Elena's bass "Porky" is going to get back into circulation. I am going to bring it back to life and put it in the hands of a young player to get it moving again. This should be tons of fun. Right now it needs:
- New endpin
- 2 seams repaired
- Bridge adjusters
- New strings
- Fingerboard dressing
The English translation of the label (not as easy to figure out as you might imagine) reads: "Built under the guidance of the master Eberhard Meinel in the masterpiece sites 'Musima' musical instrument making Gmbh Markneukirchen." Gmbh is the German eqivalent of "Ltd." or "Inc." The label also reads--in English--Made in Germany. These words alone tell us that the bass was made after the fall of the Berlin Wall in a unified Germany for export to the US market. Markneukirchen is a former East German city about 3 miles from the Czech border. Markneukirchen is also the birthplace of C.F. Martin, who came to the US and started the Martin Guitar Company.
As near as I can tell, Musima was a Soviet-era musical instrument factory in East Germany. "Eberhard Meinel" is not a real maker, but a label name put on a "factory" or "shop" instrument. After German unification in 1989/1990, this factory was still active and making basses. I believe they kept going until about 2004. So I am confident in saying that this is a German factory bass from the early 90s; it has gamba corners, a wide grain spruce top and very lightly flamed maple back and sides; simple thin purfling around the edges; and a round back. Scale length is 41.5"; single plate tyrolean bass tuning machines.
Here are some screen shots of a very similar model on sale at the Cincinnati Bass Cellar. Very cool.
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