Philology
Calvin,
We don't know how many strings Maggini put on his instruments.
It is also possible that he put the number of strings which his customer needed, like I did.
It's not a joke, they were developing a design for bass instruments, these days, and probably both makers and players were working on it.
These basses were hibrids, and you can see features on them from both the viol and the violin family.
Praetorius was a contemporary af Maggini, he knews that work, and in his drawings you can see a small bass with 6 strings and a larger one with 5 strings.
One may think that the smaller is a viol and the larger a double bass, but he named the player of the big one "violonistam" too.
You said that these instruments were not cannons, but Gasparo was shared to play a violone during the mass in the church of S.Maria Maggiore in Bergamo. In that church there is an organ since at least 1402.
The Gasparo bass I saw, the one in S. Marco, is very wide between the upper eyes of the f holes. Usually Magginis are smaller: maybe a string less? How useful is the first string of a 6 string DD violone? Wasn't it the first one to disappear when they made longer instruments, as it was prone to break?
About the string angle: The width of the body of the Maggini "Dragonetti at the C bouts is mm 352.
If you want a low bridge you can't put on it more than 3 strings, or you can't bow them, even with wide string spacing and a flat bridge.
About the tailpiece, ther is a similar model on Praetorius.
Another is in the Elgar book, on an instrument attributed to "Pietro Zenatto".
The Dolmetch is a GG violone, a different kind of instrument which plays 8', while my customer's demand was for a 16'.
That said, I admit that I didn't make a true philological copy: many things on this instrument are pretty modern.
Tuning gears, to avoid spending half the time tuning and half the time playing out of tune.
Mortised neck, which is better for future repairs, as I hope a long life for my instruments.
Decreasing rib depth from the bottom to the bend, for playability.
I cut longer C bouts, and rounded lower bouts.
I must admit that the longer C bouts were not needed: we saw that the bow works far enough from the upper corners.
This instrument was designed to play with gut strings, frets, a "baroque" bow and technique.
I think it is legitimate to play period music, at least like a musician who was born in this (well, the last) century, and lives and plays now.
Philology is a way to educate the taste, not a jail.
As a listener, of guts I like the "progressive" sound, warm at the bass and sharp and rich at the treble. I like too the start, growing and fading of each note. These are colors to enjoy, and what my customer asked for.
P.S.
The minimum thickness of the front is 4 (3,5 along the edges), the maximum is 8.
I don't think it's heavy...
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