Joseph Cilecek

[Jason Sypher]

I found out that the back of my bass was replaced by Joseph Cilecek. It is an interesting back. The core wood of the back is a hardwood which is sandwiched between two very thin veneers. There are a number of basses out there with Cilecek backs, a beautiful Prescott Busetto has just come up for sale at David Gage with one of these backs. Does anyone have any information on Cilecek?

[Arnold Schnitzer]

He worked out of Hastings-On-Hudson, NY. He retired to Florida about 20 or so years ago. His shop was full of string instruments of all types, but bass players discovered him and he was overrun with bass repair work. Joe was regarded highly by his clientele. My friend Jay Van De Kopple (Mr. Linda McKnight) spent some time apprenticing with Joe.

[James Cilecek]

Hello Jason,
Joseph was my father and he lived to be 88 years old....just passed away last year. As a teen, I assisted him with some of his bass repair work and did most of the bow rehairing. As I recall, he used a birch plywood back material on some instruments which is likely what is on your instrument. His career in stringed instrument repairing started in 1956 while he was a school teacher at Hastings. In 1966 he started working full time in instrument repair after a young bass player from the New York Philharmonic came to him with a complex job. After that his reputation spread and he had such clients as Julius Levine, June Rotenburg, Gary Carr, Frank Ioga, and most of the bassists of the New York Philharmonic. I'd be happy to answer any further questions about his work as I assisted him and knew a good deal about his repair approaches and techniques. My grandfather too helped out. My Dad discouraged me from going into the music business and thus I went to medical school, became an ER doc and play classical piano and cello as an amateur. Best Wishes, James.

[Jay VandeKopple]

Hello Jason,
Joseph was my father and he lived to be 88 years old....just passed away last year. As a teen, I assisted him with some of his bass repair work and did most of the bow rehairing. As I recall, he used a birch plywood back material on some instruments which is likely what is on your instrument. His career in stringed instrument repairing started in 1956 while he was a school teacher at Hastings. In 1966 he started working full time in instrument repair after a young bass player from the New York Philharmonic came to him with a complex job. After that his reputation spread and he had such clients as Julius Levine, June Rotenburg, Gary Carr, Frank Ioga, and most of the bassists of the New York Philharmonic. I'd be happy to answer any further questions about his work as I assisted him and knew a good deal about his repair approaches and techniques. My grandfather too helped out. My Dad discouraged me from going into the music business and thus I went to medical school, became an ER doc and play classical piano and cello as an amateur. Best Wishes, James.


Thanks for posting this, James. My condolences to you and your family.

I tried calling Joe's number again about a year ago but didn't get an answer or reply this time, so suspected this.

I also spoke at the time with John Beal, George Rubino, and Bob Daugherty, but we weren't sure what had happened. Each of us had enjoyed working with and learning from Joe - and I know there were many others who gained so much from knowing him.

Again, my condolences.
Jay

[Sam Finlay]

Hello James,

I am an employee of David Gage String Instruments in New York and I've seen several examples of your father's work throughout the years.

Though I never met him, I was always impressed by his ability to approach repair with an open mind and a steady hand. His mark was left on many a fine instrument and they are all better for it.

Sam Finlay
David Gage String Instruments