too much wood ?

[Adrian Levi]

Have you posted pics elsewhere of the bass so I can see the button/scroll/ffs?[/quote]

Her are some pics . The linings are separated from the ribs in many places and will need to be removed and re-attached. The neck block is also not in great shape and I see that the neck foot bottom is not flush with the neck block floor .
Hmm - looks like more repairs than I thought . I cant believe that the 'bass mechanic' gave this bass back to me with a smile and said "now that its repaired all we have to do is a little tweaking to get her sounding great"

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Adrian Levi

Here are some pics . The linings are separated from the ribs in many places and will need to be removed and re-attached. The neck block is also not in great shape and I see that the neck foot bottom is not flush with the neck block floor .
Hmm - looks like more repairs than I thought . I cant believe that the 'bass mechanic' gave this bass back to me with a smile and said "now that its repaired all we have to do is a little tweaking to get her sounding great"

What happened to the varnish? That hurts the value usually unless it was already gone by someone before and you had no choice. Still, original varnish should never be stripped in my opinion. The lining is about 2-4x what it needs. have that width and less thickness. It only needs to aid the plate-rib glue surface. The excess dampens the tone. Most likely this is a Mirecourt factory bass and was made on a 'Friday' from the looks of that neck/block fit..

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

What happened to the varnish? That hurts the value usually unless it was already gone by someone before and you had no choice. Still, original varnish should never be stripped in my opinion. The lining is about 2-4x what it needs. have that width and less thickness. It only needs to aid the plate-rib glue surface. The excess dampens the tone. Most likely this is a Mirecourt factory bass and was made on a 'Friday' from the looks of that neck/block fit..

Sadly when I got the bass it had been re-varnished with a color that was horribly red and so I have stripped the bass and will redo it after its playable.
The scroll may have original varnish under some clear coat of something , and the small piece of color on the button I think may be original .

That neck was knocked out of the neck block and was reset like that by the aforementioned 'bass mechanic' . As a matter of fact the very reason that I am learning to repair instruments is because of how much money and time I waisted trying to have this bass repaired.

[Adrian Levi]

ken , is it possible to hazard a guess as to the age of the bass ?I'm guessing
early 1900s ..

Also I'm guessing that one cant expect a huge difference in tone by merely cutting the linings down ?

Could it be worth it sound wise to replace or cut down the end block.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Adrian Levi

ken , is it possible to hazard a guess as to the age of the bass ?I'm guessing
early 1900s ..

Also I'm guessing that one cant expect a huge difference in tone by merely cutting the linings down ?

Could it be worth it sound wise to replace or cut down the end block.

The end block has water damage, maybe from a Dampit. Seal the cracks with something on the block and don't trim too much from it or, make a new block fresh.

The linings being smaller will free up the Rib vibrations and it WILL make a noticeable difference in the sound/tone. Give any bass going thru a full restoration from 2-5 years to settle in with the sound it will have going forward. Re-repairing after a big restoration within that time is sometimes done as the bass settles from all the work as well.

[Adrian Levi]

Another question regarding this bass ... Is there an 'ideal' when it comes to top thickness ? The top on this bass measures 11mm and then graduates quite quickly to 9mm and then to about 8mm about halfway from centre seam to just before the ribs . This is a 4/4 or 7/8 size instrument so the plates would be slightly thicker than a 3/4 .

The reason Im asking all these questions is that this is one heavy mother of a bass , the heaviest I have seen . The neck is also thick.

Im just intrigued by the fact that it is an instrument that has been built/carved well and with obvious care, but seems to lack the finesse in design needed to bring out the best possible sound

[Matthew Tucker]

the Spruce top is the lightest wood in the bass; the back and ribs and neck will contribute to most of the weight. That said, it sounds thick; most basses have graduations down to 6mm or less just inside the ribs. But it depends a bit on the wood.