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

[Ken Smith]

Ok, here is the link to the new page we just put up. http://www.kensmithbasses.com/double...hnitzer-smith/

Here's a preview from my Link;

[Ken McKay]

Beautiful workmanship and design. The varnish is superb and the best of all of Schnitzer's that I have seen. The scroll is slightly quirky and that adds a lot of interest to the clean workmanship in that area.

I would be pretty proud of that one Ken!

[Eric Hochberg]

Just too gorgeous!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ken McKay

Beautiful workmanship and design. The varnish is superb and the best of all of Schnitzer's that I have seen. The scroll is slightly quirky and that adds a lot of interest to the clean workmanship in that area.

I would be pretty proud of that one Ken!

If you guys only knew what went in to this bass!..

The Varnishing was something special and the wood all over has some tiny flaws and nothing was done to cover them up. The Scroll on the original is simplistically beautiful. The Copy is more elaborate but hey, she's mine so I get what I want. I loved the Teardrop on the Martini which was off center but the Candi Teardrop is perfect. Some natural flaws here and there in the wood and how the wood took the varnish in my opinion just adds to its natural beauty. It IS tempting to smooth everything out but I was not looking for 'plastic' and nor would Arnold (I assume) go that route either. The Top is done in a way that you can feel all the fibers across the grain known as Corduroy. Like the pants!..

Ground coloring was applied to the Back and Ribs and then sanded out leaving the darker flames highlighted. Then it was varnished over. This was done to add a natural look to the aging without using chains or tools. The Ribs themselves show some natural rippling which I have seen on a few newer basses as well as many old ones.

Yes guys, it's a beautiful bass and I thank you all for your compliments. The tone is so pleasing that playing Pizz with Belcantos, it pumps out air like Gut strings and they feel thicker under my fingers. Switching to the Hart back to back with the same strings on feels completely different so I know it's the bass and not the strings doing that. Although I was going for an Orchestra bass and it's great in that respect, it's also a fantastic thick punchy sounding Jazz bass as well.

Maybe Arnold will come in here and say a few words. He's a little busy trying to finish the restoration on the original. Maybe a side-by-side photo session would be in order up at his shop with both the new and old meeting for the first time all strung up.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Maybe Arnold will come in here and say a few words.

I appreciate greatly all the kind words and support.

This was an intense project for me. I'm not accustomed to getting so much input from the person for whom the instrument is being built, especially from someone as knowledgeable and particular as Ken. At every step in the design and building process, Ken made it perfectly clear what he wanted. "Lush sounding. Deep. Easy to play and easy to get around". Every choice made regarding wood, arching, graduating, shape, etc. was done with "deep and lush" in mind as the tonal goal. Top wood: Engelmann (deep and lush). Shape: wide in the middle, like the original (deep and lush). Arching: pronounced in the back, flattish in the top center (deep and lush). Bridge width and bass bar placement: wide (deep and lush). I guess you get the picture. The bass came out as desired, deep and lush. A side benefit is that it speaks very quickly, as it is fairly light but stiff.

Ken likes a dark and complex sound because he is surrounded by a collection of ancient masterpieces. To have my creation meet with his approval, and hold its own in that company is rewarding and inspiring. And to get paid, to boot!

[Matthew Tucker]

Nice work Arnold, I DO like that head carving!

The outline is quite unique, with its small corners. The bass looks a little tubby but at the same time elegant. It isn't so much that the centre is wide as the upper bout is narrow and tall.

I am frustrated seeing only small pictures, Ken. Got any bigger ones or nice sharp closeups of the corners, the purfling and/or that show the wood textures??

How does the sound compare to the original? Are the organ pipes still there?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker

Nice work Arnold, I DO like that head carving!

The outline is quite unique, with its small corners. The bass looks a little tubby but at the same time elegant. It isn't so much that the centre is wide as the upper bout is narrow and tall.

I am frustrated seeing only small pictures, Ken. Got any bigger ones or nice sharp closeups of the corners, the purfling and/or that show the wood textures??

How does the sound compare to the original? Are the organ pipes still there?

Matt, my son took these pics in a hurry the other night so I could get the page up. Arnold's facebook pics are nicer. The pics on my page are also sized a bit and it's a longer slender look in real than anything squat. They came out distorted and blurred as well. I will get new ones up one day but because it's not really a bass for sale (unless one wants to order my model made new), we didn't go crazy with the pics, yet!

The Original is about 300 years old and we can't figure a way to put that component into a new bass other than waiting 300 years! But the depth or sound is there and the low strings almost increase in volume over the D and G strings. The Original is a flatback with narrow spaced f-holes. That in itself will change the tone as well the individual exact pieces of wood. The original 2-pc laminated Spruce/Maple Burl Ribs on the original are or were very resonant but in time they blistered all over rather then cracking like with normal solid ribs. Unless we try a few more basses copying the parts we changed for longevity we will never know. We will also need 300 years of playing it in to compare but by then, the original will be 600 years old! So, WE will never know.

The original is still in restoration so after IT'S done, we can compare the modified original all repaired to the copy of the modified bass and get a 'real-time' comparison. For now, I am quite happy with the results. I can take out the new bass with as much confidence as any of the older ones. The differences are mainly the played in aged tone. Other than the aged factor, there are no more or less differences here than comparing the Gilkes, Hart, Martini, Panormo or any of the other basses I have taken to work in recent years. They are all different and all very good professional high grade basses. The new bass will sit amongst them equally in time. I am sure about that.

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..

[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.