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Double Bass 1970's Juzek bass

Halvorsen

Halvorsen

Mar 7, 2008
106
6
Vermont
#1
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I'm currently renting a Eastman VB80. It's come to the point where financially it makes more sense for me to buy my own. The shop I rent from wants $2800 for the bass, Glasser french bow, and bag. I'd get a few hundred off the price due to their rent to own credit program, but my general feeling is this is way over priced for a bass that I see people here suggest should go for around $1500.

I came across a "1970's Juzek bass" that is selling for $650. It sounds too good to be true. It looks like it has had some work done to repair the neck. Does anyone have an opinion if this might be worth a look?

Thanks!
 
#2
Halvorsen said:
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I'm currently renting a Eastman VB80. It's come to the point where financially it makes more sense for me to buy my own. The shop I rent from wants $2800 for the bass, Glasser french bow, and bag. I'd get a few hundred off the price due to their rent to own credit program, but my general feeling is this is way over priced for a bass that I see people here suggest should go for around $1500.

I came across a "1970's Juzek bass" that is selling for $650. It sounds too good to be true. It looks like it has had some work done to repair the neck. Does anyone have an opinion if this might be worth a look?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
That looks like a Strunal from here. Strunal tuners, for sure. Some bigger, sharper, more direct pix would be educational.
 
#3
Close but not quite. Those machines are the same weird ones used on '70s Scherl and Roth ply basses. I'm not sure quite what they are.

And those neck and pegbox repairs are ridiculously bad. That bass has been looking for a home for many, many months.
 
#4
KUNGfuSHERIFF said:
Close but not quite. Those machines are the same weird ones used on '70s Scherl and Roth ply basses. I'm not sure quite what they are.
Click to expand...

Those are definitely Strunal tuners, very weighty and kinda fugly, but they usually do the job adequately. For a frame of reference, think Rubner is to Strunal what BMW is to Skoda.
 
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#13
Not wanting to flog an expired horse, but here's a pic of a Strunal tuner taken from almost the same angle as the OPs post. They're a very distinct style...

Halvorsen, to answer your original questions, there's little chance that this is a "1970s Juzek", and a poorly repaired Strunal/Lidl/Dvorak bass for $650 is no bargain.

Cheers,

Paul (eh_train)
 

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#14
Ok, thanks for the help everyone. Looks like the search continues.

Maybe I can save a bit more and contact Upton about a Standard. They look really nice and I could take a road trip to pick one up. It would still cost less than the shop wants for this VB80. Although the wait might just kill me.
 
#15
eh_train said:
Not wanting to flog an expired horse, but here's a pic of a Strunal tuner taken from almost the same angle as the OPs post. They're a very distinct style...

Halvorsen, to answer your original questions, there's little chance that this is a "1970s Juzek", and a poorly repaired Strunal/Lidl/Dvorak bass for $650 is no bargain.

Cheers,

Paul (eh_train)
Click to expand...


How about a Strunal 50/1 in 8.5 out of 10 condition with bag and stand thrown in, 90 minutes away, for $395? Bargain?
 
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#17
GretschWretch said:
How about a Strunal 50/1 in 8.5 out of 10 condition with bag and stand thrown in, 90 minutes away, for $395? Bargain?
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That's more like it! But do you mean 90 minutes from somewhere in Vermont, or East Central Alabama? If the former, I hope you've pointed Halvorsen in the right direction.

They're definitely in the beginner ballpark but at that price you'd have a hard time losing money when trading up.
 
#18
eh_train said:
That's more like it! But do you mean 90 minutes from somewhere in Vermont, or East Central Alabama? If the former, I hope you've pointed Halvorsen in the right direction.

They're definitely in the beginner ballpark but at that price you'd have a hard time losing money when trading up.
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Actually, Paul, the bass was eBayed out of a pawn shop in Decatur, GA, about ninety miles east of me right in the bowels of Atlanta. I was not the high bidder but the other bidder withdrew the day before the auction closed, and I won. I did not know about the bow, bag, and stand until I got to the shop; they were not mentioned in the auction. I think the bass belonged to a student who gave up the instrument. The only flaw (the bass has several nicks and dings now it did not have then) was a chip missing from the edge of the back, professionally repaired and refinished. This bass is quite sturdy: robust, heavy, and loud!

Sometimes I think the Almighty likes to play games with my eBay auctions. I'm not complaining. I got my Lidl 5/35 out of Cleveland, TN (2.5 hours one way) for $535. I got an Epiphone Embassy Deluxe electric bass plus shipping for less than I paid for the Strunal. Once again, the only other bidder withdrew.

Then there is the Malt Shop Mystery Bass, which I think may be one of these (top two photos):

Acoustic Bass Guitars with Serious Mojo | TalkBass.com

an hour drive west (to Birmingham), with the lagniappes of two sets of guitar strings, a new-in-box leather guitar strap, and a painter's dropcloth bedspread in which to carry home all the swag.
Turns out the seller was having a yard sale, and after wading through the roller blades and outdated computers I asked, "How much for this?" "Twenty bucks." "Done."

"This" is a 1930s Atwater-Kent radio receiver in excellent condition, the type with the speaker on its own stand. The MSMB cost only thirty dollars more.

Like I said, I'm not complaining.
 

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