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French Bass full restoration
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05-05-2010, 11:24 PM
Matthew Tucker
Senior Posting Member
Join Date: 02-19-2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 427
French Bass full restoration
Here’s an interesting project for me. Customer brought in this nice old flatback bass, found in an attic.
The button carving below, and the outline to me appears typical of French basses from the mid-late 1800's. The ugly bolt is NOT typical! This one has no immediately apparent makers mark or label. I'm thinking something like a Lamy Mirecourt bass. Any maker suggestions?
The Scroll has snapped off just below the nut and this will mean a scroll graft repair for sure.
Nice big scroll, looks original, four pegs and a very crusty set of gut strings. This was never a three-stringer. Also the volute has been broken off above the top tuner at some point and repaired but not in a very satisfactory way.
The Scroll gives an idea of the original red-brown varnish which on the rest of the instrument has deteriorated into a pobbly mess. I suspect it was a spirit varnish because of the brittleness of what is remaining, but the heat of the attic has shrunken and denatured whatever was there originally. There are a few spots on the top where the colour shows through. The wood is lovely. I think the ground is intact and I may be able to keep this by carefully scraping the crud off the surface then cleaning, when it’s time to refinish. That’s a long way off yet.
There are about ten cracks in the top ranging from these long ones to the usual short cracks near the FF tabs. And a nasty sound post crack that will come together OK but require an inlaid patch.
The top arching is not sunken in any way; it looks perfectly fine, perhaps due to a thickish top. I'll get the graduations off it when I have it apart.
Corners are worn but repairable. This is the worst one.
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Bresque Basses, Sydney, Australia
Last edited by Matthew Tucker; 05-06-2010 at
03:41 AM
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