Double Bass George Van Eps adjusters

[JTL]

If anyone has any information on finding a set of George Van Eps bass bridge adjusters I’d appreciate the lead.

 

[Don Hergert]

There's some discussion about this in this January / February 2024 thread:

(It's worth noting, patent #US2455452 is for the complete bridge including the adjusters and has lapsed, so these adjusters may only be available on antique parts... It might be more efficient to have them fabricated at a machine shop.)

Double Bass Post in thread 'Research Continues'

Feb 15, 2024

No external linings on the Kalamazoo stuff. At least not on the Studio model in my shop right now.

Interesting, there must have been variations. The one I recently had was a B4S model, made late in their production (possibly as late as 1965, when they were winding down). You can just see the outer linings in the C bout at the top of this photo:

• eh_train

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[Mark_T]

Apparently George was the son of Fred Van Eps who was famous for his banjo playing. Cool.

 

[Don Hergert]

Apparently George was the son of Fred Van Eps who was famous for his banjo playing. Cool.

FWIW, Fred V.E. was one of the key, and longest lasting, Classic Banjo players. The Classic Banjo period started just after the Civil War and lasted well into the late 1930s and early 1940s in some locations... The genre typically favored parlor music, marches, rag-time. Fred kept playing well into 1950s, I have a recording of him and his music on a radio interview that he did from the late 1950s. Classic banjos -- 5 string banjos -- are unique in that they have gut or nylon strings and very often skin heads, often without resonators, and typically are played in a 3-finger style without finger picks; their tone is often more nuanced and subtle than more common bluegrass banjos, but they can be just as loud. One of my main playing banjos is a typical classic banjo, a ca 1889 S.S. Stewart, and it's a lot of fun to play.

Fred had 4 sons who were musicians primarily in the 1920s and 1930s, George was mostly known for his guitar work but also has a number of musical instrument related patents.

 

[Mark_T]

FWIW, Fred V.E. was one of the key, and longest lasting, Classic Banjo players. The Classic Banjo period started just after the Civil War and lasted well into the late 1930s and early 1940s in some locations... The genre typically favored parlor music, marches, rag-time. Fred kept playing well into 1950s, I have a recording of him and his music on a radio interview that he did from the late 1950s. Classic banjos -- 5 string banjos -- are unique in that they have gut or nylon strings and very often skin heads, often without resonators, and typically are played in a 3-finger style without finger picks; their tone is often more nuanced and subtle than more common bluegrass banjos, but they can be just as loud. One of my main playing banjos is a typical classic banjo, a ca 1889 S.S. Stewart, and it's a lot of fun to play.

Fred had 4 sons who were musicians primarily in the 1920s and 1930s, George was mostly known for his guitar work but also has a number of musical instrument related patents.

I have gotten (fallen?) off the horse a bit to focus on my classical bass playing, but I had been a reasonable clawhammer banjo player for a while. I still have a pair of nice banjos set up for it (both with hide heads), one from Bill Rickard and a fretless from Brooks Masten. Someday I'll have time to practice them again, I hope.

 

[BobKay]

Derail alert: the new release from Steve Martin and Alison Brown is just great. His claw hammer and her Scruggs/Reno styles really work well together.

 

[james condino]

Red-O-Rays!!!!!!

Forget the adjusters; where can I get some of those????

Call around to some of the busy larger vintage bass shops like the Bass Violin Shop, et cetera. I'd guess almost all of them will have Van Epps bridges and adjusters stuffed in a drawer of ancient history. There is a reason you don't see them still in production. (Many folks will tell me the same thing about the R-O-Rs!)

 

[JTL]

Red-O-Rays!!!!!!

Forget the adjusters; where can I get some of those????

Call around to some of the busy larger vintage bass shops like the Bass Violin Shop, et cetera. I'd guess almost all of them will have Van Epps bridges and adjusters stuffed in a drawer of ancient history. There is a reason you don't see them still in production. (Many folks will tell me the same thing about the R-O-Rs!)

Sound advice!

 

[Earl]

Red-O-Rays!!!!!!

Forget the adjusters; where can I get some of those????

Call around to some of the busy larger vintage bass shops like the Bass Violin Shop, et cetera. I'd guess almost all of them will have Van Epps bridges and adjusters stuffed in a drawer of ancient history. There is a reason you don't see them still in production. (Many folks will tell me the same thing about the R-O-Rs!)

The only strings he needs apparently!