the Bass..
Please show me some pics of the back and sides as well. For the money, you stole this bass.. lol
Basses like this even being lower end carved models go for at least $2-3k at a minimum here. My first carved Bass was similar but about 50-75 years old in 1970.
Take good care of it and keep it well adjusted. Never alter the Varnish on a carved bass. In repair, touch-up and maybe french polishing or clear-coating at the most after repairs. This is only to be done by a qualified Luthier. Other woodworking professionals and hobbyists are just not schooled in the materials used in varnishing, making or repairing violin family instruments.
This Bass looks fairly healthy so just make sure it doesn't get banged around too much. Basses can crack easily especially if dropped. A repair can easily cost in the thousands depending on the damage done. I just had one restored that ran well over $20k, but under 30. I will pick it up in a few hours and see the total cost. It was brought in 5 years ago and I've never played a single not on the Bass. Actually, to the credit of your countrymen, it's an early English Bass from 18th century London. I still own 4 of the 5 English Basses that I have bought. All but one of them are from the King George era (Geo. III and IV I believe). One is a modern replica of a J.F.Lott c.1830 or so. In case you were not aware, England back in the day produced some of the finest Basses in the world ranking with some of the better Italians.
Make your daughter aware of the care a Bass needs and to be carefully not only carrying it around but other players walking near here with their instrument cases. A Bass is like a big delicate baby. It cannot take care of itself. It always needs mothering.
A few months ago a trombone player on the way out of rehearsal bumped his case into me highly valuable attributed Storioni while it was in the bag on the floor while I was gathering up my music from the stand (I always pack the Bass first for safety). Last month we played a concert together with a reduced chamber sized orchestra and he was at my side all week. I reminded him of the incident which he was clueless about but I did let him know that the Bass he bumped into (it was in its padded bag) was about the price of a house. He now knows to be careful and not walk near the Basses with his case. I guess he needs his house.. lol
I learned about caring for a Bass in the 8th grade. Me second teacher then was a former professional bassist as well and taught us about caring for an instrument and respecting it. Teach her this now. She will have it for life.
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