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Tim Cloonan of CallowHill Basses Passed
- Thread starter Means2nEnd
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- callowhill
My heart is sadden, one of the nicest Luther I have had the pleasure of meeting and dealing with. I will miss the talks we had. The bass & guitar world has lost a gem. I pray for his family, his wife. I am grieved and in shock. RIP
I knew Tim, but not as well as some of you here. However, having had the chance to meet him, visit his shop when he was still in Philadelphia, and own one of the basses that Tim built, I found him to be not only a tremendously talented luthier, but also a great guy with fabulous wit, blunt honesty and to be just so very likeable in every way. I am saddened by his passing, and my condolences go out to his family and friends!
Just saw this on FB:
"I am still in shock from a call I received late yesterday afternoon informing me that my friend and colleague, Tim Cloonan of Callowhill Basses, passed away in an accidental choking incident on Monday night. I met Tim about 20 years ago when he worked at Hoshino (Ibanez) in Philly and he purchased a T-style guitar from me. We remained friends and I did my best to mentor Tim once he set up his own shop and began Callowhill Basses. I just spoke with him last Friday....
Condolences to his bride, Dena Taroli, and the rest of his family and friends. I will miss him very much..............."
Roger Sadowsky
"I am still in shock from a call I received late yesterday afternoon informing me that my friend and colleague, Tim Cloonan of Callowhill Basses, passed away in an accidental choking incident on Monday night. I met Tim about 20 years ago when he worked at Hoshino (Ibanez) in Philly and he purchased a T-style guitar from me. We remained friends and I did my best to mentor Tim once he set up his own shop and began Callowhill Basses. I just spoke with him last Friday....
Condolences to his bride, Dena Taroli, and the rest of his family and friends. I will miss him very much..............."
Roger Sadowsky
I've been processing this for about 24 hours now. So saddened to hear. We lived together for almost 8 years and went to college together. He even played guitar for my senior recital. He will always be remembered by me. We played a lot of great music together, and saw a lot if great music live, but just as much I'll remember him for his quick sarcastic wit, his generousity, especially with genuine compliments, and for our treks out to Victory Brewing Co for all the seasonal releases. I used to do a lot of railroad photography and Tim would tag along, and recently he told me how much he cherished that time. He'd probably chew us all out for getting sappy. There will never be another Tim.
I didn't know Tim, but I enjoyed looking at the pictures of his basses. 41 years old is way too young in my opinion, and I'm adding his family and loved ones in my prayers.
My sincerest condolences to everyone that knew Tim as a friend. This is such sad news.
My sincerest condolences to everyone that knew Tim as a friend. This is such sad news.
Man, 41. That is so terribly young.
Amazing looking instruments, never had the chance to play one but certainly hope to one day.
RIP Tim.
Amazing looking instruments, never had the chance to play one but certainly hope to one day.
RIP Tim.
I just read that too, and now it's even more sad. I didn't know Tim, but I thought his basses were super cool and always lusted after the Owen Biddle model. His presence will be sorely missed.
Great sense of style and detail. I would love to own one of his basses.
Here is a nice article, the guy was well respected and loved.
In Memoriam: Tim Cloonan
Here is a nice article, the guy was well respected and loved.
In Memoriam: Tim Cloonan
Commreman
Faith, Family, Fitness, and Frets
Damn, this is so sad. I dealt very closely with Tim back in 2007/2008 when he and Nino were teamed up building basses. He went out of his way to make the bass that they built for me right. Tim was a craftsman, and a very quirky, funny, and direct guy who knew exactly what he was doing. His basses were pretty spectacular. While at his shop in Philly one day, he introduced me to Matt Pulcinella, who was/is also an excellent builder designer. Tim and I stayed in touch loosely throughout the years. RIP to a very good guy.
This is really awful news. I grabbed one of Tim's Junk 5s off the classifieds here 4 years ago and it is the greatest bass I've ever owned. I've thoroughly enjoyed getting to know him a bit over the last few years and my thoughts are with his family and close friends now. He'll be dearly missed by a lot of folks.
I just read his overview of his "Link Removed" model on his website... Felt like I could've been sitting in his living room, with him sharing the details in person. Now, I never knew much about the guy but was always intrigued by his work, so I suppose I am risking sounding a bit cheap for jumping on his bandwagon now after this tragic incident. Nevertheless this is a terrible loss to the bass community. My condolences to all that knew this individual and feel this loss at a personal level.
I think this might be the only photo I have digital, probably have more in boxes in storage. On a visit to NYC in 2011 and he came up for some Italian food and hang time.
I met Tim in 1995, he had just transferred to the jazz department at Temple, from the visual arts department at Tyler. You should have seen his art school portfolio. I mean, the guy was super human talented. He used to draw caricatures of me and my friends as we sat in the living room drinking beer. Super exaggerated and extremely offensive caricatures. Every personal flaw was fair game. And it was hilarious. Tim was a ball-buster but it was all in the most positive, loving spirit. He was an outstanding guitar player, and played on a lot of sessions and tours with the biggest-name cats. And he was super humble about it. And he was like a quadruple blackbelt martial artist. It's like, we had too much Tim too fast.
I met Tim in 1995, he had just transferred to the jazz department at Temple, from the visual arts department at Tyler. You should have seen his art school portfolio. I mean, the guy was super human talented. He used to draw caricatures of me and my friends as we sat in the living room drinking beer. Super exaggerated and extremely offensive caricatures. Every personal flaw was fair game. And it was hilarious. Tim was a ball-buster but it was all in the most positive, loving spirit. He was an outstanding guitar player, and played on a lot of sessions and tours with the biggest-name cats. And he was super humble about it. And he was like a quadruple blackbelt martial artist. It's like, we had too much Tim too fast.
I met Tim in 2003 when I first signed on with Ibanez as an endorser. He came to my first clinic and we hit it off immediately. Prior to that, we only talked on the phone, as I worked at Victor's House Of Music at that time. I eventually worked for a string company and helped supply Tim's basses. Heard of his passing last night and was totally bummed out. He was a really cool guy, very funny, always had great chats either on the phone or through e-mails/Facebook messages. Such a shame...way too young. RIP sir!
I'm shocked. I never got to meet Tim, but as a fellow bass builder, we exchanged messages quite a bit. He actually reached out to me after finding out we both built basses for the same artist. He was totally willing to help me out in anyway he could, whether it be giving advice, or putting me in contact with others in the industry.
I was looking forward to meeting him someday. So sad...
I was looking forward to meeting him someday. So sad...
Tim was one of my oldest friends. We met in 1986 when my family moved to West Chester, PA. We lost touch over the years, but his influence in my life was enormous. As you all know, his talent was immense, and matched only by his generosity. The same goes for his family, who took me in for a year after my folks moved away. We spent hours as kids listening to Prince, Van Halen, Vernon Reid, and Hendrix. I had the great luck to watch him develop as a player first hand -- from mastering his favorite songs and leads to transforming himself into a totally original player. It kills me that I'll never see him again, but hearing about the lives he touched in Philly and the bass community is extraordinary. A bad [expletive], to be sure.
