" Name That Bass " aka "This OLD Bass"

[Phil Maneri]

That work is breathtaking.

I'd love to see that in person.

I'll leave tonight......

[Anselm Hauke]

hi ken
congratulation, nice bass, interesting to see the pictures.
one question:
here:
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/doublebasses/MysteryBass/name_that_bass2.htm
you write:
"The upper and lower Back have decorative raised plates added for structure as well."

was it the only possible way to add these plates at the outside of the bass?

i am asking only for my personal curiosity in luthiery, this is not meant as criticism to the work of mr. biase.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

hi ken
congratulation, nice bass, interesting to see the pictures.
one question:
here:
http://www.kensmithbasses.com/double...that_bass2.htm
you write:
"The upper and lower Back have decorative raised plates added for structure as well."

was it the only possible way to add these plates at the outside of the bass?

i am asking only for my personal curiosity in luthiery, this is not meant as criticism to the work of mr. biase.

In my opinion, there was no way to avoid adding them.

When I got the Bass, there was no wood at all behind the bottom block, just some black colored wood putty or something. This Bass was not even possible to string up when I purchased it. Biase had to do an inlay under the external Inlay first to replace the missing wood of the Back for the lower Block fit first. Last Friday was the first time in just over 5 years I was even able to play and hear the Bass.

At the upper Block, a piece was already added. Behind it was some original wafer thin wood with two HUGE brass screws going into the upper block under the Neck Heel. I had Biase remove the remaining screws that were not cut away from the Block and Back and plug the holes with wood. This area needed an internal repair as well. Now the Neck and Back upper Block area are free from metal and 'patch-type' repairs.

I made the Plates here in my shop from the same block of wood that I cut the Scroll Cheek wood out of and sent them to Biase. He faxed me a template of the areas that needed to be covered. When He got the wood (plus some extra pieces) he called to tell me he didn't like the grain pattern because it was flatsawn and the back was perfectly quartered. He took the wood that I sent him and made book matched looking pieces with more of a quartered grain and added an Ebony center strip to each plate to match the strip running up and down the Back which seems to be an old repair inlay from the joint expansion. These are some of the details this 'old schooler' went thru to make this Bass as close as possible to a 'period-type' restoration. I have seen decoritive back plates on a Busan and a Goffriller as well as some other Basses and if done right, they look beautiful. Some however do not look as nice as others.

The Neck Block/Shoulder area 'Cut' which I forgot to photograph for the website looks very similar to the Neck platforms on both my Hart (100% original) and my Block-cut ex-Morelli. This Bass is capped at the Block as well with some Macassar Ebony cut from our own lumber stock we use for Smith Basses, bookmatched pieces no doubt! The Neck Graft is from an aged European Cello Back billet that I purchased 5 years for the restoration job. The billet sat in Biase's shop untouched for about 4 years before he started the Graft process. The neck piece cut from the 'back stock also sat around for months until he got around to it. This was actually a good thing for the acclimation process of the wood once it's been cut from a larger piece of stock.

I took Neck, Nut, Fingerboard and Bridge measurements from 3 of my best and favorite basses here to give him the specs to ensure personal comfort on the final set-up. I think Biase left things a bit heavy so I would have room to trim it down later. You can't add it back once it's been cut away! The Fingerboard Camber is about the best I have had which is only about 1-mm end to end. This is also the thickest and longest piece of Ebony I have had on a Bass as well. The highest note on this monster is an F which is a 7th above the fingerboard previously on the Storioni.

This Bass is huge and has a similar punch and crunch of air movement to my Storioni attr. Cornerless Bass. The Hart use to feel a bit broad to me getting over the Maggini-like shoulders as compared to the Martini but after playing this Bass for a few days, the Hart feels more like a Solo bass in comparison. Whom ever ends up with this Bass, I doubt it will be used for Solo Rep.

Oh, and by they way with the current set-up with the Evah' Weich's, the Pizz for jazz is like 'Killer Joe' in your face..

[Anselm Hauke]

thanks for the detailed answer!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

thanks for the detailed answer!

I'm just getting Started!

[David Powell]

And so it is! This bass and the restoration of it brought me into bass forums as a participant instead of a "reader", for better or worse. What an inspiration, Mr. Smith. Thank-you for doing this one so proud.

I think the process on this bass encapsulates what I have felt about musical instruments ever since my father passed several years ago and I adopted his old Harmony 173, a rather humble classical guitar, but with one of the most beautiful spruce tops I've ever seen. It too was unplayable when I brought it home, and now it intonates quite well after my efforts.

We don't really own these instruments;- ever. Once created they have an immortal potential that humans do not. We are at best humble caretakers that can make some art from them in a single lifetime, but these instruments are just getting started on their many journeys, however old we perceive them to be. You brought it back to life, Ken. Now it's your turn to create with it. Best to you always,

Silversorcerer

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David Powell

And so it is! This bass and the restoration of it brought me into bass forums as a participant instead of a "reader", for better or worse. What an inspiration, Mr. Smith. Thank-you for doing this one so proud.

