Hi Ken & Co.:
I'm working on a project to restore my teacher's fully carved Mittenwald shop bass. As we go forward, I would love to know if people have any insight about this particular instrument based on these photos. We're going to have a very large top crack repaired and do some other restoration (you can see the crack pretty clearly--it's on the treble side of the upper bout). Believe it or not, Nick is currently gigging on the bass and it sounds pretty good. I think it will be a much nicer bass once we complete the repairs.
The label inside reads: "Franz Andreas Violinmacher / Mittenwald, Garmisch Faciebat Anno 1951 / Made In Germany U.S. Zone BKN." Some documentation that Nick has for the bass mentions another name (Jan Kriml) but that does not appear inside the bass.
Have you seen a Mittenwald shop bass like this before? Is this a familiar label? Any information would be great, and thanks!
--Steve
Photos (click on them for larger versions)
