Rebuilt bass by Jed Kriegel
 

lol
 

But it's not me sipping on it. I don't drink!..:p

Ken, do you know anything about this import company, E.M.M.C.? I struck out on the Internet.

I am curious about this bass' original maker in Hungary, but know nothing else. Have you seen instruments similar in size and proportion, that you know more about? I really wonder who made the bass, in the first place.

The 20 3/4" wide upper bout is a bit unusual; I thought that you may have run across another one, in your travels...

Emmc?
 

I think Barrie Kolstein does or did business with them on a model he made and distributed thru them. Call Barrie and ask him. Also, why not ask Paul Nowinski? After all, it's one of several Romanian/Hungarian basses he's bought, modified and sold. Paul talked to me about buying some of these 'modified' Gypsy basses awhile ago. I passed on it. It seems from the work that Jeff did to correct everything that what was done in Brazil may have been a waste. Un-doing and re-doing is always more work than doing it right the first time.

I have had a few Hungarian basses come thru here as well and all of them needed some kind of tidying up in one way or another. All of them sounded good when I first got them and all of them sounded even better after the work was done. They seem to have some good wood over there as far as wood for making tone. It's just that the workmanship on the basses they send over is not always the best as far as meeting our standards here.

Glad to hear you found a match with your new bass. Enjoy it..

bouts..
 

I think your measurements are that of an English Maggini type bass. Very similar to my Hart-Maggini in many areas measured.

Hungarian;---------------------------------------Hart;
Upper bouts are 20 ¾” wide.......................20 3/4"
Ribs are 8 1/4" at the bottom.....................7 7/8"
7 1/4" at the bend...................................tapering
5 3/8" at the neck heel.............................5 1/4"
Body length (to bottom of heel) is 44".........44 3/8" (Top to the tips)
Bottom bout is 26" wide............................26 1/8"
String length is 41 5/8".............................41 3/4"

The Hungarian and Romanians like most all others copied the Italians. In this case, the English made several Maggini/d'Salo copies in the latter 18th and early-mid 19th centuries. My Hart is most likely a forgery of a Maggini or antiqued to look old for marketing when it was new. Your bass is a copy of the copies or something Italian that came from Maggini as well.

Thanks for the info, Ken. I will contact Paul Nowinski and ask him what he knows.

Also great info on the comparison to the Hart/Maggini. Thanks for posting those specs.

Jed took the bass to another level, regardless of who did what to it, before.

It does sound as if there was some tedious reworking involved. He did regraduate the plates and fit a new bass bar. Also, his back brace engineering and execution seem to really work well. The thing can move some air...

The raised saddle/neck reset, and carbon fiber neck inlay are all helping, too.

great..
 

Sounds like the bass was free and you just paid for part of the work done. Great deal. I am sure though that my A.Gemunder Snr. Bass was put aside for this bass to be done as we have agreed he can finish it when he finishes it. Jed does great work. The old original Gemunder in his words is the hardest job he's ever done in his life to date. Patience is appreciated.

It seems as if the largest difference between the sizing and proportions of the two basses is the depth of the ribs as they move up the bass and the bend location. The Hart's ribs seem to be closer to a consistent width, until they hit the "bend," my bass seems to taper more aggressively, starting at the bottom.

The Hart's bend looks higher up on the bass; just by eye, it would seem to have greater internal volume than my bass.

the bend
 

The Dragonetti d'Salo is like that as well, bent high up. Most basses are bent further down with a shallower angle. There is nothing shy about this bend. Dragonetti being in London at this period with his bass I am sure was an influence. The few Maggini and d'Salo basses I have seen look similar with the bend quite high. It keeps the upper bout as full as possible and then just below the block, it angles in to the neck. I like it.:)

Your rebuilt basses?
 

I know a tiny bit about some of the restorations that Ken has sponsored and made happen, and the many basses he has brought back to life. I certainly don't know all of the stories; I know he has given a lot of work to several luthiers and made a lot of basses sing better than ever before.

Ken currently has an expose thread going about the cheesy, illegal, and unscrupulous things that a few luthiers have done. Its good information to have out there, to be sure.

Does anybody have positive, successful, major rebuild stories about their basses to share? With either a modest bass (like mine) or some of the less modest instruments that many of you have?

??
 

I think this would be a good topic for a new Thread in the Luthier section.

Not all work is bad. Most is usually good. It's the bad that people often don't notice until it's too late. A Thread on the positive with more common basses would be a welcome addition for sure.

End pin tweaking
 

Interesting couple weeks of end pin experimentation.

I needed a large diameter endpin because of my height and pin extension, and I like the positive locking of the New Harmony endpin mechanism, but the carbon fiber pin killed the punch and bloom in the low end.

In the past week, I experimented with .5 inch steel rod and pipe, then the steel pipe filled with various filler rods (steel, brass, etc., wrapped with tape in three places, so that they didn't rattle), to experiment with different masses.

Lots of A/B/C'ing...

