so good picture of the inside. I was wondering if the diamond shaped pieces which appear to be there to strengthen the two back pieces are indicative of any place of origin.

polish..
 

Be careful using any kind of polish on an old bass with cracks. Pushing oils into the bass will make it harder to close the cracks when they re-open in the future and they will open some day.

Diamonds? Oh, inside the back center. They are just to cover the joint there. Different makers do it different ways but usually something is there on the joint. I don't think it prevents all the much but it might be better to have them than not.

The bass itself looks like a quality bass of its time. My first impressions are about what I see. The number 7 might be from a School that marked its instruments or a dealers stock.

Again, thank you for your coments, No more oil for the finish. But, what do people use to keep the finish looking nice. I didn't want to use a wax fearing that wouldn't be good for the tone?

To keep the finish looking nice, keep it covered in the closet!.. lol

To maintain the bass, just wipe with a slightly damp cloth when it gets dusty.