Early 20th century Hawkes Bass for Sale

MLW · #1 05-24-2009, 11:37 AM

Hi Guys!

I'm selling a Riviere Hawkes bass made in Paris, France around the turn of the century. I bought the instrument a few years ago from Barrie Kolstein and am looking to sell in order to help finance another purchase. The bass has been used on a few hundred gigs and since purchasing it I've received tons of compliments about it's sound. Currently it's strung with Evah Pirazzis, which for this bass, has yielded a huge warm pizz sound with plenty of front end attack and growl. While I'm not a professional orchestral player, I'm confident the instrument would make some fantastic noise in that setting.

I have two appraisals one from Barrie, who restored the instrument and one from Mike Shank, who has done all of the maintenance.

The pictures here are from two days ago, feel free to PM me for more photos. I've also snagged the professional photos Barrie took of the instrument, if anyone is interested.

Price: $33,000

Any questions? Ask away!

Here are some shots of the scroll. Let me know if there is anything else you'd like to see. Thanks!

jbassbear · #2 05-24-2009, 12:13 PM

Hey, just checking to see if you have the dimensions of the bass?

String length?

Where are you located?

J.

MLW · #3 05-24-2009, 12:53 PM

Here's Barrie Kolstein's dimensions of the instrument:

Body Length: 44 1/2"
Width at Upper Bout: 22 1/2"
Width at Center: 16"
Width at Lower Bout: 26 1/2"

I just measured the string length at 42"

I'm located in Manchester, New Hampshire, which is 45 minutes north of Boston. I would be willing to drive the bass in order to show it.

Hope that helps!

Paul Warburton · #4 06-01-2009, 06:28 AM

Please...rib depth @ neck join, C bout and end-pin. (outside measurements).
Thanky.

MLW · #5 06-01-2009, 12:28 PM

Here are my measurements-

Neck Joint: 6 3/4"
C Bout: 9"
@ end pin: 9"

If there's anything I can help with feel free to lemme know. Thanks!

MLW · #6 06-12-2009, 11:19 AM

I've added a photostream on Flickr with more photos. You can check it out here. Thank you for all of the input thus far, let me know if you have any more questions!

Jason Sypher · #7 06-14-2009, 09:40 AM

Nice bass, is there a label in it?

MLW · #8 06-14-2009, 10:28 AM

Unless it's in an inconvenient place, the bass is unlabeled.

Jason Sypher · #9 06-15-2009, 11:46 AM

Obviously a Hawkes but different than any other Riviere I've seen which have that whole French thing going on around the "button" area....

Beautiful!

MLW · #10 06-24-2009, 02:49 PM

Thanks for the kind words.

It is an interesting instrument, and has been a reliable workhorse for me. At the time I bought the bass, I was living in PA and travelling to Barrie's place on Long Island was a great experience. While I probably played about thirty basses that day, including a few mentioned by other forum members, I kept going back to the Hawkes. In that price range, it worked the best for me.

Let me know if there's anything else I can answer for you!

Mark Carlsen · #11 06-24-2009, 04:50 PM

Sam,
MLW is not Marshall Wood.... MSW is....I'm sure Marshall will enjoy the support though.

MLW · #12 06-24-2009, 04:57 PM

He ain't the only one!

MLW · #13 07-07-2009, 06:56 PM

This Thursday through Saturday I'll be in NYC and surrounding area, and would be interested in showing the bass if anyone in the area is interested in taking it for a thump. Drop me a line!

Salty · #14 07-10-2009, 08:53 PM

Cats,

Wanted to report that I had a chance to play this bass today.

Anyone interested should think seriously about checking it out.

It is in astoundingly healthy shape, from what I can tell (and Mike, the guy selling, just got a clean bill of health from Gage literally right before I played it)

I'm trying to decide if buying it would be wise for me at this time, but I wanted to extend to Mike and to the forum the gesture of vouching for the bass.

Really worth the effort if you're in the market for a Hawkes

MLW · #15 07-26-2009, 11:18 AM

The folks at David Gage were very accommodating and funny as hell. I got a tour of the shop and played some nice instruments, notably their Czech-Ease and their shop Prescott reproduction, as well as a monster of an old Italian bass running for $110,000.

Thanks to Matt for the kind words and hospitality. Sick player and super friendly. After years of feeling gut wasn't the road for me, I'm totally turned on to Chordas, which his Hawkes is strung with. (that didn't take much)

The bass is still for sale. If anyone has any questions feel free to drop me a line. Thanks!

MLW · #16 08-25-2009, 12:03 PM

Bumpity bump.

MLW · #17 10-04-2009, 12:10 PM

Another bump. This guy is still for sale. Any questions drop me a line!

MLW · #18 11-23-2009, 02:28 PM

Hi everyone just wanted to give this post another bump and let everyone know that I'm relocating to Pennsylvania for a gig so if there is anyone in the Philadelphia area (NYC, Baltimore etc...) interested in giving this bass a whirl, let me know. Thanks!

MLW · #19 01-04-2010, 07:56 AM

The bass is still for sale and officially in Pennsylvania. Let me know anyone would like to take it for a spin or if I could answer any questions! Thanks!

MLW · #20 01-15-2010, 08:03 AM

Another bump!