Stowasser

[Brian Casey]

So I'm still looking at this Stowasser, and finally got some pictures - I've been trying to attach them, but I get an error 500 - Internal Server Error. (Is that mine or yours, Ken/Mike?)

My luthier saw a label that the owner didn't see: Stowasser, Budapest, 191x (the last digit was unintelligible.) Definitely Hungary, then, and pre-1920.

I really like the way this bass sounds and feels - except for a wimpy E String. It appears that the bass bar shrunk or something, because there's a nice arch on the lower bout of the G string side, but the top has sunk considerably on the E string/bass bar side. There's also a crack running up much of the lenth of the top adjacent to the bass bar. This thing has such a thin top, I'm really nervous about having any interior repairs done.

I'm very close to buying this bass, even though I know I'll want to pop the top and try to fix the sunken portion of the top and cleat some cracks. I'm just trying to get a sense of whether it's really going to help the sound of the E string, or if there's a chance it will redule the overall resonance of the instrument.