Anthony Bozza (Boz) has been playing the bass guitar since he was ten. He's always loved playing and
tinkering with them, and fondly recalls building his first guitar in his high
school woodshop class.
"Ever since I was a teenager, I would get cast-off guitars, take them apart
and put them back together in an effort to get a better sound out of them,"
says Bozza. "The instrument has always fascinated me."
With his daughter grown and married, and with the support of his wife Donna,
Boz decided to take his love of woodworking and music and build bass guitars
in his shop, launching a business named ABoz Handcrafted Bass and Guitars
(www.ABozbassandguitars.com). He modeled his unique designs after a 19th-
century instrument called the Shovelene.
"Music runs in my family," explains Boz.
His great uncle Joseph Ferretti of Jersey City, NJ, was an accomplished
violinist who invented and subsequently patented the Shovelene. It started
as a single-stringed violin type instrument fitted with a unique sound box and
coronet style horn to project the string's sound.
"My great uncle was a serial entrepreneur," Boz explained. "He was a barber,
and made his own line of hair tonics. He repaired victrolas on the side and
applied his understanding of mechanical sound reproduction to a compact
unique sound box he could retrofit to violins. His retrofits were used in early
recording studios by American and European Symphony Orchestras because
they improved the volume while maintaining the integrity of the instrument's
voice."
Tony's father, Cosimo, also a musician, worked with Joseph Ferretti as a boy
and would often tell his son stories about his great uncle and his unusual
instrument; several of which still exist within the family and in a German
museum.
One day, Boz was talking to his cousin John, a saxophone player, about an
acoustic bass guitar he was building, and the ideas he thought would greatly
improve the instrument's volume and tone. John remembered he had an old
photograph of Joseph Ferretti and his Shovelene and sent it to Boz.
"John brought up our Uncle Joe's Shovelene and sent me a copy of an old
blotter from 1919. When I saw the picture, it blew me away. I felt the
design was so far ahead of its time for 1919. I had to have that body on a
bass guitar and started drawing up the plans that night!" said Boz.
Good Craftsmanship was always important to Boz, he earned a living as a
master pressman in the printing industry and also designed stained glass
windows. As a young man, he learned wood working and carpentry from his
father-in-law.
Boz incorporated his Uncle's design into what he calls a JF (Joe Ferretti)
Bass. The five-string base features a complex through neck design made of
Sepele and Maple, which finishes in a curly, accented design at the head,
reminiscent of a violin. The front and sides of the instrument feature flame
maple in a variation of the design first created by Ferretti for his Shovelene,
and the fret board and trim are made of rosewood with mother-of-pearl
inlays. Boz uses high-end electronic components such as Nordstrand pick ups
(which he feels convey the natural tones of the wood) and an Aguilar preamp
to enable the full potential of the pick ups.
The peg head is angled and the strings go through the body to create more
tension on the strings. Boz notes that the design enables the fifth string
(tuned to B), to be played all the way to the bottom without sounding loose
or sloppy.
Boz began taking the JF Bass out on test runs at local open mic blues and
rock jams and received tremendous feedback on the instrument's design,
sound workmanship and playability. He began reaching out to vintage bass
and guitar enthusiasts and dealers to see if there was a market for his new
product line and found there was.
"Despite its unique design, the weight is well balanced and the sound on the
JF Bass is incredible," says Boz. "Because of the construction and
exceptional electronics, the JF Bass can be used for jazz, funk, pop, punk,
metal, country, classic rock and Blues.
"I wanted to make something very unique in style, but it had to have high-
quality hardware and electronics and be comfortable, versatile and enjoyable
to play."
Wherever Boz and his bass go these days, they get quite a bit of attention.
In fact, he's already been approached by several area musicians about
custom orders.
Since each bass is hand crafted to order, there is currently a wait of 5-6
months for delivery. For more information, visit
www.ABOZbassandguitars.com.