Originally Posted by Pino Cazzaniga
Brian,
Thank you so much, the approval of a fellow luthier is precious (and unusual). Have nice days with your works.
Arnold, Ken,
I think a bend of some kind was there since the beginning.
The ribs are deep and almost parallel till the bend, the use of a bend was well known since the early times, and it is more easy to me to think of a bend than of a long neck heel.
There is no evidence though, becouse the upper part of the body was modified, tightening the back and widening the top, so it is possible that somebody made the bend more angled, maybe for playability.
Other reasons to modify that part are possible though, for example to add a string to a three string instrument.
My preferred idea about it is that the upper block's sides were parallel, with the back as wide as the top and maybe longer.
No evidence, of course.
If this bass is English, it is a fake, not an "inspired to" copy.
As there was an interest, a fashion, in England about Brescian instruments, some makers did honourable copies, when they get inspiration from an old school to make their own, following their taste and musical needs. It is more than possible that someone did fakes too.
Talking of fakes, everything is possible, cherrywood, small corner blocks, multipieces upper and lower blocks, small C bouts, the "crest" on the upper part of the top,the endpin position and even some wears and damages.
On the other side, if it is Italian, there is no evidence that it come from the Maggini's workshop, or even from Brescia.
The Brescian school, for bowed instruments, lasted for more than a century,with many makers involved.
Gasparo's workshop, for example, had at least five apprentices, and probably more.
There was a wide movement, and I can't think that everything died with Maggini.
If somebody survived the pestilence, or some makers in other cities worked on brescian shaped instruments, their work was probably attributed to Maggini, later, for market issues.
This could be happened too to his contemporaries or to popular survives.
No evidence, of course.
I think that there is no way to give an attribution to these old instruments without a successful work on documents (Letters, invoices, anything) and scientific examinations.
An hard and difficult work, I think.
Ken, thank you for your kind offer, but this bass is not mine...
maybe the next...
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