Ideal proportions..

[Ken Smith]

Here is a beautiful Italian Bass that I just played a few days ago. Although it's not currently for sale, the owner has graciously allowed me to photograph and measure it for display on my website.



I also know the previous owner of this Bass and have heard great things about it before ever seeing the Bass. It truly lived up to its reputation.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Oh, this thread is not about Halle Berry?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Oh, this thread is not about Halle Berry?

Not yet!..

[Eric Swanson]

So lovely!

Looks like a glue joint on the neck, maple-to-maple below the fingerboard. Do you reckon this was to stiffen the neck (or change the angle) after the initial fabrication, or did that look to you like part of the original construction?

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to share these photos.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Eric Swanson

So lovely!

Looks like a glue joint on the neck, maple-to-maple below the fingerboard. Do you reckon this was to stiffen the neck (or change the angle) after the initial fabrication, or did that look to you like part of the original construction?

Thanks for taking the time and trouble to share these photos.

It is a Neck Shim. This is commonly used in place of re-setting the Neck/neckstand to improve the height of the Bridge and bring the Fingerboard up off the Top some.

I purchased my Martini, Bisiach (labeled), Loveri and Gilkes Basses with Neck Shims installed. The Martini was repaired with a different Shim in ebony when the fingerboard was replaced. It really needed a New Neck graft and will be getting one soon. The Gilkes Bass had the neck re-set and pushed out a bit with a Button graft in place of its pitched shim when it was restored. The Bisiach got a new Fingerboard with its Extension and Shim removed. The Loveri will stay as it is. That one is the best I have seen.

The Neck on this Italian Bass looks to be the original to that Scroll. Eventually, it would see a Graft as Shims become more trouble than they are worth to keep re-doing with new Fingerboard Jobs. The way we play today and they way they played 100-150-200 years ago is completely different demand wise so Neck Sets are always being re-done to match playing needs. Shims are the cheaper way out but never excepted as permanent work.

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Shims are the cheaper way out but never accepted as permanent work.

What is your preferred permanent repair method for a too-thin neck on a valuable bass?

And why do you need to re-do a shim every time you do a "Fingerboard Job"?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

What is your preferred permanent repair method for a too-thin neck on a valuable bass?

And why do you need to re-do a shim every time you do a "Fingerboard Job"?

First off, the Shims are usually done to bring out the Neck-stand and string height and not necessarily to add thickness to the neck as the shim goes in the front, not the back.

Re-do a shim every time I don't know but if the Shim is part of the Neck structure at that point and you remove the fingerboard then it is possible that it needs to be re-done if the Fingerboard doesn't come off clean and disturbs the Shim in the process.

I never said it needs to be re-done and I also said that a Shim is usually a temporary fix, not a permanent one. If done for the Neck-stand, then bringing out the Neck is best in the long run. If doing it to help correct a bad Neck, then a graft would be best in the long run like in the case of the Martini.

If you read back carefully about what I described on the Martini in other posts, you will see that at the time, we did what looked the best and most cost effective at the time.