Double Bass William Lewis and Sons

[motelicemachine]

i finally convinced my friend to sell me her bass. it was found in an abandoned elementary school that she was doing swat training in. the label inside says its a William Lewis and Sons no 230 3/4 serial number 00311

any information on the brand and how old it is would be awesome.

 

[behndy]

hurm. i have no idea. the internet just says that William Lewis and Sons makes violins.

..... but i think i love your Swat training friend.

grrLs that can kick your a$$ = SCARY hot.

 

[Jason Sypher]

I had one that was also from a school band. They're factory made playwoods, look better than they sound. Not bad for a starter bass. Worth about 1800.00 in great condition.

 

[motelicemachine]

i was looking for something i could do a custom paint job on and such, I already have a nice engel swingmaster. any idea where its made?

 

[behndy]

oh CRAP. i posted in the DB forum.

...... i REALLY have nothing constructive to add.

 

[wdnewman]

Lewis imported student grade string instruments into the United States from (as I best remember) Germany during the 1950's thru the 1970's.
The name is still in use today, but I think now they are mostly Chinese made. When I was in Elementary School lots of the string program students had William Lewis instruments.

 

[bejoyous]

After googling, Invalid Link Removed. Hopefully yours is in as good shape. With some good set up work it could be a nice gigging bass.

 

[bejoyous]

Here's the Williams and Sons [This invalid link has been removed]. I could not get the photo link to work maybe it'll work with your computer.

 

[motelicemachine]

ya i saw all those google pages. its hard to find decent info on it. i started stripping it today.
thanks

 

[wxfloyd]

I owned a Williams Lewis and Sons bass a few years back. It was made in Romania. It was a decent ply starter bass, but wasn't very loud and dynamic, which may have been a result of the thick glossy finish it had. I hear the german ones are of much better quality.

 

[foilracer]

...."The Lewis" 230 (about 1995 description)
"An expertly made German instrument crafted from finest laminated spruce and maple for totally crackproof construction. Cornice edges assure extra reinforcement to avoid costly repairs. Beautiful brown varnish finish shaded over a light brown base gives an appearance similar to handmade master quality instruments. Inlaid purfling, good quality ebony fingerboard, nut and tailpiece for maximum sturdiness. Hand-fitted German maple bridge, nylon tail loop and high quality steel strings. Available in 3/4 and 1/2 sizes."

 

[motelicemachine]

thanks alot guys. i really like it. i finally got it stripped down as the top layer of laquer was cracking.

 

[texbassist]

This is a really old thread(I just discovered it), but I've got 2 Lewis and Sons basses. I don't have much to add other than that I've been playing these basses for 20+ years and I'm still using them. Great sturdy road basses, they sound great with an underwood pickup. You have to pull a little hard to get the tone, but it's definitely there. I think these are underrated basses. I'd take a Lewis over most Kay basses any day.

 

[motelicemachine]

mine is going strong. 4 years later 5-6 shows a week. prefer it to my swing master in almost every way.

 

[dennimonroe]

I have a William Lewis & Sons carved bass that is similar to a Juzek. Most likely from the 50’s from Markneukirchen Germany. A very nice bass that plays and sounds very good. Mostly used for jazz with a Fishman wheel.