American Standard Basses

American Standard and King Basses
In 1934 The H. N. White Company started making string instruments with the same attention to quality that was used to make brass instruments. The H. N. White Basses quickly gained a reputation for their superior tone but also for their unbelievable quality.

The first stringed instruments appear in White Way News Number 7 (1934) and were of the King brand only. In 1936 (White Way News Number 9) The American Standard string bass appears. All King and American Standard models were made in the same shop.

The [King] string basses fronts were made from the finest straight grain spruce with very close grain quality, while the rest of the instrument was made of curly maple. Each bass was equipped with an improved geared key mechanism, insuring rigidity and sensitive tuning. The H. N. White Company claimed that each "King string bass has a greater volume of tone, and carries the vibrations over a longer period of time, than any other string bass..."

Production of both the King and American Standard bass products was halted during the Second World War. Production slowly resumed for the King string bass in 1946, and the American Standard Bass by 1949. The US military (post-war) boasted some 2000 or so King basses because of their durability, etc. The fact that so few serial numbers appear to exist from 1000 through 1999 is a mystery. It would be convenient to say all basses from 1000 through 1999 were 1940s instruments, but that may or may not be the case. Further research will shed light on this quirk in the numbering scheme.

The existence of several American Standard basses with no stamp, labels, or rib trim/molding (kerfling) is also worthy of investigation. Some have assumed that these basses are 'generic' or 'off brand' basses made by the company for other enterprises (e.g., Kay, Sears, Selmer, etc.), but according to H.N. White's esteemed historian, Chris Charvat, this is not the case. Your website owner/author has one example of this style of American Standard (serial # 660) and feels there is a slight difference in tone with this model when compared with the fully ribbed, trimmed, or kerfled models. It seems like the top is a tiny bit thinner, also.

After 1965 the string division of the company was sold off to the Kay Bass Company.

Timeline
The timeline below details historical milestones of the H.N. White bass manufacturing story.

1893		H. (Henderson) N. White began manufacturing brass band instruments in Cleveland, Ohio. Mr. White collaborated with a friend, Mr. Thomas King, a solo trombonist, and built a trombone of superior quality, tone, and construction. H.N. White then began designing and manufacturing a full line of brass instruments.
1925		The H. N. White company purchased the Cleveland Musical Instrument Company. Two lines of brass instruments were produced--the Cleveland and American Standard product lines. Cleveland instruments were affordable semi-professional level instruments. American Standard instruments were primarily designed for school and student levels.
1935		H. N. White Company began designing and setting manufacturing capabilities for stringed instruments under the King and American Standard brand names.
1936		Advertisements for King string basses first appear and the first King and American Standard basses are manufactured and sold.
1940		Henderson N. White passes away. At this point, the H.N. White Company had designed and developed 28 instruments, including a complete line of low brass instruments which today has become know for both musical superiority and long-lasting construction. Mrs. Henderson (Edna) White took over the H.N. White Company and ran the business very successfully for the next 25 years until her retirement. One of only a handful of talented female corporate leaders, the company grew significantly over the next 25 years under her watch. Her contribution to the H.N. White legacy is inestimable--a clear testament to the woman who ran a big company during such an rare, troubled, and financially unstable period of history.
1941		Manufacture of both King and American Standard basses is halted during WWII.
1946		Manufacture of both King and American Standard basses is resumed.
1964		H.N. White purchases 12-1/2 acres of land in Eastlake, Ohio. This site became the headquarters for a new plant. The reputation of King musical instruments grew.
1965		Mrs. Edna White retires. A group of investors which includes the Kay Musical Instrument Company, purchase the H.N. White Company. Kay received the Stringed Instrument division which included the King and American Standard bass manufacturing facility, equipment, and remaining stock. The bass manufacturing facilities were closed and Kay discontinued the brand names.
1966		In January of 1966, the H.N. White company was merged with Seeburg Corporation, a major manufacturer of electronic entertainment products such as juke boxes and industrial speaker systems. At the completion of this merger, the name was changed from the H. N. White Company to King Musical Instruments.

Why a Website for These Basses?
This site is devoted to the collection, preservation, and presentation of knowledge and data known about the H.N. White American Standard bass along with it's 'older brother', the King, or King Mortone bass. Interesting information accumulated by the H.N. White family historian, me, and others about King bases and their close association to American Standard basses leads me to include cataloging of data about those fine basses, too.

There is a lot of bad information about these basses and i hope to provide a clearinghouse for the accumulated corpus of factual knowledge concerning these fine instruments. Some disagreements about these instruments and their history are not resolvable without hard proof. In these cases, I will either defer to the H.N. White family historian (Chris Charvat), or present both sides of the issue until the evidence points convincingly to the veracity of one side or the other.

American Standards in the H.N. White Catalogs
Click on a catalog page or date below to view a full-sized jpeg of the original American Standard ad page*.

                      1936                                            1953                                                  1960

More catalog examples of both American Standard and King basses can be found at the H. H. White website.

Thanks
Many thanks to Chris Charvat, historian and archivist for the H.N. White Co. He maintains the only website maintained by the H. N. White family, which can be found at www.hnwhite.com. He has graciously provided me with numerous pictures, guidance, proofing, and background material. Like King and American Standard basses, his research is simply outstanding.