Quote:
Originally Posted by Fernando González
The neck has the holes of previous tyrolean machines and the wood is quite different of the rest of the instrumets. As it has a clearly important reparation may be the neck isn´t the original.
How do you know about the varnish source? This is very interesting.
Is there any book, source, etc, about the bass making schools over the time and his caracteristics?
Thank you very much!!!
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Well, from looking at many many Basses over the years you get to see the pattern of the schools and periods of making. After awhile, just like driving a car, you know a
STOP sign from a
YIELD sign.
This is the same with shapes and woods, FFs and Scrolls. It's all memory recording.
On your Bass the Varnish does not look like it was applied all that well so either it's over-varnished or re-varnished. I don't think a Bass from a shop would have brush streaks like that. Also, the period and style of the Bass looks way older than the condition of the varnish as far as normal wear and tear goes.
I see some filled holes from gear plates but Gears can be changed a week after the Bass was made or a hundred years later. My Tyrolean Bass had Plates before with the Hatpeg Gears. About 20 years ago (for the former owner) a Luthier put on some nice
19th century French Gears on it. Those gears might be
as old as the Bass or older. If not (it really doesn't matter), the fact remains that the age of the Gears does not say when they were put on the Bass or the age of the Bass either. I can put 100 year old gears on a new Bass tomorrow and the Bass will still be new. Gears are just parts so don't get too hung up on Gears vs. aging. They don't always go together.
Looking at the Back of your Bass, I see it could be Czech as well if not German. Many shops and dealers bought Basses from German and Czech factories and attached their own labels. There must be thousands of Basses here in USA like that. Labels like
Juzek, Morelli, G.A. Pfretzschner and any other Label written in English is an Import (or Export from the country of origin).
When the Bass is not a confirmed Pedigree or brand (Shop or handmade), then the ID process is sometimes difficult. Especially when the Bass has some age to it along with a few alterations. That makes it even harder but not always.