"Cornerless Italian & Spanish Basses"

[Adrian Juras]

I know this is a bit of an older thread, but how is the restoration going on your Storioni Ken? I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it when it is complete!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Adrian Juras

I know this is a bit of an older thread, but how is the restoration going on your Storioni Ken? I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it when it is complete!

Old thread start maybe but never ending I am sure.

What looked like a minor treble side Top pressing has been re-evaluated into being a total Top re-shaping. The Top is off and the neck is out with the Scroll/pegbox detached. The Neck is toast and incorrect so it's firewood. The Scroll is to be fully repaired and then grafted into the Block-cut carcass when it gets to that point. Time is our friend here as some of the stress and depression has come back on its own just getting some rest without the string tension on it. The rest of the Top shaping will be a major job. The Back and Ribs need total restoration as well.

Ask me again this time next year if I haven't already posted on it.. lol

You are welcome to ask Arnold BUT this may also fall under 'Doctor-Patient Confidentiality'!

[Carlos Villarreal]

i,ll just add this youtube link for those whohave not heard Edicson Ruiz videos on youtube with his 1750 cornerless Landolfi. Btw he uses 3 diffrent bridges, one for 3 string Bottessini stuff, another for low action vieneese tuning and another one with higher action for modern playing. I had a chance to hear this bass for a whole week when Edicson came to solo with our orchestra. Its a dark sounding instrument, that projects really well at far.

http://www.youtube.com/user/doublebassVenezuela

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Carlos Villarreal

i,ll just add this youtube link for those whohave not heard Edicson Ruiz videos on youtube with his 1750 cornerless Landolfi. Btw he uses 3 diffrent bridges, one for 3 string Bottessini stuff, another for low action vieneese tuning and another one with higher action for modern playing. I had a chance to hear this bass for a whole week when Edicson came to solo with our orchestra. Its a dark sounding instrument, that projects really well at far.

http://www.youtube.com/user/doublebassVenezuela

I have seen 2 other Basses named Landolfi. One was a 3/4 Gamba and the other a 7/8 Violin cornered. I don't remember if flat or round back. None of them including this cornerless look alike one bit.

He is a great player. The sound you describe could be the same if it were my bass as I've heard this from others in the past. Is this bass a Landolfi? Who knows as he even mentions 'possibly by'. The shape of his bass looks a lot like mine but not the FFs, just the body outline.

By they way, as my Bass is apart and in restoration it is looking about 50 years older than Storioni's period by two professional opinions so far. One thinks the Scroll has a Cremona flavor. The other thinks it's simplistically beautiful at the head. A third opinion as well as Arnold's and even mine now is that the rounded bottom of the pegbox is very possibly a later but very old modification. It was maybe done for a needed repair to a broken button. There are about 4 grafts visible in the back there. Arnold will leave a similar 2mm or so line across the button area showing the current graft as part of the bass's history. The rounded button area is there to stay. What's done is done!

[Adrian Juras]

Originally Posted by Carlos Villarreal

i,ll just add this youtube link for those whohave not heard Edicson Ruiz videos on youtube with his 1750 cornerless Landolfi. Btw he uses 3 diffrent bridges, one for 3 string Bottessini stuff, another for low action vieneese tuning and another one with higher action for modern playing. I had a chance to hear this bass for a whole week when Edicson came to solo with our orchestra. Its a dark sounding instrument, that projects really well at far.

http://www.youtube.com/user/doublebassVenezuela

Beautiful bass. There really is something pleasing about the shape of a cornerless(or guitar shaped) bass. Very intriguing. I look forward to hearing more about yours Ken as the restoration continues!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Adrian Juras

Beautiful bass. There really is something pleasing about the shape of a cornerless(or guitar shaped) bass. Very intriguing. I look forward to hearing more about yours Ken as the restoration continues!

It is a slow going process. The Top mold is being made soon. Then it's a matter of time for the Top to be brought back gradually. In the mean time, the Back, Ribs and Neck will be worked on. Maybe I will have a special X-mas this year!.. Maybe I will win the lottery as well.. without even buying a ticket.. lol

I hope to see it sooner than later but it's a huge job. The other one I have in restoration might be done sooner. That is not as big a Job but no small one either.

[Ken Smith]

Today after another brief discussion with Arnold who is restoring the 'ex-Riccardi bass' I have decided to remove the Storioni attribution from the listing and change it officially to "Italian Guitar Model Bass, Italy, 18th Century".

When I first bought the Bass a well known historian that knew the Bass said it was not Storioni or even Cremona and most likely 19th century. When two prominent Bass Luthiers looked inside the bass their estimates were approximately mid-18th century, give or take a few decades.

Now that the Bass is opened up and getting worked on the 1750 or so estimate looks more likely than anything near the 19th century. Who actually made it? I don't really know, I wasn't there! Perhaps in the future something will come along and tell us more. I did see a slightly similar Scroll/pegbox on another Italian Bass but that had I think a replaced Back and was not cornerless. The FFs were different as well but, the Scroll was close and maybe not a match for the Bass it was on.

When I first heard of this Bass for sale about a year or two before getting it I was told it was a Rogeri. When I bought it the name was changed back to Storioni which it had been called before it was a Rogeri. Perhaps the Bass going to market was the reason for all the famous name calling.

This by no means in itself lessens the greatness of this Double Bass but it does relieve me in the 'burden of proof' if it were to be sold. Regardless, it will not change the asking price either!

[Adrian Juras]

Very interesing. Although I'm sure it will be difficult to find out who actually made the bass, I hope that as the restoration continues you and Arnold can find out more towards this. This is certainly an intriguing bass. Are you having Arnold make an extension for it as well?