Stowasser

[Brian Casey]

Does anybody have any information on a Hungarian maker by the name of Stowasser? I'm looking at a bass to buy with this name stamped below the button. The only thing I can find in my searches is a violin maker Janos Stowasser, who died in 1900. (Other than the Stowasser who invented the Helicon mid 19th c. - could this be him too?)

Just trying to get more information from you people who have all the reference books handy, not to mention decades of experience with these instruments...

Thanks in advance,

Brian

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Brian Casey

Does anybody have any information on a Hungarian maker by the name of Stowasser? I'm looking at a bass to buy with this name stamped below the button. The only thing I can find in my searches is a violin maker Janos Stowasser, who died in 1900. (Other than the Stowasser who invented the Helicon mid 19th c. - could this be him too?)

Just trying to get more information from you people who have all the reference books handy, not to mention decades of experience with these instruments...

Thanks in advance,

Brian

What does the stamp say exactly? How old does the Bass look? Can you show pics? Is it a flatback, roundback? Ribs flush with top and back edges or has a lip? Etc... Could be just a commercial stamp or maybe a shop Bass or pedigree. Hard to tell without seeing the Bass at least on line. Looking up names in a book means very little in comparison to feely/touchy!

Also, why do you think he is Hungarian rather than Austrian or Bohemian?

[Brian Casey]

Thanks, Ken - as always.

To get photos I'll have to make another trip, but I'd better do it quick as the seller leaves in a couple days for a 2 week tour (during which he's at Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall, Boston and a few other places...mentioned to help demonstrate the credibility of the seller...)

To answer what I know:

The stamp, as far as I recall, is simply Stowasser.
The ribs are flush with top and back - no lips at the edges, although the round back has the carved lip, as I recall without purfling.
The bass looks VERY old, with several repairs to the ribs and top. Older, plateless tuners, highly figured neck but all showing signs of advanced age. The bass is a round back with dimensions from the seller as being:
42" string length. Upper bouts 19 1/2" Middle bouts 14" Lower bouts 25 1/2"
The seller, who I trust nearly implicitly, as I've known him since childhood, described it as Hungarian, and did so on Bob G's classifieds back in September.

I'll see if I can get back over there to take some pictures before he leaves for his tour. Even after he leaves, his wife might allow me to come in and do so.

I must say that I played this side by side with a Herold Jaeger and a German Shop bass that he was also selling in my price range which were all setup by the same luthier and all with new fingerboards, and this Stowasser was heads and shoulders above the others.

Thanks again,

Brian

[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.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by 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.

Ok, it has a bassbar crack, the top is sunken and the top is thin? Without asking Arnold I will tell you what he would tell me. Take off the Top, remove the bassbar, Steam or press out the sinkage, fix all the cracks on the entire top, add wood to the thin areas as needed, re-graduated and blend in the added wood. Then put in a new Bassbar in, stud all cracks and re-glue as needed, edgework as needed, do all other needed repairs as the top is off to the ribs and back, blocks, lining etc, replace the top and then finish the job.

Cost?.. Well, without seeing the Bass I can't say but I don't think 5k will cover it unless the damage is minor. Some restorations easily run over 10k. Time is time regardless of the value of the Bass.

To buy this Bass and ignore its problems would be foolish. I recently turned down 3 Germanic type Basses as trades because of the work involved to fix them. One of the Basses had a negative value meaning it was more to fix than it was worth. The 2nd Bass fixed would increase its value by only 30-40% of what is spent on the repair (eg; spend 6-10k to fix and add 2k-4k to the sale value. The 3rd Bass would be almost as much to fix as the second by re-doing all the previous repairs and not adding a penny to the value.

Know your Basses and Repair costs before you buy an older Bass. More often than not, people make mistakes and end up overpaying in the long run.

It will take a top notch guy to fix a Bass in that condition properly. Post the pics or email them to Mike thru the Forum and he will try and help. Also, email them to Arnold and Jeff for second opinions, maybe candidly. That's up to them of course.