Ex-Riccardi Cornerless Bass Copy (formerly attributed to 'Storioni') (SOLD)

[Thomas Erickson]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

No, I don't need to copy it. Feel free to copy and post your ideas where applicable. If the subject turns to the side a bit it's ok by me to air out the thoughts on it and then get back to the mainstream topic.

On your 'been there done that' comment about playing in an Orchester I gotta ask you this. You were born in 1982. You have a Shen made in 1997. You were 15 when the bass was made and and you are 28 now. Is the Shen the bass you played in the 'been there done that' statement?

I once asked a retired player who played without a C-extension for 15 years in a Pro Orchestra but had a converted 5er a question about the Storm 6th part. I wanted to know if he played all the low individual 16ths on the 5er or on the 4 an octave up? He replied, 'we never played the 6th!'

So Thomas, how do you approach that part on the 6th?

I know this is off topic but you made the comment about length and if I read you correctly it was a bit condescending to todays players in the 41-42" string length range. If you were referring to beginners and jazz players trying to go shorter than 41" for whatever reason then please say so.

For the record, I subscribe to the 41-42" length for everything I play, buy or modify. Sometimes the bass is just too small or too big or too long or the FFs too low or close together to modify but, I do have these numbers in mind as a goal and for a very good reason.

Back on topic, the Varnish is in the final coatings. The last round of pics Arnold sent me look stunning. In order to keen the strong maple flames showing, the varnish cannot get too dark. The oxidation of the wood on the original is something we cannot buy in a jar and put on a bass so we will just have to wait a few centuries for that..

I don't mean to condescend at all - I think that discussion of topics like this can't help but benefit all of us! I admit that I tend to push buttons though - but only in a good way.

Sure, I'm not the oldest guy around, and while I do have a fair bit of experience playing in orchestras, I'm not currently a pro orchestra player. The Shen is my current instrument due to circumstance but believe me, I'm not proud of it. It is an appliance at best; a questionable appliance at that (I'm sure that will offend someone)...

Really, my only point is just that people seem to see *string length* (often not knowing what it actually is) as some magic factor to making a bass playable, when the reality is that there are so many small factors that all add up to make a musical instrument.

[Ken Smith]

Back on topic, I visited Arnold yesterday afternoon and got a good look at the bass all varnished and awaiting its final rubout. Arnold marked the fingerboard (unstrung) where the octave G is and the D near the neck heel. Boy is that G easy to reach. With the palm of my hand on the shoulder, the G is right there under my fingers without any reach at all. The D is perfect, just a smudge above the center of my thumb.

All I can say is the bass looks and feels sweet. I have owned more basses than I can count and some of them were fairly new (not counting basses I buy for stock). This however is the first Bass I have ever commissioned to be made from scratch. I was able to select the wood with Arnold in his shop and was involved in the design as well.

The bass was in a stand along side of the back/rib assembly of the original it was copied from.

I will probably have the bass a few weeks before Christmas as it has to go first to the VSA to be judged and then when it returns I will find a day to drive up and get it. That will be my first time playing it as well.

[Ken Smith]

I just got back from Arnold's and got to play the new Bass. I actually went up to show the Malvolti labeled bass and get a game plan to clean it up soon as well as pick up my Lombardi roundback that just got a tweak and clean-up as well. Arnold mentioned on the phone that the bass is ready to play so, I did.

I was surprised how deep and smooth it was. It did not sound new. The bass is so accessible with the Storioni shoulders that with my arm/wrist resting on the shoulder, I can play the 2nd octave C on the G in thumb position without actually going to TP.. lol

It was a treat to play. The workmanship is beautiful and all the materials top-notch. It will go soon out to the VSA show for the competition. When it comes back, the C-Extension will be made and fit. Then some final set-up tweaking when we meet on that final day when the bass comes home. This is my first double bass commission. A Grand Slam. Bravo Maestro Arnoldo.

[Eric Swanson]

Congratulations to both you and Arnold! It sounds as if another great bass has come into the world...

[Craig Regan]

........ Pictures?

[Arnold Schnitzer]

I have some preliminary pics up on my Facebook page. The bass is being delivered to Ken on 12/17, and I'm sure there will be a beautiful layout on the KSB site within hours. I've just finished the C extension and the instrument really likes it.

[Ken Smith]

The Scroll pics. The original and 300 years later, a modified copy;



Back Button area;


Rib/profile;


The F holes;


These pics were copied by permission from Arnold's facebook page. When the Bass gets here later this month, we will take a full set of pics and post a full page on the website. When the original 'Storioni' (as it was known as) comes out of restoration, I will again make a new page on that bass as well as a side-by-side page of the original and the inspired copy.