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Old 07-05-2007, 06:33 AM
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Pete Collins Pete Collins is offline
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Default Bass I.D. help

Anyone any ideas or info please on my old bass.i recently accquired.
Interested to know origin,woods used and value(if any)
I'm pretty sure the top is carved spruce,fingerboard definitely
isn't ebony(so would this mean it was a budget type model?)
Don't know what the back/sides and neck/scroll are made from.
Only thing written inside is a detail of a repair done in Newcastle UK 1960
There's possibly a name/date written on the outside upper bout but it's so small/faded i don't think it's much help.
It's a full size ,but i think maybe narrower body.
It came with a bow that has CZECHOSLOVAKIA printed but i suppose that doesn't help much.
I'm new to the world of double basses have been reading up here what i can,would take an uneducated guess it's a turn of the 20th century German student/budget bass.
Pete
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Last edited by Pete Collins; 07-05-2007 at 09:59 PM.
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Old 07-05-2007, 10:50 PM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Cool origin and pics..

I would like to see the Back and the Scroll/peg box by itself as well as any other details you can see with your eye. This will help ID the Bass. From your pics, I cannot tell if the Bass was refinished or not or just altered.

Regardless of adding any pics, the Bass is a Germanic style/central European Bass. This includes Germany, German/Austrian Tirol, Bohemia/western Czech near Germany and Hungary. Austrian/Viennese Basses as well as Prague Czech Basses are less Germanic looking and more individualistic to the trained eye.

Value is a combination or origin (pedigree), condition and sound. A carved Bass in good repair costs a minimum of $2-3,000 or about half in Pounds (GBP/Quid!). This is a minimum one would pay at a commercial sale for a carved Germanic Bass. $5k-$25k is the range on average depending on the actual Bass of this origin. Private sales can be anything higher or lower.

Show us some more and maybe better detailed pics and maybe we can get closer. This does not look that new at all either. From the pics it looks to be at least 50-70 years old and maybe even a 100 or so. How original the varnish is or touched up can alter the look of the actual age.

Also, look at some of my Bass pages and post the standard measurements for us. If you need help how and where to exactly measure, just ask. CMs will be fine. One of us Yanks with a calculator can do the conversion in inches for you if needed.
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Old 07-05-2007, 11:11 PM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Cool 2nd look..

I blew up the Top and side pics. I see the Neck has been repaired under the peg box and it looks to be a Beechwood Neck.

The Top does not look Purfled but has a shadow of some scratched lines. Th missing lines in most areas can be due to sanding during re-finish or partial re-finish.

I would take a stab at this placing it in the Mittenwald, Bavarian/German Tirol area (South Germany!) at turn of the century c.1900.

Condition of top and ribs looks good for its estimated age from the pics. This is just a guess as I haven't seen the Bass in person.

I need to see the Back and the other detailed Pics I mentioned to go further with this.

Arnold?
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Old 07-06-2007, 09:18 AM
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Pete Collins Pete Collins is offline
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Thanks so much Ken,this is all great info!
My bass is a humble old thing without flashy woodgrains etc. but i like it and am really grateful!
The beech thing would make sense for the neck,i was confused a bit by how many basses seem to have maple used for the neck,but it doesn't seem like maple to me.
Looks like the G tuner been replaced. Actually theres like a filled hole above the A tuner too,which you can't see on the pic cos of a shadow and it looks on the D+G side like there was originally a plate between the machines and wood.
There's a panel been put in on the lower side,and some damage here around front and back joins.
Repair done in 1960 i would assume be to the neck by Thomas Alexander Newcastle on tyne.
The possible name thing on the outside is very dodgy though, sometimes i look and i just think it's just marks in the wood !
I will get some measurements soon as i find the thread!
I've put some more pics up here at photobucket
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z125/petecollins/
Thanks
Pete
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Old 07-06-2007, 10:01 AM
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Thumbs up New pics..

Ok Pete, the new pics helped a little. I think the neck IS Maple and not Beech. I also see that the Bass has real Purfling as well. This is why good pics are important. The added/replaced tuner is very old as well. I place this bass still in the southern German region but earlier than originally estimated. I think 100-120 years old would be a closer guess. Unless the Bass is actually broken the normal wear would look about as it does. If the Bass was here in USA, the 4 seasons and dry heat would make the Bass crack a lot more.

Nice old Bass you have there. Now I would look at set-up so the Bass plays its best. Look at the Set-up Threads in the 'Luthiers Corner' Forum here.
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