Any info on Stowasser

[Tanglehead]

Hey Guys -

I've been looking for an instrument to upgrade to, and just played a Stowasser (19th c., I believe) that sits heads and shoulders above the German shop basses within my price range ( up to $8K) I've played so far. Before I pull the trigger on this, I wanted to know more about the maker, and hopefully the bass.

All I know for sure is that Stowasser was a Hungarian maker. I can't be sure, but I found reference to a Janos Stowasser, who died in 1900 - if that is the same maker as this bass, that would certainly verify that this is a 19th c. instrument. The only TalkBass reference I found was someone selling one last year for $13,000 when they paid $15K for it... and this is the same Stowasser that was in (All Hail) Bob G's classifieds last September.

The only thing that I'k having a hard time with on this bass (beyond never having heard this name) is that the top is settling in a strange way. It seems like the table between F-holes is somewhat tweaked and off-kilter. The seller, who I've known for something like 30 years and I trust nearly implicitly, said that his luthier looked at it and said it was solid and he's had it for 7 years now, playing and recording with no problems.

I'm pretty close to making an offer on this instrument, because it did have the sound I'm looking for - just hoping for a little more information on Stowasser....

Thanks in advance,

Tanglehead