Violin vs Gamba vs Busetto

[Jeff Moote]

I was going to mention something about cornerless designs, but I knew Ken's post was coming and he knows much more than I do

[Gareth Hughes]

It's the agony of choice

Thanks for all your answers. Have to admit that I was feeling somewhat the newbie in asking that question, and was fully expecting someone to reply like I was their annoying kid brother trying to hang out with the older kids. But I wanted to know, so thanks to everyone for sharing their knowledge.

[David Powell]

Originally Posted by Jeff Moote

I was going to mention something about cornerless designs, but I knew Ken's post was coming and he knows much more than I do

Don't let it stop you, be brave young man!

As for me, the biggest difference is that I like the Gambas visually, but the variety of shapes is really one of the wonderful things about basses. It's great to be able to look at a whole page of basses and see no two that look exactly alike in outline.

[Ken Smith]

Guys n Gals, Corners are less important overall in comparison the the actual size and measurements of the Bass, not to mention the woods, quality of build and internal graduations. I would be more concerned about those points before I think about the Corner types.

I played my Bisiach labeled Bass last night and it has a nice punchy sound but it's not as deep and thick sounding at my Martini sitting next to it in my rack. Both Basses have similar form, shape and size but sound completely different. Why is that? Well.. because... They are two different Basses, different woods and made differently from what the eye can see.

Both Violin corners so that can't be the difference then can it?

[Gareth Hughes]

All true points Ken. Didn't mean for this to be a -my shape is better than your shape- style thread. It's just one of those many mysteries of our fine instrument that I'd always been curious about. Probably shouldn't have titled the thread 'Gamba Vs. Violin... - Should really have been - Is there an audible difference is bass shapes?

No one shape is better than the other. If a shape/sound doesn't do what you want it to do then it's not the 'best' for that job.

Or to quote my grandfather - A penny more than you need and you're rich. A penny less and you're poor. -

I think it would be a shame if our instruments went the way of the Formula 1 racing cars. No variation or flair. Rewind back to early last century and race cars came in all shapes and sizes. Then again maybe this ****ogy highlights that difference - our instruments are not about competing with each other, whereas car racing is all about the competition so all things have to be equal (or as equal as possible )

I digress.

[Ken Smith]

The title and questions are perfectly fine to ask here. My points are more of an educational type nature as most people do not see the un-obvious points when making comparisons. My intention is to point these out in a respectful and educational manner and not a slap on the wrist type reply at all.

Makers themselves have to experiment to make a good Bass one after the other. Even when trying to make a copy with the master's example in front of them, it's not so easy to do so and get the same results. Plenty of unknowns still exist along with a little magic as well.

[Gareth Hughes]

No slap on the wrist felt at all. The education available on this forum is a goldmine of information and genuinely appreciated. I've been playing DB for about 9 years and I've learnt more about the instrument in the past few months reading here than I had previously.

[Tom Martin]

And Ken seems to have a great sense of humor too !!! (see msg. #6)