Pollmann violone

[David Powell]

"Back 40" is a term used colloquially in America to describe a parcel of land, specifically one sixteenth of a section, constituting the smallest unit of agricultural land commonly surveyed ("back 40," "front 40"); "back 40" also refers to an undeveloped plot of land (as on a farm, ranch, etc.) of unspecified size. Further reading: Public Land Survey System#Popular culture

I'm going to be busy with construction for the next several days / weeks. But I may put a deposit down before the fellow changes his mind and I'll get some photos. It is a specialty instrument;- but that is why it is interesting to me.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David Powell

"Back 40" is a term used colloquially in America to describe a parcel of land, specifically one sixteenth of a section, constituting the smallest unit of agricultural land commonly surveyed ("back 40," "front 40"); "back 40" also refers to an undeveloped plot of land (as on a farm, ranch, etc.) of unspecified size. Further reading: Public Land Survey System#Popular culture

I'm going to be busy with construction for the next several days / weeks. But I may put a deposit down before the fellow changes his mind and I'll get some photos. It is a specialty instrument;- but that is why it is interesting to me.

Ok, so in your neck of the woods, what can you get for 'your back 40' over there these days?

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Ok, so in your neck of the woods, what can you get for 'your back 40' over there these days?

10 Pollmanns? (your price) Or maybe a shipping container with a Kremona orchestra in it.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by David Powell

10 Pollmanns? (your price) Or maybe a shipping container with a Kremona orchestra in it.

Sounds good. Let me know when you have the Cash on Hand..lol

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Sounds good. Let me know when you have the Cash on Hand..lol

I'll throw a party for sure! Bass players and makers invited only. Maybe wives and girlfriends, too?

[Nick Hart]

If I may weigh in here, the reason people say 12k is expensive for a Violone is because the gigs for them are sparse. A Violone does not fit in well if the rest of the ensemble is playing modern instruments, and it is not a necessarily large and robust sound, much closer to a Viola da Gamba. I'm sure there are people who make livings playing Violone in America but most of the people I've heard of that are Violone players are living in Europe. But 12k for a Pollman is a great price and it sounds like something to have if you have the money.

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Nick Hart

If I may weigh in here, the reason people say 12k is expensive for a Violone is because the gigs for them are sparse. A Violone does not fit in well if the rest of the ensemble is playing modern instruments, and it is not a necessarily large and robust sound, much closer to a Viola da Gamba. I'm sure there are people who make livings playing Violone in America but most of the people I've heard of that are Violone players are living in Europe. But 12k for a Pollman is a great price and it sounds like something to have if you have the money.

Thanks for the input here Nick, and you have a good point. The violone is both over and under priced.

I'm going to look at it again today. There are two things I'm going to use to guide me. What would a violone by a different maker cost (and that should be probably the most definitive guide), as well as what the approximate value of any 1970's Pollmann in good condition costs. I still have to research the first and Ken and Arnold have given me a good idea of the second. I hope to get some pics for you guys so this is not a teaser thread.

[Sam Sherry]

Let's see.

a) You don't play the violone. You might want to play the violone. Violones are generally useless for anything but period music. It's safe to say that if you started playing jazz on the violine you would immediately become the Jazz Violone King. (That would put you in the company of Yusef Lateef, the Jazz Bassoon King, and my friend Scott Reeves, the Jazz Alto-Flugelhorn King.)

b) You do play the double-bass. Like myself, you play on a perfectly fine, undistinguished instrument.

c) You could probably pull off a purchase in the $12k range but, like myself, it would be a substantial investment.

d) You're quite taken with this instrument.

Based on all that, my take is:

1) There is a reason that this instrument is so unusual. The Baroque/period boom of the 70s faded many years ago. The demand for violones in general and this instrument in particular is empirically low.

2) Accordingly, it's quite likely that you could bargain for a lower price than any price the dealer names at first. Similarly, the dealer might take a trade for a double bass (which presumably would not take forty years to move).

3) Having obtained what is doubtless a remarkable violone, you would be the owner of a remarkable violone. But if you don't want to play the violone you would need to either

a) ditch this instrument, which would probably require you either to take a loss, make a contribution or wait for some portion of forty years; or

b) convert it to a double bass.

So the question, from the business standpoint, is whether buying the instrument and converting to a double bass is a cost-effective means to acquire a double bass you would like to have.

4) Converting the instrument to a double bass requires, at a minimum, a new neck (with fingerboard), bridge, machines, tailpiece and probably a new end-pin. That's easily a few thousand dollars worth of work and parts done well. An important question is whether work on or replacement of the bass-bar is required; if so, it's a bunch more work with attendant cost.

In conclusion: if you want to buy a violine, try it and donate it to a university, bravo to you but it seems like a lot of money. If you want an instrument which might be potentially useful to you as a bass, ****ysis is in order.

Good luck and have fun.