Info on Ottomar Hausman basses?

[PJFbass]

Im looking into purchasing an Ottomar Hausman bass that was built in 1958. The label says Mittenwald Germany. Can anybody give me some more info on this maker?

[PJFbass]

any help would be appreciated

[Jake deVilliers]

You might want to contact Upton Bass - when I Google the name the first result is for a '58 Hausmann under repair...

[Eric Rene Roy]

We took one in on trade and fixed it up for sale a few years ago. Pics here.

It didn't seem "factory"...but my gut tells me there was a certain amount of "workshop"-ness to it...similar I guess to what we do with our entry level basses. I researched a ton on it and best I could find was a former student of his who said he was indeed a real person and given the date of our label he was working for his father at the time. This student never followed up with my eMails though...so the trail went dead after the first contact. I would love to know more about the maker/workshop too.

The varnish when new was prob very red...most likely Dragons Blood pigment because it completely faded away everywhere but under the bridge feet and plate tuners.

[Eric Rene Roy]

wow...taking a quick trip down memory lane looking at pictures that i haven't looked at in a very long time...the photo is tagged as uploaded (Friday, May 19, 2006 12:33:56 PM). You can see the first paper template of the LaFaro/Prescott ff hole we use on our basses hanging on the wall!

[PJFbass]

wow! thanks for the information. The violin shop that is selling it is asking for $6500. Does that seem like a fair price? It was built in 1958 and is a round back. I played it for about an hour. It played well, but i would try it out for a week.

[Chuck_G]

I have a 1956 Hausmann, and it's been my main instrument for almost 20 years. I first bought it from a teacher at Berklee, and was told that it was a factory instrument. My luthier, Mark Carlsen, seems to think it Czech, maybe a Juzek with a different label. I had mine appraised by Barrie Kolstein about.... 7-8 years ago, and IIRC - I don't have the paper in front of me - he appraised it at $7500 at that time.

It's been a great bass for me. It's always sounded good, and has gotten better and better with age. It's got a good, focused bottom end and it really projects - great sound for jazz. Bows well also. Also, it's handled the New England season changes reasonably well.

When I got mine, it had a metal tailpiece. I think it's called a Dutch tailpiece(?) Does the one you're looking at have that?

[mesmithnm]

I have a bass labled Ottomar Hausman and the consensus by those that have seen it is that it is a better quality German shop bass. Mine is 1956 (I think, don't have it in front of me - S/N A490) and is a good instrument. It's not all that loud, but the response is very even and the tone is kind of dark even with Spiro Mittels. As such, it amplifies very well and makes a very good bass for jazz pizz playing. The arco tone is sweet as well, but once again, it's not all that loud. All in all, it's a good bass. Mine was set up and appraised by Robertson's in Albuquerque about 10 years ago ($7500) and has been very stable except for a slight mismatch in the top/lower bout on the bass side. This seam could fit better so it tends to open up every five years or so and requires regluing. I would think a bass like this might fetch $5-6k in today's market.

Mark