J B Vuillaume

[Martin Sheridan]

I have only seen one J B Vuillaume double bass, but I've got to believe that some of the luthiers who read this forum must have seen and worked on a few. A friend of mine has a Bernadel that is a copy of the bass Vuillaume is usually associated with. Vuillaume came across a Bergonzi bass made in Cremona that was cello shaped. He extended the back and top to give it sloping shoulders ( by grafting wood). On the back he left the original button and made a new one at the top of the extension of the back. Although I think he made other basses prior to this he is generally assocated with this model where he imitated the double button. I have seen four or five Mirecourt factory basses that are copies and Roger Millant said that Vuillaume actually had his brother make these basses for him in Mirecourt. The Mirecourt factory basses generally have a rather bold red varnish that is typical of a lot of the instruments that came out of there. The Vuillaume I saw had a lovely medium brown or amber varnish.

About ten years ago a musician told me that Vuillaume graduated the tops of his basses to 6mm all over. Can anyone confirm this?
Does anyone else have any photos or information on these basses.
I'm going to use the Bernadel because I have access to it, but I might be able to get in touch with the owner of the Vuillaume to check to see if the measurements are indeed the same.

I haven't decided yet if I want to imitate the double button.