"Cornerless Italian & Spanish Basses"

[Matthew Tucker]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

with the long single floating ribs on each side, besides the slight sound difference, I think it can pull more on the top and crack itself more easily than cornered basses. When the bass moves, something has to give.

Another way of thinking about it, is that without the stiffening corner blocks, the whole assembly is more flexible, so when the top or back moves with humidity, so does everything else, meaning the top and back is less likely to crack.