Quote:
Originally Posted by Derrick Fernandez
I'm thankful for this wonderful forum, the advice and offers.
Sorry if my posting raised anyone's blood pressure today, surely was not my intent.
Okay I know this bass wasn't made by a master craftsman but I love it regardless, it has character in spades, is in great shape, and deserves better than to languish unplayed as it has for the past 50 years (or so i'm told by the seller).
As I mentioned before it would be great to have all the work that Ken mentioned done (even though it would exceed the value), but I think the 1st step is to have it inspected, set-up and playing to get a sense of the tonal quality.
Thanks to all!
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Everything's cool. Just a little adult ribbing going on..lol
I agree that you should get a test of the tone but in my experiences, the post-restoration tone is usually different. The bass is currently in a state that it's been in for the longest time and I refer to this as its 'relaxed state', good or bad. I will mention a few basses of mine that I was able to play before it was restored or modified. Some of them I played for awhile as-is and some just a few minutes as it was ready to explode with the strings tightened.
My Blockless sounded good but was in bad shape internally as it was made. It is still in repair. Two others include my Hart, and Gilkes basses which are both classics. One was in the same condition for more then a lifetime and getting worse while the other was falling apart and barely playable. After both restorations, it took about 2 years in my opinion till everything settled and gelled back to that old relaxed sound it had before, only better. I have several more basses to discuss if asked that are both post restoration and still on the bench but will save that for another time.
If you like the bass and see its potential, do the work, all of it. In the end, the sound of the bass may easily exceed its pedigree or lack thereof.