Double Bass juzek bass?

[accokeek88]

I'm about to get a delivery estimate from West Virginia to San Diego for this bass.
Any thoughts on this bass would be appreciated . I'm new to bass playing and I have only seen these photo's. I'm aware this will require repairs. The price and or value are TBD. A very close friend is sending it to me. Also, does the rib depth look on the large size to you?
Thanks
Charlie in San Diego

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Like a previous poster recently, this bass is a project and since you're new to bass playing,
I 'd be reluctant to get involved. Even if you're getting it free, the cost of repairs could exceed
the value of the bass. If it can be strung up, a good player and a luthier can assess the quality
of sound in its current state. If the sound warrants it, it may be worth investing in. You need a good luthier
in San Diego to advise you. Possible thousands in repair, but could be less if you get lucky...

If you want to save yourself from a lot of unknowns and expense and time, get yourself a healthy, beginners bass
for $1-2K and dig in.

 

[accokeek88]

Like a previous poster recently, this bass is a project and since you're new to bass playing,
I 'd be reluctant to get involved. Even if you're getting it free, the cost of repairs could exceed
the value of the bass. If it can be strung up, a good player and a luthier can assess the quality
of sound in its current state. If the sound warrants it, it may be worth investing in. You need a good luthier
in San Diego to advise you. Possible thousands in repair, but could be less if you get lucky...

If you want to save yourself from a lot of unknowns and expense and time, get yourself a healthy, beginners bass
for $1-2K and dig in.

Like a previous poster recently, this bass is a project and since you're new to bass playing,
I 'd be reluctant to get involved. Even if you're getting it free, the cost of repairs could exceed
the value of the bass. If it can be strung up, a good player and a luthier can assess the quality
of sound in its current state. If the sound warrants it, it may be worth investing in. You need a good luthier
in San Diego to advise you. Possible thousands in repair, but could be less if you get lucky...

If you want to save yourself from a lot of unknowns and expense and time, get yourself a healthy, beginners bass
for $1-2K and dig in.

Like a previous poster recently, this bass is a project and since you're new to bass playing,
I 'd be reluctant to get involved. Even if you're getting it free, the cost of repairs could exceed
the value of the bass. If it can be strung up, a good player and a luthier can assess the quality
of sound in its current state. If the sound warrants it, it may be worth investing in. You need a good luthier
in San Diego to advise you. Possible thousands in repair, but could be less if you get lucky...

If you want to save yourself from a lot of unknowns and expense and time, get yourself a healthy, beginners bass
for $1-2K and dig in.

 

[accokeek88]

Thank you for your advice. I have Lemur in San Clemente and a friend just down the road from me who works on basses so I'll be getting good advice . I just hope the ribs aren't too deep..
Thanks again

 

[Pablojmz]

The ribs being too deep is the last thing I'd worry about. It comes with a bridge, right?

 

[accokeek88]

Yes, it comes with a bridge. It is missing the nut though. My friend is a music is a music store owner
who told me he strung it up and it plays. He said a luthier will probably want to take the top off. I mentioned it probably would never leave my house and he said in that case it should hold up, but is leaving it entirely up to me as to the value and or determining what repairs are necessary.

 

[SAlcott]

Yes, it comes with a bridge. It is missing the nut though. My friend is a music is a music store owner
who told me he strung it up and it plays. He said a luthier will probably want to take the top off. I mentioned it probably would never leave my house and he said in that case it should hold up, but is leaving it entirely up to me as to the value and or determining what repairs are necessary.

A music store owner is not a luthier.

 

[accokeek88]

No, I know. He is like family to me and has been repairing instruments for 40 years. He is being very up front with me about what his expectations are. If this proves too costly, he'll probably say keep it for free.

 

[BobDeRosa]

@Eric Hochberg makes very good points, but here's the other side of that coin.

My Juzek (the one in my avatar) was in much worse shape when I bought it more than 20 years ago for $800. Neck was broken, fingerboard was off, body cracks were numerous. I spent $1500 to have it put into playing condition and used it for many years. It was then appraised at around $7500.

