too much wood ?

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Adrian, I hope you don't have the top and back removed at the same time. I make linings in the style of the existing instrument. For a new bass, usually 3.5mm thick and 20-30mm wide.

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Adrian, I hope you don't have the top and back removed at the same time. I make linings in the style of the existing instrument. For a new bass, usually 3.5mm thick and 20-30mm wide.

The back came off first (mostly by itself) , the top was glued on before by someone who saw fit to have to force the ribs inwards in order to get a 'correct looking' fit .
So I've now semi glued the back on with weak hide glue spread on easier to access parts of all six blocks, it fit well.I firstly glued thin blotting paper to the surface of the blocks/no wood on wood contact and quite strong.I did this so I could remove the top and see what's causing it to crack so much and then revisit the back.

[Adrian Levi]

I have finished replacing all the linings on this bass now .
The back linings are 22mm wide and 2.5 thick and the top linings are really small at 10mm x 2.5 . Its my bass so I'm prepared to experiment with the small top linings.
The last linings were up to 10mm THICK on the c bouts and about 32mm wide all round.

I've read so many contrasting viewpoints on the difference that smaller linings can make ...
Im not expecting a miracle though

In the pic you can see the 'clean' wood where the old linings were.

[Adrian Levi]

The bass is now done , and varnished. When the varnish is totally hard it'll get its final touch up and polish. Its such a pity that the instrument had its original varnish removed!

The real experiment was to replace the very large linings with smaller than conventional ones in the hope that the bass would simply sound better.
I also did thin out the bass bar and am happy to report that the alterations have made a big difference to the sound , especially the attack which is now fast . The bass has retained its original 'darkish' sound but is now more responsive and I think a little brighter sounding than before

[Matthew Tucker]

Well done. It looks great - can you record a bit of sound for us?

I love the shot in your previous post of the linings from inside the bass. Architectural!

The french restoration I'm working on is lagging behind for a few reasons. But due to resume soon.

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

Well done. It looks great - can you record a bit of sound for us?

I love the shot in your previous post of the linings from inside the bass. Architectural!

The french restoration I'm working on is lagging behind for a few reasons. But due to resume soon.

Thanks , Ill certainly try to do a recording within the next couple of weeks when Im back from an overseas stint !