Can anyone tell me the age of my Juzek bass?

[Ken Smith]

Pre VietNam war maybe..

That label sounds like the ones used AFTER WWII.

Heres the reason; There is and never was such a thing as a Bass made by John Juzek, never! They were all contracted by shops and factories mostly by the German/Czech border area Violin making section until War broke out in Europe. The Juzek Company was formed in NY by the brothers Robert Juzek and another (don't know the name) but Robert ran the business. John helped contract shops to make the string instruments. Most Basses were made by various generations of the Wilfer family and some by Lang. Others possibly as well. After the war, most of these makers moved over to north Bavaria in Bubenreuth Germany to avoid Communist rule. Robert made direct contracts with these people and John was out of the picture entirely. I doubt that a single Bass was ever made in Prague, ever. Maybe because that's where they were from the city of Prague was used for marketing purposes.

On your Bass, the finish looks fairly new. Maybe 1960s or so and as labeled, made in Germany. I don't recall them having a 5/8ths size in the catalog. This was most likely what they called a 1/2 sized bass. Maybe by today's numbers it's considered a 5/8ths but we also call them small 3/4s as well.

Have you read my Juzek Thread in the Shop Bass section? I will move this thread over there where it belongs..