Simba meets Mufasa (The Bohemian Lion)

[Ken Smith]

I just packed the bass after setting it up. It usually takes me within an hour to put the post in and bridge on that were previously fit. The Post went in fine but, that bridge was up in the sky. 16mm on the E and 11mm on the G with some solid core steel strings. The E measured. .116". As thick as my Jargar E/C but that's a relatively soft feeling string. These things were so stiff, I could barely coil them as I was taking them off.

So, the bridge was a Belgium style with that tall arch and the top was cut down close to the heart. It was only 6 5/8" high in the center so I didn't have any room to cut from the top so, I drilled it for adjusters and cut out 1/2" of wood from the tall legs and set it up with some old old adjuster wheels I had lying around.

The bass needs a new bridge, endpin unit (maybe) and tailwire as well as a fingerboard dressing. The tailpiece is this creamy brown colored wood and it's quite heavy. I think it is European boxwood. It is heavier than maple and weighs an ounce more than a similar size maple TP I have on the shelf so I think I'll keep it on the bass.

I will try to get pics up if I can by tomorrow. If not, later in the week. I got so involved mentally working on this bass that a few minutes after 10pm I realized that I had missed an Orchestra Board meeting that I wanted to attend. Well, it was worth it. The bass is covered and in my rack. It has that black/grey kevlar type rope tailwire. It kept slipping so I took all the stings off before it ran out of rope to pop and then tied it all in a knot in front of the other knot and I think it will hold. If not, keeping the bass packed up might prevent more damage if it does go in the night and stay contained in its case.