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Old 07-19-2013, 01:33 AM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Join Date: 01-18-2007
Location: Perkasie, PA
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Lightbulb 4/4 Juzek, 1933

I just got in a 1933 Gamba 4/4 Juzek made in Czechoslovakia, as labeled.

Before I go on about this particular bass I have to tell a short story and also why the title of this thread is now changed to (Lang or Wilfer), with the name Lang added.

Going back in time to about 1980 in Frankfurt Germany at the music fair when Bobby Juzek (son of Robert, John's/Jan's brother, hence John's nephew) told me that the cheaper basses were made by Lang and the better ones by Wilfer. He then walked me across the aisle to meet the current Wilfer (Rudolph or Roland?) heading up the Emmanuel Wilfer firm.

From his description, I figured he meant that just the plywood models were made by Lang. Back then, the only reference I had for Lang was the son's firm in Mittenwald post WWII which was known as a commercial business making basses.

Last year a 5-string Benedict Lang 5-string came in the shop and my eyes lit up. It was later dated by someone (maybe penciled inside) as from 1910. I didn't get the bass because it was a 4/4 model and 5s are slow movers as well as already having one in stock. Also, it needed a bit of work inside so I passed on it. What I did do however was research this maker/brand and found several of them around including a few that had both the Purfled back design we see on Juzeks with the Benedict Lang brand in a circle. At that moment, from seeing the basses, and not just one, my mind jumped back to 1980 Frankfurt Germany and realized that Bobby meant the Gamba basses as the cheaper ones. The nicer golden varnished Violin models came from Wilfer, and not all of the carved basses. There are some of the lower and mid models with medium to high flame in both Gamba and Violin shape as well as 3/4 or 3/4 shape so there were quite a few models available. It would be hard to say who made the middle models, especially the violin shaped ones.

I believe that Bobby Juzek was born in USA just prior to WWII so he only knew what he had heard around the shop about who made what from before he was born or was just growing up.

What I do know is that I have seen a bass and cello of theirs labeled Anton Wilfer from about 1936 or 1939 that were their top of the line models. I have also seen a couple of post war basses IN their shop, (one of which I bought) labelled Wenzel B Wilfer. None of these had Juzek labels but were made for them and had come in with these labels Europe.

So, the Gamba basses we have seen for years with that flattish shaded brown varnish is a dead ringer for the Lang shop in Schonbach near the Czech/German border.

The Bass I just got needs a restoration. Since it's a 4/4 model (7/8ths by USA standards) with a string length over 43" at the notches, a modification to shorten the length would make the bass easier to play with today's modern requirements. I have taken several measurements of the body, neck, and block area and we have a few ways to go about this. Since I currently have over a dozen basses in repair/restoration already at this time, this bass will sit around for quite some time till we can get to it.

The body shape itself seems to be very close to the 3/4 model but the upper bout/neck block area has this long upward sweep lengthening the Top to about 45", about 1 1/4" longer than the 3/4 model.
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