[Ken Smith]

I think that in reality ones who are considered 'experts' by some are disputed by others. I have seen origin opinions and originality write ups with sales that were not only false but were in my opinion (for what ever that's worth) were outright lies. What test and by what body does a person earn the title of 'expert'?

With some makers in basses, the work and modeling is fairly consistent from one to another within a period. On some makers however, they have made very different basses from one to another and are not so easily spotted.

Examples;

Well, Martini made several basses in his early years that look like he was shooting for the exact same thing with only slight variations. His later basses after the 2nd war look different but the Scroll and FF still resemble his earlier work. His earliest known bass was 1919 and the latest I have seen was 1954.

On the more modern front looking ar Arnold's work for example he has made basses 'after' Montagnana and Testore each in 2 sizes that I have seen. Also, he has made 4 other basses of his own Ergo style that really shows his hand. Looking 200 years down the road at his basses with no labels or markings (for discussion here assume the labels are lost or removed), would 'the experts' of the future be able to tell that these 3-5 models were all made by Arnold?

Unless a maker marks his work stamping and signing the wood inside, making positive ID's in the future are nearly impossible, expert or no expert.

The best expert is an actual eye witness! Got one of those for your bass?