I think the process on this bass encapsulates what I have felt about musical instruments ever since my father passed several years ago and I adopted his old Harmony 173, a rather humble classical guitar, but with one of the most beautiful spruce tops I've ever seen. It too was unplayable when I brought it home, and now it intonates quite well after my efforts.

We don't really own these instruments;- ever. Once created they have an immortal potential that humans do not. We are at best humble caretakers that can make some art from them in a single lifetime, but these instruments are just getting started on their many journeys, however old we perceive them to be. You brought it back to life, Ken. Now it's your turn to create with it. Best to you always,

Silversorcerer

Well, I agree about the Caretaker position. Besides all the work that has been done, it is still not where I want the Bass. I have it packed up and am sending it down to Jeff Bollbach to have a few things tweaked as well as having him make and install a Chromatic C-Extension like the one he made for my Bisiach labeled Bass.

The Neck heel was way higher than what I wanted but Biase wanted to stop at that point and have me play it for awhile before removing any wood that can't be replaced. I had giving him the Neck/Heel specs off of my Martini to sort of copy but still he left it a little heavy.

After a single rehearsal I put the Bass away until I could have this done. Last week I made the decision that driving back and forth to NYC a minimum of 2 times is more work and expense than if I just cut it down myself to what I really want which can only be done here by tweaking it daily as I play the neck in an unfinished state until it's just where I want it. I now have the neck just about there but the top of Heel and throat underside under the Peg Box needs to be Varnished back up to match. I decided that it would be best to just let Jeff finish this off from here as well as a few touch-ups along with the Extension job than driving into the city which will cost me more in time that it's worth even thought the work will be free of charge from Biase.

So, there will eventually a whole new set of pictures taken on this when the C-Extension is done and the re-carved Neck & Heel are all varnished up. The Heel will look about half the size as it does now as well as the neck and profile being thinner overall to better match the Martini.

It's not over till it's over..

[Eric Swanson]

Dear God, that is a beautiful bass.

Congratulations, Ken, on having the faith and vision to make this happen.

I hope that playing it gives you many hours of joy.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Phil Maneri

That work is breathtaking.

I'd love to see that in person.

I'll leave tonight......

Ah.. meet me for breakfast at the diner..

I will bring my wallet for the check, you bring your chops for the bass..

[Ken Smith]

Hey, I have to thank Arnold Schnitzer here for his advice along the way. Also, if not for him, I would never have known what a block-cut was. I feel in a way that Arnold was somewhat of a 'ghost' on this project as I guided Biase thru the 'cut' process of the Shoulders but only after going thru several restorations and alterations of Basses with Arnold.

My ex-Morelli and ex-Prescott all needed String Length shortening and I was like a student in class discussing the planning of these Basses and taking mental notes. You gotta be 'mental' to some degree to take all the risks that I have with reviving all of these dead and sometimes oversized awkwardly playing Basses.

I consider Arnold to be my teacher in this part of the process to date. A lesson for all here is when having a bass adjusted, fixed, repaired, fully restored or even 'brought back from the dead' (like I have done many times now), try to learn as much as possible about not just 'what' was done but 'Why' it was done that way. The Why is often more important then the How!

The two possible plans originally discussed with Biase for the 'Cut' were either an actual Shoulder Cut and Rib Re-bending/shaping or his second suggestion of cutting the Upper Bout Ribs 2" and sliding them down the Corner Blocks. Then without re-shaping/bending the Ribs/Shoulders, trim the Top and Back plates to match the lowered Shoulders and re-purfle the Top area that was Cut. A new Neck Block might also be required depending on which way we went.

Then, after working with Arnold with restoration planning for a few years on the Basses I had aquired gradually the thought came to me. After several 'cries' from on-line readers of a similar Thread on TB saying to me 'Don't Cut the Bass', I thought.. "Why not do a Block Cut like Arnold did on the Morelli?"

I explained to Biase exactly what to do and how much to Cut up at the tips of the Top and it was done. The Block itself that is in the bass is not original anyway as we suspect this bass was Blockless in the Gamba style sense of the word. The Block in the Bass was dovetailed where the neck sits on Top of the Block, not IN the Block. So, cutting about an inch off the Block, adding some wood to the underside of the Block to make it extend deeper into the Bass and setting the Neck INSIDE the Block over an Inch instead of on Top of the Block made the String length reduction a Breeze. Only the Tips of the Top were Cut and the original Purfling around the Shoulders still remain intact. The String length is now just under 42" with the Bridge a bit above the notches from a length before of about 44". I remember Arnolds words in the beginning like "good luck on getting that Bass down to 42". Well, my good luck came from none other than Arnold himself with his Block-Cut idea that I borrowd and conveyed to Biase.

Arnold?.. Thank You.. Lunch is on me next time regardless of whose turn it is..