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Old 10-05-2020, 11:46 AM
Brett Belanger Brett Belanger is offline
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Hi Ken,

I hope you are well. I was hoping you could give me your thoughts on the age/origin of this bass. Any help would be appreciated!
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Old 10-05-2020, 11:48 AM
Brett Belanger Brett Belanger is offline
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Here’s the top.
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Old 10-05-2020, 11:57 AM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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The bass is Germanic. Maybe Saxony or across the border on the Czech side/Bohemia. Early 1900s. The finish does not look original to me. Nice quality instrument.
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Old 10-05-2020, 12:03 PM
Brett Belanger Brett Belanger is offline
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Ok, thanks Ken! It was for sale as a Mittenwald bass circa 1860’s. Is that possible to your eye? I know pictures can’t do the bass justice.
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Old 10-05-2020, 06:29 PM
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Mittenwald with a round back? I think I am correct. You should look at sites with Neuner and Hornsteiner basses and see what they look like. Mittenwald is used too often to ID Saxon basses.
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Old 10-05-2020, 07:12 PM
Brett Belanger Brett Belanger is offline
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Ok, I’ll check those out. Thanks for your expertise!
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Old 10-05-2020, 07:48 PM
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Too many people say Mittenwald or Tyrol for a German or Czech bass they can't be sure of. The button on the pegbox is very Czech/Bohemian like.


Instead of being sharp around the lower edges of the Button, they use a flat bevel to make it look wider. I have seen this many times on Bohemian basses. Classic feature of that school. You can call that 'the smoking gun'.
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Old 10-05-2020, 07:54 PM
Brett Belanger Brett Belanger is offline
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I looked at a few Neuner & Hornsteiner basses. Definitely a different look than this bass. Do you think this one could be 19th century? My pictures show some of the more unscathed areas of the bass. It definitely has had many repairs on the ribs and the lower bouts were actually replaced altogether.
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Old 10-05-2020, 08:30 PM
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1900s.. Most basses are over apprised, higher value, higher pedigree and back dated to the wrong century and wrong country. I see many basses appraised completely wrong.
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Old 10-05-2020, 09:41 PM
Brett Belanger Brett Belanger is offline
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Ok, I thought 1860s might be pushing it but I wasn’t sure. Thanks again for your help!
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