oops.. and another..

[Ken Smith]

I must add this though. A few Dealers and Luthiers have seen this Bass in person and on-line and do not believe the label matches the Bass age-wise. The majority of labels in Violin Family instruments (vintage ones) are false or do not match the instrument.

In this case, the Bilek label was either placed inside to name it or as a repair by Bilek, and the Bass was old already in 1947. Since the label clearly says by translation 'MADE' and the professional that have seen the Bass say 19th century to early 1900's, then it is more than likely that the label itself is real but placed in the Bass to give it a name. Anti-dating though is much more common than post-dating so that remains a mystery to me. Also, it is just possible that the Bass aged quickly since 1947 and just appears to be older.

The answer here is that there is no answer.. Yet!

[Ken Smith]

Last night was the second time I took this Bass out for a Jazz gig. The first time was several months ago when it had some old deadish sounding orchestra strings on it. I have since put another old set that came on the Mougenot I just got but they're Spiro Weichs.

Using the same Shadow pickup I usually use along with the EBS Drome 15 it sounded quite good. The notes often have a quick decay as if muted but do ring a bit on some when needed. It sounds like a much bigger German-type Bass similar to what we've heard on recordings from Ray Brown. Tonally, this Bass sounds and feels like an old Bass.

It's not a very big Bass at all either. Just a modest 3/4 size at most. I suppose that regular Spiros or a newer set of Weichs or similar would just 'smoke' on this Bass jazz-wise. Orchestrally, it sounded pretty good before but not a huge penetrating sound, just pleasing. Played with an Amp in a Jazz setting, I think it's a fantastic Bass or at least that's how I feel after last nights gig.

[Eric Swanson]

How is it acoustically, under the bow? Looks like a nice instrument.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Eric Swanson

How is it acoustically, under the bow? Looks like a nice instrument.

Well, when it had Orchestra Strings on it it was just fine. I used it for a few orchestra rehearsals but nothing more. Just took it out for a test spin. It worked like a regular Bass in the section. Usually I overpower most of the other Basses there but this one being slightly smaller just blended in. I heard myself playing as well. With the current strings on the Bass it Bows a bit brighter. Not what I look for orchestrally.