" Name That Bass " aka "This OLD Bass"

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David Powell

About the only big difference that strikes me is the narrower waist on the other bass. It is a very similar outline and f's aren't that different. Bout proportions are somewhat different.

The general outline is a bit similar. The slightly softer lower corners are what got my attention. Still, my Bass may be French and not English. Looking at the two Backs, mine seems to have seen more action and at least as old. The Bass next to it is listed as a Joseph Hill, London c.1765.

[Brian Glassman]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

The general outline is a bit similar. The slightly softer lower corners are what got my attention. Still, my Bass may be French and not English. Looking at the two Backs, mine seems to have seen more action and at least as old. The Bass next to it is listed as a Joseph Hill, London c.1765.

Yes, earlier in the thread I have made this comparison as well.The backs are very similar as are the soft lower bout corners. It may be just the photo, but the Hill bass top shape seems a bit more asymmetrical and "amorphous".

It's the most similar we've discussed, but even so, the shape of your bass still seems to have more of a French feel.

BG

[Ken Smith]

Back on the ID trail here again it got me thinking about the history of France and England back 200 years ago. Could this Bass be the result of another chapter of "A Tale of Two Cities"?

With both French and English work showing, there is definitely some connection here between the two countries if not broader scoped than just Paris and London.

[Ken Smith]

I spoke with Biase today about the Bass as he is getting ready to remove the old Neck from the Block and do the Block/Cut work and measure things up once again before doing the Neck graft. As we can't follow any of the old dimensions, shortening the String length requires precision measurements all around including the Graft length, Heel stop etc.

I mentioned to him as we have been discussing the possible French connection here and said "so I am thinking this is probably 18th century French then huh?". Paul replied "no, I don't see anything French here. The Bass is not heavy enough to be French. Let's just go with English then, ok?".

This was basically our conversation a few minutes ago on the phone. Paul has had the Bass apart for just over 3 years and has worked on every inch of the Bass. No one else other than Paul has seen the inside of the Bass other than when I brought Jeff Bollbach over there to meet Paul and show him the Lion. At that time, only the Ribs were viewable as the plates were away in the other room in storage for the summer.

So, French styling we see, at least to some degree but the wood and work all seems to be English. No less than 5 English Dealers/Makers have told me the Bass is English but can't pin a maker on it. Most think it is Northern England c.1850ish. I ask, please show me another example of any Bass from that period or region or combined if possible and I will buy the later Northern theory.

[Ken Smith]

As I have mentioned previously while discussing the early London makers, the Hill's were at the top of the list then in making Basses.

Yesterday I photographed a beautiful Lockey Hill Bass c.1780s. Although this is a completely different model from my Mystery Bass, the look of the Back and Rib wood as well as the Varnish bore similarities.

Have a look for yourself and let me know what you think. .







The wood figuring is not so visible on the Hill pics and only barely visible on the Mystery Bass pics but it's the same type of flame figuring on both Basses. The Varnishes on both also show some red mixed with the gold which has faded in some areas on both Basses.

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Have a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

Well ... I think they both look like nice basses, but each one is only about 6" tall, making it a bit hard to see any other similarity.

But the plywood in the background looks almost identical, even though the colour is slightly different

[Ken Smith]

The 3-string Tailpiece (black stained Maple) shown was with the Bass when I acquired it. Although it is at least 150 years old I don't know if it is original to the Bass. The wear on the center 3-string hole shows that it was used as a 3-string for at least as long it was a 4-string. By the repairs and Gears I found on the Bass I would say it was a 4-string for well over 100 years. The new TP in Cocobolo made for this Bass by MPM may be put aside for use on another Bass in the future. I have 5 other classic Basses that have non-Ebony Tailpieces (stained black) and they each sound wonderful. I think this old 3-string TP will be more fitting than the new Compensating Pecanic TP. The 'Mojo' is something you just can't buy! The weight is another factor. The old 3-string weighs about 7.4oz (210gr) and the Cocobolo TP weighs 11.4oz (322gr). The lighter stained Maple actually sounds much deeper than the Cocobolo TP and has a slower decay to the tap tone (longer sustain) and the Cocobolo does not ring as much as the 3-stringer.

If you have an opinion either way, please let us know.