David Gage’s Upright Citizens
Repairing A Neck Ding On Dave Holland's Bass
Fig. 1
Dave Holland’s e-size German upright bass, which was once owned by noted jazz bassist Leroy Vinnegar, acquired a mysterious indentation in the back of the neck while on the road. Dave’s bass is a wonderful old instrument, and I wanted to repair the dent while removing a minimum amount of wood. It was also important that the neck maintain the same shape and color. The neck is sycamore, which is softer than maple and responds well to the following treatment. All of this work can be done without removing the strings.
As on most quality uprights, this bass’s neck had an oil finish. I first removed the surface oils by rubbing the entire neck back with denatured alcohol and a clean cotton cloth. Then, I exposed the grain by lightly sanding the area with 220-grit wet/dry sandpaper.
Fig. 2
Using a clean sponge, I applied very hot water to the indented area, hoping that the water would soak into the wood and raise the indented section closer to the neck surface. After letting the water sit for a few minutes, I dried the area with a medium-to-hot heat gun (a hair dryer works, too).
Fig. 3
The wood grain swelled in the indented area, and the newly dry area was now rougher. I smoothed out the rough patch by lightly sanding with 120-grit sandpaper backed by a wood sanding block. The dent wasn’t gone yet, so I repeated the process twice with progressive success.
Figures 4a & 4b
Now that the indentation was gone, I needed to even the grain along the neck’s length. I repeated the soaking, drying, and sanding process from neck butt to headstock butt. I made sure to keep the heat gun moving over the entire area.
Fig. 5
I lightly sanded the entire neck with 220-grit sandpaper backed by an old-style felt chalkboard eraser. I like using an eraser because it supports the sandpaper while conforming to the neck’s contours. I repeated the process until the grain didn’t raise much after drying (about eight times). At this point, the neck was clean, even, and smooth, but I lightly sanded the neck with 400-grit sandpaper and no sanding block to be sure that the entire neck was consistently smooth.
Fig. 6
Normally, I need to add color to the raw wood so that it blends better with the bass’s older finish. Since the wood on Dave’s bass is old and has a nice patina, I matched the neck color to the body finish with a pigment—in this case, burnt umber.
I prepared the neck by applying mineral oil with a clean cloth. Then, I sprinkled a half-dollar-size amount of pigment on the same cloth, added more mineral oil, and rubbed the mixture thoroughly over the prepared area. I removed the excess oil and pigment using a clean cotton cloth. Don’t be alarmed if the pigment appears too dark at first; it doesn’t get absorbed into the wood and is mostly removed with the cleaning cloth.
Next, I rubbed boiled linseed oil on the neck back with 0000-grade (very fine) steel wool and wiped away the excess oil with another clean cloth. I then burnished with 600-grit wet/dry sandpaper, before finally polishing with 1200-grit, then 2400-grit micro-mesh.
Fig. 7
Now, the neck should look old, like the rest of the bass. What do you think, Dave?
David Gage owns David Gage String Instruments, an upright bass shop in New York City. In addition to repairs and sales, he has also developed instruments and electronics, and serves on the board of the International Society of Bassists. He wrote two upright bass repair columns, The Soundpost and Upright Maintenance & Repair, in Bass Player for four years.
