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Old 11-30-2009, 06:30 AM
Adrian Levi Adrian Levi is offline
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Well , I have just had a neck put onto the body of a bass of mine , Ill show that in another thread .
When fetching my bass I asked where the neck came from and was shown this body/to cut a long story short a bought the body for about $100 .

What is intriguing is that this bass has been worked on by a number of people over the years , the original finish looks to be gone but the inside of the bass looks to be pretty old ?? I have no idea how to judge this instrument as the outside varnish is new but something tells me that that this may have been a good instrument .
Ill include pics of the actual scroll that was on the bass , its actually quite nicely carved.

Ok Ken , do your worst !!
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  #2  
Old 11-30-2009, 08:57 AM
Arnold Schnitzer Arnold Schnitzer is offline
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I think that could be a French bass; definitely worth saving!
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Old 11-30-2009, 11:05 AM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Cool yes..

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Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer View Post
I think that could be a French bass; definitely worth saving!
This looks French from the inside and the Back does as well. The Top is in poor shape and hard to see its true form but I would say Mirecourt factory Jacquet school. The Scroll is French as well and was maybe a 3-string converted to 4 but modified with German Gears. A total mismatch in my book.

Re-varnished poorly as well as the Scroll in a darker color does hurt the value quite a bit. The Scroll although French as well is no guarantee it belongs to THAT bass. The Scrolls were usually 'Guild' made anyway and were supplied to more then one shop from the same supply but having it all original is a plus.

That center wide crossbar is original but the upper and lower bars were maybe added later. The French did not usually mix those two designs that I have seen.
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Old 11-30-2009, 11:48 AM
Adrian Levi Adrian Levi is offline
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Originally Posted by Ken Smith View Post
This looks French from the inside and the Back does as well. The Top is in poor shape and hard to see its true form but I would say Mirecourt factory Jacquet school. The Scroll is French as well and was maybe a 3-string converted to 4 but modified with German Gears. A total mismatch in my book.

Re-varnished poorly as well as the Scroll in a darker color does hurt the value quite a bit. The Scroll although French as well is no guarantee it belongs to THAT bass. The Scrolls were usually 'Guild' made anyway and were supplied to more then one shop from the same supply but having it all original is a plus.

That center wide crossbar is original but the upper and lower bars were maybe added later. The French did not usually mix those two designs that I have seen.
Sounds interesting , I guessed maybe French ! It does look like it may have been a 3 string at one time ( at least the scroll does ).
What age do you estimate it to be and do you have a pic of a bass that you think may be from the same school and era ?
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Old 11-30-2009, 12:41 PM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Cool era?

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Originally Posted by Adrian Levi View Post
Sounds interesting , I guessed maybe French ! It does look like it may have been a 3 string at one time ( at least the scroll does ).
What age do you estimate it to be and do you have a pic of a bass that you think may be from the same school and era ?
With that model and Cross bar I suspect latter quarter 19th century to early 20th. Just look at the French bass section here and Google Jacquet bass. Plenty of them in the world. I am not claiming exactly that it was made in one of the 3 or 4 Jacquet shops but rather it is in that style. many French makers used practically the exact same pattern. Like the German 3/4 Gamba basses. The all look almost alike as well.
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Old 11-30-2009, 12:47 PM
Arnold Schnitzer Arnold Schnitzer is offline
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That huge crossbar is whacky! The soundpost would need to sit on the northern edge of it to be properly placed.
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