"Pasquali" by Ken McKay

[Ken McKay]

Varnish has a way of taking on a life of its own. I have varnished samples and said "that looks good" to myself and then varnished a whole bass, only to hate it. I have learned a few things along the way though. Some varnish looks good with some wood while others looks bad. Some varnish uses dyes to color but don't look old italian. Mixing pigments can also lead to surprises when the whole thing is done. For example I once varnished a bass and looked at the instrument at an angle and a funny salmon color shined through. It is an ongoing struggle. I don't know any maker who is fully satisfied with their varnish.

[Brian Gencarelli]

Looks and sounds good Ken!

Very nice, indeed!

BG

[Ken McKay]

Thanks Brian! I would love to have you try it in person if I were there.

[Ken McKay]

Here it is http://www.upnorthstrings.com/cornerlessbasspage26 read about it here and let me know what you think. It was a very interesting project which I might like to try again, not sure yet. I like the sound and the way it plays and what more could I ask.

[Ken McKay]

Hey Ken could you tear yourself away from your Martini long enough to take a look and hear the sound with varnish? I think it makes a difference. It may be a bit fuller and mellower, not as harsh.

I added some new photos and a couple youtubes. It is all on this page
www.upnorthstrings.com/cornerlessbasspage26

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ken McKay

Hey Ken could you tear yourself away from your Martini long enough to take a look and hear the sound with varnish? I think it makes a difference. It may be a bit fuller and mellower, not as harsh.

I added some new photos and a couple youtubes. It is all on this page
www.upnorthstrings.com/cornerlessbasspage26

Ok, I am confused. Who is playing the bass there in all of these Vids you've posted?

What strings are on the bass? I can't tell from that page.

I remember Arnold showing me a bass he made a couple of years back. He mentioned that he wasn't happy with the sound a 100% when it was done so he added two more coats of varnish and 'that' warmed it up tonally. The bass sounded beautiful and in no way sounded new at all.

Your bass sounds great raw or varnished. With varnish I feel it has slightly less string edge but that is with listening on a tiny computer speaker. I am sure that you can hear the difference better in the room, live. So, how does it sound? She/he looks great, the bass itself that is..

[Ken McKay]

Thanks for listening.

The bass is strung with Evah weich's and sounds slightly less edgy with the varnish. I have not strung it with anything else because it seems to like the EPW's just fine.

The player is Josh Allison, a young former student at Interlochen and now at Trinity college. I always enjoy listening to him play. He will be in the market for a nice orchestra bass when he graduates.

The nice thing about my new cornerless is that I have not had to do much of anything since the initial set up after varnish. The bass played well right out of the shoot. In the white when first strung there was a loud wolf on the A but went away with the brass afterlength weight.