Bass Oddity- Swanson DB.

[Brian Gencarelli]

Originally Posted by Jeff Bollbach

Wow, I had forgotten about this maker! I saw one at a place of previous employ and for a few weeks it was thought by the boss that it was Italian. Turned out to be plywood. Wonder if this one is. Authentic crudite.

From what I can tell, I think it is plywood (oak?) - it is so hard to tell with all the raised purfling and gunk. It is definitely NOT Italian. There is also some previous repair work that makes it more of a "crudite". Don't know if this was done by the maker or another.

I feel the same way about this bass as another classic cartoon, "Charlie Brown Christmas". It seems like the poor little tree that he picks out and tries to decorate.

I don't know whether to crack this baby open (morbid curiosity) or run away screaming. I am pretty confident in my abilities- I am no Arnold or Jeff, but I am not a complete "crudite" either. (Can you tell I like that word?) If I decide to approach this as a "Six million dollar bass" I plan on documenting the whole thing for all to see, ala Matthew Tucker.

Obviously, I don't plan on making any money on this bass... just a test of skill.

Any and all opinions are valued.

BG

[Ken Smith]

Yes, now I remember...

[Jeff Bollbach]

Ha Ha, Ken! You know that's Talkbass style humor there!

I would love to know more about this Swanson dude. The one I saw at kolsteins was actually very convincing as something much older than it was. I wonder if it was just a happy coincidental byproduct of a very crude maker or was he actually up to something?

[Jeff Bollbach]

Brian-
Without knowing what is "wrong" with the bass it is of course difficult to proffer any thoughts on whether it is worth tackling.
jeffb

[Brian Gencarelli]

Jeff,

Where do I start? Well positives... the tailpiece, tuners, strings, and bridge are in pretty good shape.

If I were to take this bass and do everything I think it needs:

1) Open the top and "clean up" all the shabby repair work to the back... there are these awful "patches" to reinforce the flat back. Really thick and I can't tell exactly what kind of glue... probably alpharetic resin.

2) Try to reshape and patch the top to relieve the sinkage and deformity.
(Get rid of the second sound post. )

3) New fingerboard, saddle, nut, endpin.

Setup and hope for the best. It will be a long and expensive process. Who knows what I will find when I crack the top? I am also going to have to be really careful and patient with glue removal, etc... Hard to tell what multitudes of sins have been committed here.

Thanks,
BG

[Jeff Bollbach]

Brian-
Why not just set it up without taking it apart? Unless you are looking for a learning experience a restoration on a plywood is almost always a losing proposition.
jeffb

[Brian Gencarelli]

Originally Posted by Jeff Bollbach

Brian-
Why not just set it up without taking it apart? Unless you are looking for a learning experience a restoration on a plywood is almost always a losing proposition.
jeffb

Jeff... Thanks for the advice. I am wondering if that might be the course to take. There are a few too many cracks for plywood to me... just curious about what "makes this one tick".

BG