Little Bass ID

[Chris DeMarco]

So, I just bought this bass for all of fifteen dollars, I haven't picked it up yet but there are a lot of pictures from the seller.

I was origonally thinking about attempting to restore it (amateur "luthier") but after thinking about it, I realized that a restoration of any kind would not even break even on this bass and I have no way to make ribs which aparently were lost some time ago, so I thnk I will just hang it on the wall, maybe put an LED in it or somehting and it will be a conversation piece in my music room.

Anyways, that being said, I still want to know more about it. I am sort of a geek for antiques, especially bass stuff. My guess is that this is either a church bass or an amateur attempt at a cello that somebody in New England made sometime in the 19th century. The scroll looks to be a three part, with one of the sides missing sort of like kay scrolls. The other articularily unique thing about this bass is that the sides are carved into the back. I don't know how else to say it other then that, somebody routed almost like a thick purfling on the inside so that the sides would fit snugly, you can see it in the photo's. Also, if you look at the fingerboard there are gaps, I can't tell if this is just worn tape or if there were actually frets on this bass at some point, it certainly doesn't look like any Viol da Gamba I have ever seen!

Does anybody have any other ideas about the origin of this bass?

Here are the mesurments according to the seller:

Total height: 4 ft

Upper Bout: 12"

Lower Bout: 15"

Depth: 3 1/2"

As you can see, a very small instrument.

Thanks
Chris

[Chris DeMarco]

More pictures yet to come...

[Chris DeMarco]

Thanks again guys, these are all I have for now.

[Ken Smith]

Well, it is a mess and yes, don't bother fixing this for monetary reasons. For learning, it's a good piece to play with. It would be rewarding I am sure to see a cellist play this in an orchestra once fixed and slightly modified.

One thing of importance here is that the Ribs went into a slot cut around the inner edges of both the top and back. This is how Prescott made some if not all of his basses. I would assume some as I haven't seen but a few and who knows what experiments he made over time. This is a furniture-style joint like a drawer divider in a desk. It is the Yankee self taught method of basses of both sizes from the 19th century.

Who made it where or when?

I would say American, 19th century, maybe in the northeast. That's as close as I would venture to say.

[Chris DeMarco]

I didn't know Precott made basses like that. When I get it I will check for markings, if it's close enough to cello measurments it might be an interresting project, cutting it down shouldn't be a challenge since it's missing the ribs anyways. Of course I'm not a luthier but maybe I could donate it to somebody who can fix it, or who knows? I've always wanted to try a restoration project but I think this will be far to big of a job for me.
Thanks

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Chris DeMarco

I didn't know Precott made basses like that. When I get it I will check for markings, if it's close enough to cello measurments it might be an interresting project, cutting it down shouldn't be a challenge since it's missing the ribs anyways. Of course I'm not a luthier but maybe I could donate it to somebody who can fix it, or who knows? I've always wanted to try a restoration project but I think this will be far to big of a job for me.
Thanks

I have also seen pictures of one or two of these made in Pa. as well. That's why I said N.E. USA and not just New England.

[Chris DeMarco]

Cool, thanks for the info. I'll update with any markings I find once the bass is in my posession.

[Chris DeMarco]

Well, the verdict is in...

I picked up the "bass" yesterday and to my suprise it is pretty small. It's actually smaller then most cello's I've seen but It's pretty cool so I'm not complaining.

I took some pictures...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/5808953...57629458891181

When I got the bass it wa sbeing held together by a rubber band, which you can see in those pictures but when the rubber band snapped the bass top fell into two pieces and came off. The scroll is really cool, it's a three piece scroll that is very interresting on one side bt non existent on the other. The fretboard has what I thought were tape marks but what are actually grooves in it. Like there were frets? There was also an interresting patch on the upper end of the front which looks OK from the front but is terrible from the back.

Here are the dimensions:
Upper Bout: 9"
Lower Bout: 11.5"
Mid: 7"
Body Length: 22"
Rib Depth: 3"
String Length (guesstimate): 20"

(As you can see quite a bit smaller then what the seller origonally gave me)

Origonally I was planning on hanging it on a wall but now that I have it, I'm thinking about trying some repairs on it over the summer. I don't intend on getting it in working order but maybe atleast in one piece! I was also thinking with the discovery of the "fret grooves" and size which is actually smaller than a cello maybe it's not a church bass at all, maybe it's a old cello or viol da gamba? Just a thought.