I talked to the sax player who bought my former bass, and he is looking to
sell it. He has never had the time for it, and he decided he would rather
buy a bass clarinet than have the bass sitting in the corner unplayed.
It is a ~1930 5 string, probably a Juzek or Wilfer Master Art roundback
gamba according to luthiers who have seen it. It is currently set up as a 4
string, but if someone wanted a 5, all they would need is a new bridge and
nut as he still has the original 5 string tailpiece. It is in A+ condition.
I mean this thing looks as if it has never had a major crack. It looks like
their was an old repair under the bottom block because the lining is funny
there, but it is solid and has given no trouble since I bought it in 1996 or
97. I have never had to repair an open seam or crack, in spite of the fact
that until 3 years ago I didn't know things like it needed to be humidified
in the winter, etc. There are some scratches on the side from scraping
against a piano bench on a crowded bandstand, but it is in good shape with
original varnish. It has a brand new great ebony fingerboard put on in
December 2002, and has a fairly new handmade Mike Pecanic Wenge tailpiece
and Velvet tailpiece cord, and about 2 year old Eudoxa silver wrapped gut
strings. It is loud and set up for jazz, although I've used it for
orchestral work as well. A purist may want a new bridge, for looks only. The
original bridge was re-cut because the new fingerboard was so much thicker,
he added wood beneath the adjusters and changed the curve. I notice no
difference in sound, and the only problem is the adjusters are now hard to
turn. I use a crescent wrench if I need to. It looks typical of the lighter
colored pre WWII Juzeks.
I played this bass in February, and it was still in good shape but really
needed to be played. After a week of playing the sound improved immensely,
back to what it was before I sold it last summer. I'm going to go over
Sunday and check it out and make sure it is still in good shape. It was
humidified, but I think the strings really need replaced. Earl said the G
string has a buzz, which I think is caused by the winding on the Eudoxa over
the bridge separating.
I could have my excellent luthier Rocky Werning convert it back
to a 5 string for $250-300 to anyone willing to pay for the work.
Let me know if you know anyone interested. The bass is in Oklahoma City. Earl also has a new decent
pernambuco German bow that he might include in the sale. He will listen to
all reasonable offers. He doesn't have e-mail, but I told him I'd help any
way I can.
Pics:
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Thanks,
Monte