My strongest preference, right now, is the solid .5 inch steel rod. The room-filling bottom is back. On the other hand, every option has its characteristic sound and feel. I find myself using different pins for different playing situations. Was playing duets with sax the other night and the hollow tube worked best. The sax player and I were both messing around between sets; him with his reeds, me with my endpin...

Interesting process and experiment. It confirms a post I read by Arnold Schnitzer, saying he had experienced the same thing when he removed the steel pin on another bass. When he replaced the steel, the sound returned.

It is also interesting to note that in the Chuck Traeger book, he is adamant about always using a wood or carbon fiber pin. I found the opposite to be true, in this case. The light pins caused the sound to dissipate and have no "center" or punch; the steel makes my bass louder, punchier, and fuller.

Interesting stuff.
When I bought my bass a year ago, it had a heavy steel end pin and I had it switched out for a carbon fiber. I also had them change the strings and a different tailpiece so I dunno what effect the lighter end pin made. Mainly, I wanted to lighten the load.
The bass sounds great with a big, resonant tone but it does lack that really centered powerful low end. That is, until I remove the rubber tip and stick the point in the floor. It's like the E string grows some cajones. I suppose I could try a 14mm steel rod but that would add a bit of weight. ;)
Prolly should just learn that new tune for tomorrow's gig.

Continuing the endpin experimentation. Probably going to try stainlesss steel rod and brass rod first, maybe titanium rod, and probably some home-brewed, multi-layer brass tube + carbon fiber or stainless or titanium core.

I have clearly lost my mind, but then, who would notice? I am truly amazed at how differently the bass responds and sounds with various materials. I think that it is a further testament to the work Jed did that the bass itself is so transparent and responsive that the endpin makes such a difference.

Interesting website with (somewhat cryptic graphics) but interesting endpin notes and options (mostly for cello, but some bass). I have emailed some with the owner Mike Oishi, who has been great in his endpin-related thoughtfulness. He gave me info on a place that would custom make me a .5" pin, of any metal combination I wanted, but he encouraged me to experiment on my own, as a less costly option. Far down, on the endpin descriptions, he mentions Gary Karr currently using a brass and carbon fiber combo rod on his Ham bass:

http://frenchcellobow.com/products/endpin.html

(bass endpins are at the bottom of the page)

Plus here is a nice, easy, online metals source I just found, through my work (for rod and seamless tubing):

www.onlinemetals.com

Me too.
(Hey, Kenny). ;)

(Hey, Paul).;)

endpins..
 

I remember testing and listening to a bass being played with a normal steel rod and then the KC Strings fixed endpin. I noticed a huge difference in volume with the KC being much louder. The Bass was an old German/Vieneese style bass in a 3/4 size and not too heavy in weight either. Shortly after I ordered 2 of these from KC to go into my Gilkes and Martini basses, both of which I have since sold but I kept the custom sized endpins. One fits the steel rod size and on the CF (carbon fiber) rod unit. They are not always the exact length needed but sitting on a stool in orchestra I can adjust the angle of the bass to work.

On my bigger heavier basses, I didn't notice the same amount of improvement as I did on my friends bass that first time. Actually, with these basses I can hardly tell the difference as it's so slight.

One thing that hurts some basses is that steel rod when half of the length is still inside the bass and only about half extended. For this reason I cut all of the rods in my personal basses to extend only a few inches at most inside the bass once extended to the desired height.

With the CF rods, I don't notice much difference at all with the longer end still inside the bass. The CF seems to help tonally or maybe just not interfere with the sound if extended into the bass. Still, I use a cut down rod regardless or the KS fixed length peg.

Lighter weight basses seem to be more sensitive to different endpins to my ear over the heavier basses I have tested but this mainly with the CF or Steel pins vs. the fixed KC peg of mixed metal, CF and wood.

Also, on the older and heavier basses I mention they are also high grade expensive instruments with fantastic tone and plenty of volume. I think the current sound of a bass has more to do with it then just the weight as I tride this with my lighter weight Candi bass and it too showed little difference between long steel, short steel or KC Peg. The sound although slightly different each way was nothing to loose sleep over.;)

Finding the right string I think is a bigger curse and time sucker!:eek:

I know, I know. The whole string thing is another level of pain.

For now, I am sticking with the Belcantos, since they are fairly "Bb." I don't want to change too much at once...I am just monkeying with one element at a time....

Endpin update is that a regular 1/2" diameter carbon steel rod is still my favorite option. I have tried stainless steel, nickel silver, steel tube with various fillers (carbon fiber, steel, and brass rods), and solid carbon fiber.

In general, on this bass, less endpin mass increased upper end "openness," brightness, sweetness, and volume, but lost the fuller low end. But it is not just mass; the nickel silver rod weighed more, but because it was slightly more flexible (perhaps), the bottom end was not as good as with the steel.

The stainless steel pin is the only reasonable option, so far; I have been using that in some situations; it is slightly brighter and slightly more even, but lessens the "organ-like" effect on the E string, which I do hate to lose.

Taking a break from endpin tinkering for awhile; too much other stuff to work on right now. Next trials, perhaps, will be high-speed steel rod and silicon bronze rod.