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.