It's home..
 

I just got back with the Marcucci. Beyond words. Now I have no excuse for not practicing. Like I did before.. lol

Care to share any photos of it, post-luthiery?

new pics to come..
 

I will find some time next week to not only take pics, but to build a new page for it on the website as well. I will post the link here when it is done.

The two basses I have been using while this was in restoration were my Jacquet-Pilliment (deep lush Italian sounding old French bass fully restored by Jeff Bollbach) and my attributed Luigi Marconcini bass (fully restored by Robbie MacIntosh). One luthier that recently saw the Marconcini said to me on its origin,.. "All correct! How did you figure it out?" So, maybe one day soon I will get some papers on it from him.

Comparing the three basses last night and today, I can hear and feel the clear differences between these basses. I swapped strings between the Marcucci and the Jacquet last night to see if I can brighten up the Jacq. with Bells on the top 3 strings and put the mixed Flexs on the Marcucci to rid that metallic sound. It worked. Both basses sound slightly different and for the better but these are also kind of old strings that have been on and off several basses for the last 2-3 years.

As I posted on FB last night describing the work and sound;

Brought my bass home today from its restoration. It was in the shop being worked on for the last 5 months. Previously, it had not been opened up for repairs for over 40 years. Now, it's time to play it and break it in. This is a before picture. It looks just about the same now as before from a few feet away. The C-Extension has been replaced with an all ebony Chromatic one, the insides (top, back, ribs, lining, blocks) cleaned up and all issues carefully addressed and has a new bass-bar as well. The neck was also re-set and the neck-block inside beefed up. The sound is more focused than before and more powerful as well. In my experience, restored basses settle in gradually over the first few years as they mellow little by little after surgery. This is still the original neck as well as everything else also being original. :)



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Ken, to most players' ear the BelCanto strings sound mellower and smoother than the Flexicores. (They also have less tonal dynamic range.) I'm curious why you would use Bels to try to brighten up a bass, when they are typically called upon to darken the sound of a bright instrument. Please write at least four paragraphs explaining this move. :D

on the spot here..
 

To my ear, the Flexs are smoother sounding under the Bow and the Bels have a metallic overtone to them. As strings get old, both kinds tend to be scratchy under the bow if the string has been over-warn from on and off basses. That is different than a string just aging on one single bass undisturbed by string changes. I hear more color in the sound as well with the Flexs and a flatter tonal pallet with Bels.

Some basses are more sensitive to various strings and my research comes from these types of basses. If a bass itself is duller and takes most any string the same way, then it is hard to tell what the string is doing.

I think walnut is brighter sounding than maple where most hear with their eyes based on color.

No Mushrooms or Bamboo shoots please! :eek:

Looks great Ken

I just got back from playing it tonight with an Orchestra. It was just a rehearsal and only one bass tonight. Next week we will have all 4 basses there, basses and players that I know well and then I will have a better grip on how it blends. All went will tonight.

new Bel's..
 

Ok, I finally gave the bass its first new set of strings since I have had it, b4 and after restoration. I had been rotating between few different sets on and off other basses to see what it likes and at the recommendation of the restorer (Arnold Schnitzer), I put a new set of strings on the bass. Finally!!:rolleyes:

ok..
 

What I had been doing was moving strings around between several basses and by doing that, wearing the strings out way before their time. Unlike playing a string on a single bass till it breaks in and the sound darkens till it wears out, I was getting the opposite effect and that is why they were sounding brighter.

The new Bel's sound much smoother then the ones that came off that had been on and off no less than 4x between several basses over the last year or two. I think you can do a change or two with fairly new strings but 3, 4, or 5 changes, you are working with strings that no longer perform as intended.

Thanks Arnold, once again..;)

New Marcucci page..
 

Ok guys, the new Marcucci web page is now up. I can add information that is written in books and on-line sites but I can also just answer questions here or on FB about it. Enjoy..

http://www.kensmithbasses.com/doublebasses/marcucci/