Gamba Italian Basses..

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Brandon Mason

98% is right! Are you sure your Loveri doesn't have an eHarmony profile?

I would definitely look further into this. The obvious difference is the varnish. Is that just oxidized, Italian red? Would, say, Loveri use such differing varnishes?

Whatever the case, great looking bass. I'm anxious to see the restored result.

First off, I am not sure about the darker stuff. It may have been varnished over that lighter golden brown as seen on my 1873 Loveri.

On the 'Joe' thing, he is a 20th century maker aka Loveri Bros. The Henley book had 1825 for a date on the Loveri Bros. so something is confusing here. This new/old Bass of mine is very old. By the edge wear alone and other natural aging signs I would guess it to be well over 100 years old if not 150 or more. It looks as old or older than my former Dodd, Prescott, or current Hart and Gilkes all of which are 1830 or earlier. Maybe those Bass were just built stronger and better stood the test of time?

I will research this Bass very carefully but I have it sometime in 19th century Naples. Also, the Dimensions on the middle and lower bouts as well as the body length and overall length are very similar to my Loveri. What is very different though is the original string length. The Loveri was at least 43" before cut and this new one before the slight cut was maybe 42" or so.

Both are long bodied Basses with long Gaglianoish FFs. Hey, maybe it's one of the Gagliano's or another maker in Naples from before the Loveri's, who knows?

In the mean time, here is the Link to the Attributed Old Neapolitan.