Endpin fill and re-drill/ream

[Brian Glassman]

While we're on this subject of endpin holes;

The endpin hole on my old Prescott (1820's) bass is not centered in the ribs between the top and back. It is closer to the top. The ribs on this bass are very deep so eventhough the endpin is placed only about 40% from the top to the back (instead of 50% dead center) the distance from the center of the endpin hole to the top is probably similar to most basses. I've never taken any measurements to compare that distance to my other basses. It seems as though the instrument was made this way for there are no signs of plugging the hole although there are some strips of wide linings along the rib seams at the very bottom that could be hiding the old hole, but they seem very old and to my eye are original to the construction of the bass.

Theoretically does this make much of a difference for sound and playability? This bass's playability and sound has always been great even w/ it's less than perfect neck alignment and even when the sound post has been out of position or loose so I'm not inclined to do anything about this, but I'm curious.

I would think that if the tailpiece wire were too short because of this that it may negatively affect the instrument, but if it is of average length from endpin to saddle and/or total length from endpin to tailpiece, would this off center position make any difference?

I'll try to post pics and measurements of this when I get a chance.

You can see the bass here: http://www.thetalkbasses.com/

THANKS for any opinions.

BG

[Ken Smith]

The Endpin on my Mystery Bass is slightly forward as well. I don't know why they did this but it IS the original hole from about 200 years ago if not more. Here are some pre-restoration pics to have a look at it. Your comments are welcome of course. I have even considered putting a Viennese type Plug for the Tail Wire and placing the Endpin unit behind it so that when I tilt it back when sitting and playing low, the Back doesn't drag on the floor.



The original Tailblock which is tiny by comparison is still in the Bass as the restoration is in the homestretch after 3 years of anticipation. The Ribs are proudly 8.5" wide inside the Top and Back to give you some scale at what you are looking at. I can't wait to hear how she sounds. It was not playable when I bought it but the wood just looks delicious. I hope it sounds as good as it tastes..lol

Maybe, just maybe, the off center front to back placement of the Endpin hole has something to do with the Balance of the Bass as decided by the maker or maybe even the player and his needs when the Basses were made way back when..?

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

The Endpin on my Mystery Bass is slightly forward as well. I don't know why they did this but it IS the original hole from about 200 years ago if not more.



Maybe, just maybe, the off center front to back placement of the Endpin hole has something to do with the Balance of the Bass as decided by the maker or maybe even the player and his needs when the Basses were made way back when..?

I've seen a few like this. The hole was always toward the bass top, never the back. I surmise that the top has been off many times and with all the re-fitting the ribs got narrower. So now the hole is off-center.

Jeff B. once told me about putting the endpin slightly off center, I think. It had to do with balance, but if I recall correctly (which is doubtful at my level of mental decomposition) he said it was toward the back.