Guarneri basses

[Richard Prowse]

What a clip! I've just watched it, unfortunately with no sound. He was playing German, I thought he played French.

[Calvin Marks]

Originally Posted by Richard Prowse

What a clip! I've just watched it, unfortunately with no sound. He was playing German, I thought he played French.

That's funny, I've seen it with sound. He played German and I believe he studied Double Bass and Conducting at the Vienna Conservatory way back when.

[Martin Sheridan]

The Guarneri family worked in Cremona, Italy. There are no known basses by any of the Cremona families although there is one bass attributed to G.B. Rogeri who studied there.

[Joel Larsson]

Neither Meyer nor Pöllmann have responded to my question as to which bass they used as a blueprint. I guess we deal with attributions in both cases - as well as with the Guarneri that Dall'Occa supposedly played back in the days - attributions that may not even prove very trustworthy if tried today. A good model is a good model, I guess.

[Eric Rene Roy]

I too would like to know where they got the model to go with the name. But...there is a Strad Viol in the Shrine to Music...you can see it here: http://www.usd.edu/smm/Cellos/Stradi...CelloViol.html . The Viol was about cello size...but with the sloping shoulders of a DB. Someone added to it to make it a cello shape...but you can still perfectly see the Viol outline. Someday I intend to turn this viol outline along with the ff holes and blow it up to DB proportions. To me this is what a Strad DB would have looked like had a DB been made by his shop.

Also...when we first started playing with bass shapes...I took the Guarneri template I used for a viola I made and added sloping shoulder to it to see how it would look as a bass. It looked too much like the "Carcassi" basses you see from Eastern Europe.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Martin Sheridan

The Guarneri family worked in Cremona, Italy. There are no known basses by any of the Cremona families although there is one bass attributed to G.B. Rogeri who studied there.

Didn't a confirmed Ruggeri sell recently to Toronto for a huge sum? Storioni and his pupil Ceruti also made basses but slightly later. I agree on this that Strad' didn't and the Amati family has yet to produce a confirmed DB. As far as any of the Guarneri members, this I am not certain of. I do know that as far as the larger instruments go, Venice was far more active in Basses (aka V.Cellos) and Double Basses in that period.

[Joel Larsson]

Isn't there at least one confirmed bass by Nicolo's son, Hieronymous II? Of course, he is considered far inferior to his father as well as to his contemporary, Stradivari, but people aren't always right. (Especially when it comes to basses... and attributions.)

Thomas Martin makes copies of a Ruggeri double bass, built in 1695, then apparently owned by a Dutch player. Maybe that's the same bass as the one sold to Toronto, or - all the better - there are more than one..?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

Isn't there at least one confirmed bass by Nicolo's son, Hieronymous II? Of course, he is considered far inferior to his father as well as to his contemporary, Stradivari, but people aren't always right. (Especially when it comes to basses... and attributions.)

Thomas Martin makes copies of a Ruggeri double bass, built in 1695, then apparently owned by a Dutch player. Maybe that's the same bass as the one sold to Toronto, or - all the better - there are more than one..?

No, that bass is not confirmed as far as I know. I know the current owner of the bass as I just met him last week at the ISB. I was offered one by that maker as well a few years back and was told by another dealer that it was Amati 'school' at best or 'in the style of'.

[Calvin Marks]

More importantly, how does it sound??

[Calvin Marks]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Didn't a confirmed Ruggeri sell recently to Toronto for a huge sum? Storioni and his pupil Ceruti also made basses but slightly later. I agree on this that Strad' didn't and the Amati family has yet to produce a confirmed DB. As far as any of the Guarneri members, this I am not certain of. I do know that as far as the larger instruments go, Venice was far more active in Basses (aka V.Cellos) and Double Basses in that period.

That was 2 years ago. Jeff Beecher, the new Principal Bass of the Toronto Symphony bought Peter Lloyd's Ruggieri...What an instrument. You can hear that individual bass from the audience.

[Joel Larsson]

Pöllmann responded:

Originally Posted by Ralph Krahmer

Sorry for the late response.
We have seen the original Andrea Guarneri some years ago in USA and we
making a outline of the bass. The original is in Minnesota by Peter Lloyd.
Since some years we build this Guarneri and the Model comes
more and more popularly. So, some Bassmaker colleges have now
the great idea to make also Guarneri models....

Best regards
Pöllmann Bassmaker
Ralph

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

Pöllmann responded: Originally Posted by Ralph Krahmer
Sorry for the late response.
We have seen the original Andrea Guarneri some years ago in USA and we
making a outline of the bass. The original is in Minnesota by Peter Lloyd.
Since some years we build this Guarneri and the Model comes
more and more popularly. So, some Bassmaker colleges have now
the great idea to make also Guarneri models....

Best regards
Pöllmann Bassmaker
Ralph

I just met Ralph in person along with hie 'big' brother Michael. We have talked by Email in the past but this time they (Michael mainly) looked over my 'Big Gamba' and gave me his opinion of how it might have been made and where. It was very interesting and to date, maybe the best opinion I have had as well. Then Michael said after giving his final opinion.."Ok, (hand reaches out) $100. please....".. But a slightly smaller smile that than as I was reaching for my wallet. His hand went down as I grabbed my wallet so I just smiled, put my wallet, shook his hand and said thanks.. He visited the Bass at least one other time afterwords as well.