new back?

[kurt ratering]

hello all,
the shop recently aquired this old beauty , and as you can see the back is pretty toasted. on an instrument like this, old and with what i feel is some potential but obviously nothing special, would replacing the back de-value it significantly? thanks, kurt

[Anselm Hauke]

i would repair it.
for me a new back would devalue the bass.

how does it sound?

[kurt ratering]

i dont know, ive only seen it in this shape. but, for some reason i get a good vibe from it.

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by kurt ratering

..... for some reason i get a good vibe from it.

me too! looks like it would sound good

[Aren Winebrenner]

That's a tough one. I just went through a nearly identical situation myself. I had picked up a Germanic shop bass that looks nearly identical, that was very distressed-everywhere. I removed the old, carved in bass bar, fixed more cracks than I care to count, doubled the top due to earlier epoxy/nail/bondo repairs, made a soundpost patch and made new blocks all the way around.

The back was seriously warped in the bottom half. The button was gone. It had cracks everywhere and the edges on the lower bouts were destroyed. I went so far as to starting a new back for it. When I got to the point that I was almost ready to put the new back on, I stopped. I couldn't do it. It's stupid, but I was honestly losing sleep trying to talk myself into saving the trouble and just putting a new back on it. In the end, I couldn't deal with it and went ahead and started fixing the old back.

Fast forward to the present - the old back has been flattened out, has new edges, a new button, braces have been installed and its back on the bass, ready to be finished. I don't know if, monetarily/time wise, it was worth it, but I'm glad I did it. I don't think I would have felt right making a new back and scrapping the old one. I couldn't have destroyed it and it would have sat around, acting as a constant reminder to me of a job 1/2 done.

Fix the old one! Just my amateur $.02. Good luck!!

[kurt ratering]

yeah, the edges on the back are trashed: purfling cut all the way through in alot of places. the back is less than 3mm thick, at least on the edges. the big crack on the back is almost 6mm open at its worst with no chance of coming together. i guess my concern is spending the time and effort needed to fix it, only to have it not come out well, not be very stable, and replacing it anyways.

[Eric Hochberg]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

i would repair it.
for me a new back would devalue the bass.

I agree, unless a new back is absolutely necessary.