Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Martin
Ken, I gather from reading your posts on the subject of provenance that there is a certain amount of guesswork involved even among experts; I seem to remember that you've bought basses thinking they were from one maker and later changed your mind - after further research, study and reflection. And do you know (or strongly suspect) of any dealers who have changed the provenance in a willful attempt to defraud rather than simply having an option that maybe wrong?
And while I'm thinking about it, have you considered going public and naming those dealers who you can prove have replaced labels or altered the provenance of instruments specifically to increase the price in the manner you've described?
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Touchy questions. Yes to about everything but I wont name names here in public. If I have a problem, I will handle it as I have in the past.
One Bass I brought in from Europe had an Italian label and was sold as such to me. I came back to the seller with information that disproved the origin. The dealer offered a full refund less shipping or adjust the price to something fair for what the bass actually was. I keep the bass, got a partial refund, had some work done on it and sold it for a fair price to a very happy customer. The selling price after all the repairs was still only about 2/3rds of what my original cost was un-repaired so you can imagine how good it was to find out what I didn't have and handle the problem.
Many basses are sold with names and labels that don't belong there and the dealer, unless a beginner in the field knows very well what he's doing. That is one of the ways to make money. Up the pedigree and the price along with it.
As far as changing ones mind, that doesn't happen that often but it's the most honest thing a dealer or seller can do. My Hart was a Fendt when I bought it. My Guitar bass was a Storioni when I bought it. My Dodd was a Betts when I bought it. None of those name changes however affected the price. They are still at least as valuable if not more. The Bass I bought in 1973 with a Rivolta lable now has a Rogeri label in it from last I heard. Now, I am all for changing attributions when new information is discovered but how in the world did that Rivolta label grow into a Rogeri label? .. Dealer tampering!
With some old basses that are nothing normal from what we usually see, they are often called Italian. Why? Maybe it's Dutch, German, Spanish, Hungarian or whatever. Not every odd looking old bass is Italian. Maybe most are not but the word 'Italian' jacks up the price. I have seen many basses that to me were German and were sold as Italian. Many old English basses have in the past sold as Italian and quite a few of the nicer German basses are often sold as French, Italian or English as well. It's a mess.
Maybe if all basses were branded inside the Back originally like the serial number on a Gun or a Vin number on a Car, less 'hanky panky' would be going on. If the Brand is missing, then suspect a Fraud in one way or another. Unfortunately this is just wishful thinking..