Bumpers...

[Ron Lacey]

Ken,

I recall the great bumper debate on TB a while back. What did you have Jeff or Arnold use for bumper material? BTW the after photos look great.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ron Lacey

Ken,

I recall the great bumper debate on TB a while back. What did you have Jeff or Arnold use for bumper material? BTW the after photos look great.

Yes, on TB there are several Threads of which I replied on a few of them. I was at first totally opposed to having anything touch the original Varnish of my cherished 1814 Gilkes or any other Bass in my collection.

The Gilkes had quite a bit of edge work done on the Bass so Arnold and I discussed the Bumpers and he made them in a Maple to somewhat match the Ribs.

The Hart Bass has Ebony bumpers all around. On the Loveri with Jeff, we just discussed it today during an update on the progress of the restoration. I will let Jeff use what he thinks is best. Maple, Ebony or maybe even Walnut like he used for the Back center strip to expand the width. I gave him a board of Peruvian Walnut that I have had in stock since 1993. Walnut is very stable as compared to Maple to begin with and sitting for 14 years makes it that much better I guess.

[Jeff Bollbach]

Hey guys-
Years ago in previous employ we used to scrape off the varnish, score the rib with a checkerboard pattern, and crazy glue the leather bumpers on. Always seemed pretty nasty to me. The problem is that a material like wood or leather will not glue on to a varnished surface well. What I have found to work well is thick neoprene glued on with contact cement. It does not harm the varnish and if they come loose the player can reattach them by themselves without visiting a luthier.

[Brian Glassman]

Originally Posted by Jeff Bollbach

Hey guys-
Years ago in previous employ we used to scrape off the varnish, score the rib with a checkerboard pattern, and crazy glue the leather bumpers on. Always seemed pretty nasty to me. The problem is that a material like wood or leather will not glue on to a varnished surface well. What I have found to work well is thick neoprene glued on with contact cement. It does not harm the varnish and if they come loose the player can reattach them by themselves without visiting a luthier.

This past summer I decided to finally get my Prescott much need bumpers. The G side upper bout edge was really taking some abuse and I was carrying around an Ingles bass stand to all my gigs just to avoid further damage. From a long life of heavy repairs this bass has some amorphous and uneven rib linings. I took my Prescott to Jeff for bumpers. Eventhough I was initially repelled by the idea of gluing rubber to the bass, Jeff talked me into his fitted black neoprene bumpers instead of hard wood. He sited several advantages to the neoprene. The wood ones would be harder to fit unless I put them further away from the top and back, directly onto the ribs. This would run the risk of possible future damage from the bumpers popping thru or cracking the rib wood. Wood bumpers would have to be glued on by hide glue or some other very strong glue and would not adhere well unless the varnish underneath was sanded down to then bare wood. Short of this some kind of screw or pin would have to be used to prevent the wood bumpers from coming off, perhaps taking precious original wood off along w/ them. OTOH Neoprene bumpers could be glued on with contact cement which would not damage the finish and could easily be re installed by the player if one were to come off w/o any damage to the bass.
The neoprene looks like ebony and provides the bass w/ a bit of cushion when placed down on a hard bare surface. I'm less than 5' 7" tall and play w/ the end pin out only about 2 inches, so when I place this bass down w/ its fairly large lower bouts it rolls along that bout edge a bit. For this reason we decided to place four pairs of bumpers on the G side. One pair on the upper bout and three pair spread along the lower bout. Now I can roll the bass down along the lower bout w/ a pleasant cushiony feel knowing that my edges are being fully protected. In almost 5 months of heavy use none of them have come off yet, knock on wood . Jeff shapes them by hand very nicely so they look good as well. I'll post pix of them when I get a chance. THANKS Jeff!

Ken, I too had read those bumper TB threads in the past and had agreed w/ you about only wanting to use hard wood or maybe leather in a pinch, but I have to admit that Jeff's neoprene really has worked out well and they can always be easily removed w/o any damage. No more schlepping a bass stand (unless I'm doubling on BG on a crowded stage) or a rubber mat to gigs. You may want to consider them for the Loveri, which I saw, BTW, with the top off in Jeff's shop. A beautiful bass.

Happy Winter Solstice Holiday Thing, Bri

__________________

[Ken Smith]

On the Loveri, you saw the Back off, not the top. The Top/Ribs/Neck are still attached. It is the Back that is getting all the much needed work. The Back made with some crotch or butt end knotted wood that looks like a Cat's Eye figure wise..

On the Neoprene, Jeff used that same stuff for the under side of the 'fingers' on my Bisiach Extension. It works great by the way and I look forward to getting my Loveri back sometime next month with some new Neoprene Bumpers on it. I think I'll request them on the Storioni as well.

As far as how much I lay the Bass down, it's not much. I usually lean the Bass C-bout on a chair. When I first saw the Philly Orch., it looked like they had Stools with a side chair for the Bass. I looked high and low for this product and came up empty. Then one day after meeting Hal Robinson I emailed him asking about it and he told me the just place a chair next to each stool as a tradition they have there. Well, I've been doing the chair thing all my life so I've stuck with it. On occasion, there is no chair around to lean the Bass on and I have to lay it down. That's when I need the Bumpers.

[Ken McKay]

Merry Christmas to all.

Paul Warburton uses old pieces of fan belts, and glues then on with rubber cement...works like a charm.

Here's my patentable, removable bumper that I will divulge in the sake of preservation. When you have top or back off, glue on one of these inside the bass at the points where you want to stick the bumbers. Line the bumper underside with felt so the finish will be unharmed.

http://www.pennstateind.com/store/emag34.html

[Greg Clinkingbeard]

Very interesting concept with the magnets.

I first tried rubber cement with the V belt, but they didn't stay on. Maybe I just don't have the touch. Hide glue works well.

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by Brian Glassman

Jeff talked me into his fitted black neoprene bumpers.............I'll post pix of them when I get a chance.

brian, i really would like to see those pics! Thank you.

[Brian Glassman]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

brian, i really would like to see those pics! Thank you.

Best ones I could take. These pics are under the intense flash of my camera. In regular light they look like ebony.

BTW-Anselm, did you by any chance play in a youth symphony in Bremen under Herbert Kolovski back in 1989?

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by Brian Glassman

BTW-Anselm, did you by any chance play in a youth symphony in Bremen under Herbert Kolovski back in 1989?

hmm, well, i think i´m gonna send you a pm

edit: thanks for the pix!