1920s John Juzek 3/4 Carved-Top Double Bass

This beautiful old beast was brought in by a local fellow who'd had it repaired by another shop recently. Said shop did excellent work planing the fingerboard, fitting the bridge, and setting it all up. I'm assuming a ton of the old crack repairs, seam repairs, and whatnot also needed attention, too, as this instrument has definitely been through a lot over its years.

It has a John Juzek label of the type I expect for '20s or early '30s instruments and its build, style, and geared tuners type suggest that era as well. Juzek instruments at this time were imported from Bohemia/Czechoslovakia and sold by Metropolitan Music in New York (said company is now just north of us in Stowe, Vermont these days).

It's a gamba-style instrument with a carved, solid top and a ply, flatback design. It has extensive old (and new) repairs and tons and tons of wear but that's only made it more handsome to my eyes. The f-holes have the usual top sag around them but, as I recall, the bass bar was refit and reglued recently so it's all good to go. Lucky for us, it arrived here ready to play which is usually not the case.

I like it a lot as a jazz-style plucker, though it does sound fantastic under a bow as well. It has adjuster wheels on the bridge for ease of use and the recent fingerboard work means it plays like a champ as well.

It comes with a gigbag.

Consignor tag: LCL