[Ken Smith]

[quote=wayne holmes;21106][/qoute]

Replying to some quotes from Wayne;

From the general appearance of your bass, if looks like it has great potential. Love the shape of the top.

This looks as you suspect a Blockless bass originally. Looking inside will tell if it's still blockless. Potential for a small bass of this grade is less than a 3/4 or full size of its day. It can sound sweet but don't expect it to be more than it is. Old and good are not always related. A full professional restoration for a Bass like this will exceed its value by maybe double. Keep that in mind.

In my opinion, it will be helpful, if you will give us all the measurements of the bass. This, to me, would make a difference in the way I would approach the time and money spent on the bass. Also, it would be helpful to know what you plan on doing with the bass once it is playable.

Not 100% sure but I think you can click on Bob Gollihur and with the measurements find out what size it is. Or, just post the dimensions and we can tell you the size. Going by the scale length, it would be , as you say, a half or 5/8.

There was no such thing as a 5/8 size bass when this was made. The measurements on Bob's site refer to modern school basses, for playing in school. That's who made up these groups of numbers, the string associations from the Schools. By their numbers, the Nut is so high that I would give up playing if that was the final set-up. Don't go by commercial sizes. Measurements would be best to post here.

I would encourage you to keep everything original and not chage out the neck. You could have a nice find here. It might make a good jazz bass-with a pick-up the size wouldn't make that much difference.

If blockless, put a block in. If integral bar, put a bar in. If possible, the neck might be savable but to lengthen it, you need a graft and it will probably be a bass size bigger, possibly a larger heel but surely an Eb heel stop. This was a cheaply made bass in its time. The original work is what made it look 2-3x its age by now. Modify it if you want to make a better bass out of this old wood.

Since it has inlayed purfling and flamed wood, it would not be the cheapest model made in its day. A 1925 restoration would make the bass pretty old. I would guess that is would have been a minimum of 50 years old before if would need restoring. No way to tell for sure.

Purfling back then and maybe some slightly flamed wood (the back shows a slight flame but not the ribs so look inside the bass to see if it's really flamed!) would cost just a tad more than a stripped down model. As far as restoration periods, a bass gets fixed when it is needed and when the owner can afford it. Cheap German basses then could come over here and fall apart within a year or two. The can now as well if the wood is not dried or if changing drastically to a different climate. The 50 year assumption I do NOT buy at all. On the other hand, a well made master grade bass might go 100 years or more before needing work. My Gilkes did and my Hart went over half a century between restorations. Cheap basses fall apart. Good ones usually don't.

Wayne, I am sorry to disagree with you so strongly but in my world, if it ain't right, make it right. My personal blockless bass is in a top mold right now getting pressed out. It will get everything I suggested to him and more but with the exception of the neck lengthening. My string length is actually 43" so it will get shortened. Same scroll, repaired as needed, neck graft, neck block, fingerboard and all else including back repairs, rib repairs, corner block repairs, etc. Cost? I will be lucky to get away with anything near $10k in the retail world, probably closer to $15k. Being it's a 7/8ths bass (or full 3/4 or full size back then) and having a huge and sweet sound beforehand, this bass will be made Orchestra ready and will have a much higher value than the 1/2 sized version of other similar old blockless basses. Otherwise, I would have never bought it in the first place.

Word to the wise here. If you don't know what a bass needs, how much it will cost to get it professionally restored including modifications and what it is worth when done, then don't gable with old broken basses. Buy stocks! At least then you're in the same boat with all the other winners and losers and not alone with a single project.

I don't know stocks so well but I do know basses. I will pull money from my mutual funds to buy the right bass but I will not sell off basses to buy mutual funds. Do what you know. It's safer..