50's/60's Czech Plywood basses Q

[TvOZ]

My bass mentor suggests I get a 50's/60's Czech plywood bass for my rockabilly bass. He reckons during that time they made some heavy plywood (maybe a 5ply or 7ply) basses but is vague on makers names. He says they have a huge sound and are very sturdy.
Any info or pointers in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. I like to do my homework first.

[eh_train]

Hi TvOz

My very first upright (which I never got very far with, playing-wise) was a blonde czech plywood. This bass might have worked as a rockabilly bass, but it wasn't great for other uses.... It WAS made of very thick ply (which, IMO, didn't help produce a big sound), and was overall very "tubby". It had a thick neck, which made for hard going with the left hand. Shaving down the neck might have helped, if I'd been savvy enough to have it done.

The good part, from your perspective, is that this type of bass isn't usually highly valued - you might find one that's fairly inexpensive. Also, a bass like this can take plenty of knocks because of the thick plys. As far as sound goes, the pickup will likely take care of that (especially if it's a loud band)....

Cheers,

Paul (eh_train)

[bassman blue]

I believe the "Wenzel Kohler" Czech basses may be what you're looking for. You seem to be able to find them floating around from time to time. Well built and a good sound. I've seen them come through the store in good shape for about $1500.