"circa 1880 Czech bass"

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Aaron Fabbrini

I've really enjoyed snooping around this forum for some time now. This is my first post, however.

I found this bass on Craigslist a few weeks ago. It was listed as a Czech/Bohemian bass from the 1880's. $2500 OBO.

I do indeed enjoy the sound of the bass and the feel of the neck. So, I bought it. It felt a bit impulsive and stupid, but I had been looking for a better bass for some time and this seemed like a decent instrument at a good price.

Sure enough, I had it looked at back in St. Paul and it has some problems: A new fingerboard(I knew that before I bought it), and a cracked but in tact bottom block. I was quoted 3k.

So, two questions:

1. Is the bass what I was told it is?(There is only a repair label from 1939 on the inside.)

2. Was this a good deal? Did I make a mistake? Should I turn this bass around and sell it to somebody else? Like I said, I do enjoy playing this bass, more than the one that I already have. But, I'm not interested and don't have the money to be over paying for this bass.

Any insight will be much appreciated. Thanks.

Aaron

Ok, first off making an accurate opinion from just pics is a long shot. I will do my best and will ask a few things along the way.

First off, what does the wood look like INSIDE the back and ribs? Is it flamed like the outsides are or is this painted flame? The flame figure will look stronger inside of an old bass than under the varnish unless a process was used to accentuate the flame as seen on this back. Even though the process helps bring out the figure, after 100-200 or more years, it still looks stronger on the inside. Here is a painted flamed Neck for reference.

Is this or any of this Varnish original or was there some partial or more re-varnish done in the past or did you Luthier address the varnish at all?

The bass seems to have old repairs up and down the bassbar and sound post area. If the top is not sunken in and the repairs are solid then they 'might' be able to be left alone. IF when the top comes off to replace the cracked block the Luthier finds more things to do, the price or the repairs in the end IF done to a high-grade lever of repair might exceed the end-value of the bass.

The Scroll I can see was grafted. The FFs are set a bit high helping the string length and this to me says that it might be a later bass than originally suspected. Of course after taken apart, your Luthier will have the only 'birds-eye' view of everything including its possible age.

Origin? I would say anywhere from the north Tyrol thru southern Germany and up north and east to the western Bohemian/Czech-German border area. It doesn't look like anything from the Prague area so I would class this as a Germanic style bass which can include the Czech border area I just mentioned.

To see if you might be overpaying you must first imagine this bass fully restored to a professional/re-sale level and ID the bass as best as possible (origin and age) and then see what basses like this are selling for.

Buying a bass is easy. having one fixed is also not so difficult in the right shop. Getting your money out of it in the end is another story. If I bring in a $100k Italian bass needing the exact same amount of work, the repair price will be similar unless corners are cut due to the project bass at hand. Time is money regardless of the pedigree.

This should really be discussed with your bass specialist luthier. Hopefully you have one there to consult.

Measurements please? Using one of my basses posted here, give me/us all the measurements of the bass. Ribs do not include the top and back.

Example;
Upper Bout: 21 3/4"
Center Bout: 15 1/2"
Bottom Bout: 26 1/4"
Belly Length: 44 1/4" (44 1/2" Back to top of Button)
String Length: 42"
Rib Depth: 8 7/8" (*measured inside Top & Back, 5 3/8" at the Neck), *add about 1/2" to include the Top & Back
If you need help in how and where exactly to measure, call me at the office during business hours or PM me here.

One the value vs. the love of the bass issue, some people (including myself) will put into the bass whatever it needs regardless of the cost-value ratio.