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

[Yeong Cham]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Hi Ken/Arnold,

Congratulations on the great looking and sounding bass!

Are those English Baker tuning machines?

I'm asking because all the Baker style tunings machines that I've seen here in London have screws on the other side of the cheek to hold the cog in place. Would you please share how do they work (without screw) on your bass?

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Originally Posted by Yeong Cham

Are those English Baker tuning machines?

I'm asking because all the Baker style tunings machines that I've seen here in London have screws on the other side of the cheek to hold the cog in place. Would you please share how do they work (without screw) on your bass?

They are copies from Gallery Strings in England. If you look closely you'll see that the sides of the large gear are angled, which holds them in place via the pressure from the worm gear. I strongly prefer not to drill through the opposite side when installing gears. The scroll is considerably stronger this way, and less likely to break or split.

[Yeong Cham]

Hi Arnold.

Thank you for sharing. Looks like the "Healey" model. Yes?

I feel the same about not drill the opposite side. Another thing about the Baker style tuners that I don't quite like is that in most cases the gears and screws/washers (on the other side) don't sit flat on the cheeks.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Yeong Cham

Hi Arnold.

Thank you for sharing. Looks like the "Healey" model. Yes?

I feel the same about not drill the opposite side. Another thing about the Baker style tuners that I don't quite like is that in most cases the gears and screws/washers (on the other side) don't sit flat on the cheeks.

Yes, that is usually true with most gears of that style. However, I have never heard of anyone replacing 'real' Baker gears. They seem to last for ever, about two centuries going on three! For a Gear that good, I can live with the looks of the screw.

[Arnold Schnitzer]

Ken, care to share any news about this bass?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Arnold Schnitzer

Ken, care to share any news about this bass?

Yes, sure, why not.

After careful consideration and a few players falling over it emotionally, I decided to sell it to a professional Orchestra player so it could get the attention it needs.

Being that I own the original and a dozen or more other old relics, I thought it would live best in the hands of a full time player.

Had ALL of my old basses sold before hand, I would have been more than happy having this as my one and only main bass. That NOT being the case, I offered it to sale as soon as the question popped up for a new Schnitzer Bass by a person trying this out, but not right away. I did have to think about it for a week or two to ease my own mind on the subject. Either way, I think he would have ordered one just like it as both him and another Orchestra Pro with him agreed that it didn't sound like a new bass and the low end was killer. Also, it played so easy it taught me for the future what I should look for in maximum comfort.

Now that this bass has been made and tried, I am even more spoiled in playability concept than I had been in the past.

[Matthew Tucker]

Well done both of you! So is there going to be a name for that "model"?