Jacobus Hornsteiner

[Ken Smith]

About 15 years ago, before I had started back playing again, a customer shopping for a Smith bass brought in his old DB. It had a label by Jacobus Hornsteiner. The name was very familiar to me from the famous Mittenwald family of the various Hornsteiner's as well as the well known old firm of Neuner-Hornsteiner.

Recently, that same bass came back in thru my shop available for sale so I did what I do now with old basses that I like and bought it! Before I go further, after extensive research trying to find out 'which' Hornsteiner maker or makers were associated with the firm of Neuner-Hornsteiner, I learned that at one point, the Mayor of Mittenwald, not a maker, became a business partner in the firm and added his name Hornsteiner. The Firm was before known by other names such a Gebruder-Neuner, Neuner Co. (?) and possibly others.

The maker known by label only as 'Jacobus Hornsteiner' has even the author Javolec puzzled as he has a ? next to his name. This bass looks to me like a large 3/4 1920s-30s (Pre-war) Juzek as made by or supplied by the Wilfer family or one of them as there were a few back then. The design in the upper back is similar but different. A smaller 3/4 model with the same markings showed up for sale last year and seeing that purfled design rang bells in my head. It is kind of a cross between the Pfretzschner and Juzek brand basses. I believe now that the instruments labeled as 'Jacobus Hornsteiner' were actually made in Markneukirchen, Germany near the Czech/German border by Schoenbach, Czechoslovakia (now caled Luby) and not made by any of the Hornsteiner makers or associates in Mittenwald and therefore belong in the German/Czech Shop bass classification.

The sound however to my ear is as good or better than most Juzek Gamba shaped Basses I have ever heard. The string length was about 42 1/2" or so, about 1" longer than the 3/4 model that recently appeared. I moved the bridge and sound post about 1/2" or so and have the bass playing at 42" now.

I will post pictures soon as time allows. If you know of any of these basses, please come forward. I know Paul Warburton used to play one.

[Paul Warburton]

Kenny, Eric Hochberg dropped me a link of this thread on Facebook. Yeah, I played a Jacobus Hornsteiner from about 1959 to 1977. It was in a night club fire in Minneapolis when I ws there with Buddy DeFranco and Pat Moran (of Scott LaFaro fame). To this day, it was the greatest jazz bass I ever played. The fire claimed the top and the treble side ribs. I had Christopher Mayne, (an English luthier living here in Denver at the time, put on an English top plate on that he had laying around and he replaced the ribs. It sounded as good after the repairs as it did before. In 1977, a drunk in a club I was playing tripped and fell on it. That resulted in the bridge foot crashing through the top and bass bar. It just didn't sound as good after that restore so I sold it to a classical soloist who didn't need all the power it had before.
A quick rehearsal with Bill Evans urged him to remark what a great sounding bass it was. The size was pretty much standard 3/4....not so big, but very powerful, indeed. I have some pics of it with Bill, but they're too dark to make out.

[Paul Warburton]

Oops, I fergot I have these from my first recording session, about 1963. Before the fire....

[Ken Smith]

Here are a few pictures of the Jacobus Hornsteiner labeled bass. Paul, was your bass anything like this?

[Paul Warburton]

Mine was a different pattern. The FF's weren't as low slung as yours. The machines had brass caps on the cogs and no purfling design on the back. Only two ebony pins going into the button. Goldish varnish before the fire.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Paul Warburton

Mine was a different pattern. The FF's weren't as low slung as yours. The machines had brass caps on the cogs and no purfling design on the back. Only two ebony pins going into the button. Goldish varnish before the fire.

Well, being that the name/label 'Jacobus Hornsteiner' was a trade name for imported basses and not an actual person, I think we can safely assume that bass models and even suppliers of the basses to the USA importer could have easily changed over the years. Any idea on how old 'your' bass was in 1963? I guess for the age now, just add 48 years to that number. Mine looks to be from the 1920s or so comparing the style to other basses I have seen with Morelli, Pfretzschner and Juzek labels in them. Mine I think had Hatpeg gears in it before as these machines, regardless of being old are not original to the bass and from a later period.