Clunker Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 I got my first upright bass delivered this morning. It's a 3/4 size solid top job from a company selling on the internet (will remain nameless for now). There have been good reviews on here and elsewhere, so to be honest, I'm really disappointed that it's damaged. [url="http://img340.imageshack.us/i/basscrack.jpg/"][/url] The crack is about 2" long, and judging by the discolouration of the crack itself, must have been there before the instrument was stained. I know very little about acoustic upright basses, so have no real idea how serious a crack of this nature is, or the costs involved in repairing, or at least stabilising it. The company have offered me a £50 refund, which I have rejected. I'm awaiting a response from them, but in the meantime, I would value your opinions and comments as to my options. Ewan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdstrings Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 Hi Ewan, Depending on the value of the bass I think £50 might not be a bad offer! However here's some thoughts/things to bear in mind: I'm assuming that it's a solid top (not laminate). If it is laminate then it's probably just a visual defect in the top layer. If the crack is not 'live' i.e it is solid and there is no sign of movement if either side of it is pressed down then it has either been repaired/glued and should not present a problem. If it is live then it needs repairing so it doesn't spread, but given the position it's a pretty straight forward job and £50 should more than cover it. Basses are big unwieldy things and it's bound to get a knock sooner or later but if you really want to have the privilage of being the one responsible for the first one that's fair enough! ;-) I guess if you return it you may have to pay carriage costs which could be quite a bit. Good luck sorting it out.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tino Posted March 29, 2011 Share Posted March 29, 2011 [quote name='Clunker' post='1179984' date='Mar 28 2011, 08:38 PM']I got my first upright bass delivered this morning. It's a 3/4 size solid top job from a company selling on the internet (will remain nameless for now). There have been good reviews on here and elsewhere, so to be honest, I'm really disappointed that it's damaged. [url="http://img340.imageshack.us/i/basscrack.jpg/"][/url] The crack is about 2" long, and judging by the discolouration of the crack itself, must have been there before the instrument was stained. I know very little about acoustic upright basses, so have no real idea how serious a crack of this nature is, or the costs involved in repairing, or at least stabilising it. The company have offered me a £50 refund, which I have rejected. I'm awaiting a response from them, but in the meantime, I would value your opinions and comments as to my options. Ewan[/quote] The cracks not that bad...I would worry about the great big hole just above it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fonzoooroo Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 press next to it with reasonable pressure using your thumb. if the 2 sides of the crack move relative to each other, it needs gluing, and a couple of studs fitting inside. it'll cost a bit to get done (less than £50 though - the cost is the bench time while the glue goes off - the job's only a 10 minuter!) if this is the case, get a local quote, add that to the £50 (for the unsightly blemish on your new bass) and push the supplier for that. the repair mentioned will repair and stablilise - it'll be good for 100s of years! if there's no movement, there's nothing to worry about. take the 50 quid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunker Posted March 30, 2011 Author Share Posted March 30, 2011 Thanks for the advice guys. The crack does move when I press it, so would require a repair. Good news is, the supplier have agreed to exchange the bass for an un-damaged one, so I'd prefer to go down that route. It's hard to understand how the instrument got through the staining process, laquering and presumably some king of QC checks, without someone noticing this very obvious crack, and flagging it up before it was packaged up and despached to me. Oh well, I would expect that two loads of carriage costs will make them a little more vigilant about it's replacement. In the meantime I'll have to go back to slapping the "ugly stick" as my wife would call it. (My Stagg EUB that is !) "Why do you need a Lutheran?" is another one of hers. I think she's been watching too much Tudors on TV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted March 30, 2011 Share Posted March 30, 2011 [quote name='Clunker' post='1182007' date='Mar 30 2011, 11:30 AM']"Why do you need a Lutheran?" is another one of hers. I think she's been watching too much Tudors on TV [/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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