Ex-Riccardi Cornerless Bass Copy (formerly attributed to 'Storioni') (SOLD)

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

One thing I want to point out is that Arnold did not go for cosmetic perfection on this bass regardless of how beautiful it looks overall. It came out how it came out within the details. Older basses were often made this way as the DB was not the most important instrument of the Shop so it suffered in some areas of its cosmetics but not in tone as we now know. This is somewhat a non-deliberate way of making something with simplicity. Looks do not equal tone. I wanted tone. The original is made very simply so that's the brain you need turned on when making this. If you look at the bass close up in person at the corners, details, purfling, varnish, etc., you will see an individually handmade bass. If Arnold makes another, it will not look exactly the same no matter how hard he tries..

Yes, and that is what I'm keen to see. For me, beauty is not perfect and glossy and symmetrical in every dimension. Beauty is being able to see the hand of the creator and the traces of history.

I haven't seen any pics of this finished bass yet on any of Arnold's pages.