Josef Budil

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Nathan Levine

Actually the top may have been to thin to begin with. You might notice a little caving in at the bottom of the f-hole. The bass bar had become unattached at the bottom and my luthier here in AK had to take the top off and get it re-attached properly. It seemed to give it back some of its original shape, but not quite all of it.

This was noted by Hammond Ashly when I brought it over from Amsterdam in 2003 and had them appraise it. Not to much movement in those eight years, but I figured it was time for it to get fixed so we went for it.

Have you seen any of these Budil basses here in the states? A european guy suggested that they were to be found throughout Europe and in Asia to some extent.

I love the sound of it. Wonderfully deep and rich, especially with the Genssler Jazz Quint set I am running on it. 5ths tuning on this bass has made an already lovely sound go from great to even better.

I have been thinking about something with a slightly smaller scale. 42" is fine, but whenever I play a 41.5" or a 41" is just feels a tad more comfortable. A loud chamber / solo bass with a 39-40" scale is on my GAS list.

Perhaps I can just wait patiently for Mr. Sypher to sell me his Lombardi. I was, after all, born in 1976 on the 14th of April. Or maybe save up the ducats for a Prescott. I love the look of the Gamba that Upton has. Now I just have to get up to Boston to try it out.

First off, I don't see any 'carving' around the f-holes. The Varnish looks all original. Second, IF the Bassbar came loose then, it was probably 'sprung-in'. A HUGE NO-NO for bassbars and basses. The Top will deform, cave in, split or the bar pop loose or all of the above with a sprung bar. If he reattached the same bar, then you might have a problem waiting to happen. That bass needed a NEW Bar. Not the same one glued back in. This isn't as Kay bass. I hope you were misinformed.

I have never seen nor heard of a Budil bass before this. I don't know if such a person exists or it was a trade name for this model as many instruments have fictitious names. So, I can't give you anything past what you have heard in Europe, sorry.

On Jason's bass, that came from me. It's a nice bass. I had 2 Lombardi's. That one was a better jazz bass, the other a better Orchestra bass. They both found good homes, so happy endings for both Lombardi's.

Now, you mention smaller size and then Prescott? This is reverse thinking. Jason had a nice old bass before the Lombardi. Maybe Yankee or Austrian school as opinions were mixed but, it was HUGE. That is why he got the Lombardi. For a smaller more manageable bass.

You can also come here and try basses. I have basses of all sizes from nice comfy 3/4s to some that are considered 4/4 or 5/4 in Europe or big 7/8ths here. Regardless, don't go bigger on your next bass if you are struggling in any way with the size.