Viennese ??

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Please, straight side shots please. I want to see the profile form.

Like these;


and body only without neck like;


On the Dovetail with the Neck on top of the block I just looked back at some pics and see this on many German basses from all schools, some from Prague and some Viennese. These are mainly throughout the 19th century.

The problem in history search is that most good luthiers when changing the neck with a new graft will modify it and drop it into the block. Often, the block is either changed or wood added to the bottom of it to compensate for the deeper mortise. On occasion a luthier will actually 'restore' it and keep it original. I have even seen this with blockless basses. To me, this makes no sense at all because the best neck set is the mortise. Why drive with square tires when we have round ones now??

Ill send pics as soon as I can on the sides !
Do you have any basses of a similar style ?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Adrian Levi

Ill send pics as soon as I can on the sides !
Do you have any basses of a similar style ?

No, not at this time. I have only seen them on occasion and a few similar basses on the web.

It would be hard to say for sure if a Vienna 'style' bass is actually Viennese when it was also copied in Hungary, Prague and other surrounding areas. Perhaps the bass dealers in that part of the world would be able to ID the bass for you.

About 10 years ago I went Bass shopping and saw two basses around the same price. One was a Johann Thir bass. This was 100% typical Viennese from the 18th century. It was a big bass and was beautiful. For some reason, I had zero interest in it. I plucked a few notes on it and moved on to a smaller 3/4 Italian bass that I had my eye on. Shortly after I found the Batchelder bass that suited me better, in the wallet and in the ear as far as sound for money.

I think now if that Thir bass walked in for the same price it was 10 years ago I would snap it up. Back then it felt way too expensive being that it wasn't Italian.

[Adrian Levi]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

No, not at this time. I have only seen them on occasion and a few similar basses on the web.

It would be hard to say for sure if a Vienna 'style' bass is actually Viennese when it was also copied in Hungary, Prague and other surrounding areas. Perhaps the bass dealers in that part of the world would be able to ID the bass for you.

About 10 years ago I went Bass shopping and saw two basses around the same price. One was a Johann Thir bass. This was 100% typical Viennese from the 18th century. It was a big bass and was beautiful. For some reason, I had zero interest in it. I plucked a few notes on it and moved on to a smaller 3/4 Italian bass that I had my eye on. Shortly after I found the Batchelder bass that suited me better, in the wallet and in the ear as far as sound for money.

I think now if that Thir bass walked in for the same price it was 10 years ago I would snap it up. Back then it felt way too expensive being that it wasn't Italian.

The Batchelder bass looks related to my bass in cut and top arching maybe , except that mine has a scroll that IMO looks like an ugly medieval weapon !!