GA Pfrezschner -- want advice on value/restoration

[Brian Casey]

Hi David. I've got a bass very much like yours down here in Portland, although it hasn't seen quite the same treatment and is in fully repaired (although unlikely Ken Smith-Style) condition. It too, I think, is a honey of a bass, although I am kind of wishing I had an excuse to pop the top and have it re-graduated. It is a little thick in the wood, which seems to stiffle it a little. That said, it's a fabulous bass, and was suggested to me by Glen Moore, who said that this bass would teach me many things about tone and basses in general. I feel like it has, and continues to do so.

Ken's the right guy to ask about all of this. He's been instrumental in my last couple of bass acquisitions, and his advice is always sound and well-informed. As a point of reference and getting back to your initial question, my bass, which is very similar to yours (as Ken says, Same Bass, and in our case, even the same stamp inside) was purchased here in Portland for $7K, and appraised for $9K by D. Scott Henrie, a respected Luthier in Chicago. My position would be that if you feel right with the instrument, and like the core tone enough to think that if it's solid and healthy it could be your 'lifetime' instrument, it is worth the repair. If you're looking to fix it and turn it over, I doubt you'll do any better than break even. Don't get me wrong - I'm all in favor of saving any bass worthy of significant repairs, and if mine in good health is any indication, I think yours will be a sweetheart of a bass once restored. It might take years for the market to catch up with the amount you've put into it.

For the record, I found that my Pfretschner is much more suited to jazz playing (I've got Olivs on top and Spiro Mittles on the bottom) than orchestral playing. Because the top is thick, it doesn't project and I never felt like I could lead or even be heard in a section, so I found another 1930's German bass (which happened to have been regraduated in 1940) that seems to me to do a much better job in an orchestra with orchestral strings.

If you look at older posted in the This New Bass section of this forum, you'll see pics of both of my basses. Check out my Pfretschner and tell me that it doesn't look like the younger sister of yours. (There is a single '5' carved into the upper bout on the G string side, which is the only purposeful carving. I'm assuming it was bass #5 in whatever Chicago school it was from.)

If you're in Portland, you're welcome to get in touch and we'll share bass stories and you can have a closer inspection of my Pfrestschner.

As for luthiers capable of complete restorations, I don't know of anybody personally in Seattle, but I think that Glen Moore has someone near Vanvouver BC that he highly recommends. Phil Baker here in Portland also uses a guy in Southern Washington who he trusts to restore old basses. Of course, if you are interested in talking to people in Portland who restore basses, I'm happy to give you a couple referrals.

Best of luck, and let us know which path you ultimately choose to take.

b

[David McKinney]

Thanks for the feedback fellas--much appreciated.

It plays well now, but I may decide to restore it down the road...


Brian, could you please PM me with some luthiers in Portland and BC? It'd be good to have the numbers on file, for this bass and for others as well...


Thanks again,

David

[David McKinney]

I'm giving serious thought to going through with restoration...


Ken, I was wondering if you could give some detail on the tonal improvement you experienced with your similar bass.


I'd like to hear any changes you noticed, but in particular I'm curious if the bass developed more power and spread in the bottom...

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David McKinney

I'm giving serious thought to going through with restoration...


Ken, I was wondering if you could give some detail on the tonal improvement you experienced with your similar bass.


I'd like to hear any changes you noticed, but in particular I'm curious if the bass developed more power and spread in the bottom...

Well, on the Morelli Bass I really have no idea. When I bought the Bass, it was falling apart, the sound posy lying loose on the bottom and not strung up. The first time I heard the bass was after the work was completed. The tone was beyond any German Shop bass I had ever heard. Arnold;s comment to me was "you can play this bass in the New York Philharmonic"!

I played one big concert with it doing Beeth 5th. The low C ext. notes were clearly heard on stage. At one other dress rehearsal one of the other players in the section commented "that low C is the resonant frequency of the Stage' as it shook the floor.

If the bass is of good dimensions, good quality wood and then modified and restored skillfully then you will have a better sounding bass in the end from what you started with.

One of the Basses I own that I DID know its sound before the restoration was improved remarkably. It was a good sounding bass before it went under the knife. It came out a great sounding bass when the job was done. The spread and bottom was improved to a large degree on this bass. In the two years since the job was done I have notice even more improvement in the sound each year as well.

I do not know your bass personally so it's hard to tell from here what you might expect. What I can say is that a bass in its best possible condition including graduations is better than if left alone in disrepair or as-is from the factory. At this point, the fate of your bass is at the hands of the Luthier doing the work!

[David McKinney]

Thanks for the reply Ken...much appreciated.


Now I need to find a great luthier on the west coast, ideally the pacific NW coast, or nearby canada.


Suggestions much appreciated...

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David McKinney

Thanks for the reply Ken...much appreciated.


Now I need to find a great luthier on the west coast, ideally the pacific NW coast, or nearby canada.


Suggestions much appreciated...

This is like surgery. Pick only the Doctor you can talk with and trust 100%. Once they put you to sleep, they have total control.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

This is like surgery. Pick only the Doctor you can talk with and trust 100%. Once they put you to sleep, they have total control.

Ken, when I snap my fingers you will awaken...then you will find a pen and paper. Now write out a bill of sale for your J. Hart bass, transferring ownership to me for $25. Now sign it. I'll be down in the afternoon to pick up the bass. One...two...three...SNAP!

[David McKinney]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

This is like surgery. Pick only the Doctor you can talk with and trust 100%. Once they put you to sleep, they have total control.

Yep, this is why I'm hoping you or Arnold or someone else on the board might have a rec for someone one the west coast who can be entrusted with such a job...