Then, seven years ago, I passed out (dehydration, not alcohol, believe it or not) -- on a gig, right in the middle of a song! -- and fell on it. The bridge went through the body and the neck and fingerboard cracked. I thought it was a goner. But my genius luthier not only put it back together, bracing the busted cracks with 31 1" cleats, but also graduated the top to make it sound better than ever. That repair was covered by insurance, but it lost about half its value.

I've been playing it and loving it every day since. The great bassist Marco Panascia likes it so much he wants to buy it, but I'm not ready to sell.

Eric mentioned sometimes getting lucky. I guess I did.

 

[lurk]

I'd be leery. For an experienced player or luthier this might be a rewarding project. For a new player, it might be a money pit

 

[BASSDROID]

Agree with the above.

It could be a very deep hole you are about to descend into, and unless you are certain you are going to commit this particular instrument, you may want to reconsider a newer instrument that is 100% ready to play.

I too went down that road with a bass similar to this one. I found my unlabled flatback in the mid 1990s in Prauge. It had been held together for the last few decades with epoxy and popsicle sticks....literally. One of the features was an enormous sound post crack. But the price was right, the sound was there, and I was already a committed double bassist.

That bass got me through university and it is still with me today. Now that it has been restored it is an absolute cannon and I will probably hang on to it until I can't play any more. Since I've owned it, I definitely have put more money into it than it's current value. And it's not a particularly remarkable instrument...there are many like it out there.

I would say I got lucky, but I guess it depends on your perspective.

As to your question, they look like normally proportioned ribs for a bass of this type.

 

[DrayMiles]

And is this actually a Juzek? Or another German made bass…

 

[Acoop]

The pictures make me thing it'll be worth the work.
Good luck.

 

[statsc]

The naysayers all make valid points, from it being a potential money pit to the idea that as a new upright bassist you should buy a decent student instrument so you can focus on learning how to play it. On the other hand, I think you’re in kind of a unique situation here. A family friend who you trust says it’s playable as is, it gets shipped to you for free, you can take it to a luthier who can determine what it needs and how much it will cost, and you get to determine the price yourself after all this. Going into this with eyes wide open, I don’t see how you lose. At worst, you have a unique living room ornament/planter; at best, you might have a really nice sounding instrument.

Full disclosure: I’m the completely satisfied owner of one of these “rescue basses” that looks like hell but plays and sounds like a dream, and has been my everyday bass for 40 years!

 

[lurk]

You gotta realize that you will be hiring a highly skilled professional to spend hours and hours on that bass. What does the mechanic in your auto shop charge per hour? Or your dentist? There's a lot more of them than there are skilled bass luthiers. Also, they're gonna have other stuff to do; they need to pay the bills with other shorter term work. You are not going to be able to dig into playing that bass for awhile. Check out String Emporium's website. Their hybrid is a great value and will come nicely set up and ready to go.

 

[Jknudtson]

You also have Dave Millard in San Diego. He has done good work for me at a reasonable cost. PM me for contact info.

 

[Ed S]

Yes, it comes with a bridge. It is missing the nut though. My friend is a music is a music store owner who told me he strung it up and it plays. ...

Just strikes me as a tad odd - if the friend strung it up and it plays (w/o a nut), why do the pics show it w/ only 3 strings not connected to the pegs?

Hope it works out for you. A decent luthier should be able to give you an idea of its value as is.

 

[james condino]

 

[accokeek88]

Wow, love the popcorn. This really is turning into a saga, isn't it.
I have decided to have the bass checked out in Maryland first. If there are repairs
that are urgent, then they'll be done there before shipping.
Dave Millard has done two basses for me that I passed on to players in groups I was in.
He is tops, no question. The bass was strung up with the nut on. It came off and is still
with the bass. As to Juzek or not, I would love answer to that. Lang, Wilfer..? Any thoughts on that would be very helpful. It's not really important for me to know; it's just the mystery of it. Again, thank you everybody!

 

[james condino]

Juzek was never a bass manufacturer.

They were (and still are) a US based importer label from Met Music who used the Wilfer shop and others for their builds.

If you call Met Music at the right time, you can still occasionally get grandpa Juzek to answer the phone!

Today "Juzek" is generically used for many mid 20th century instruments that come from the same area and a half dozen workshops. Often one single shop was incapable of filling the entire year's demand. It would be split up among several shops, all with similar build criteria.