Italian or fake (hungarian)

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Gunter Grass

dear ken,

thank you, very much for your opinion. even though i have seen and played quite a large number of basses, it´s still hard to tell what is fake and what not (just from looking at pics). the top looks quite old, but the back and the fakt that there are no cracks at all is very strange. anyway, thank you again.

The Top is a softer wood and cracks easier than the hardwood back. Round backs do not crack as much as flat backs. Cracks can be put into new basses and new basses can also be made with cracked and distorted wood to fake aging. A genuine old bass will show its distortion and condition over time depening on how it was cared for.

In Hungary, people there make from about $400-$600 a month in income from what I was told by Hungarians, Luthiers, Doctors, anyone, unless you have some other business on the side with the outside world. They are 100 years behind the world 'we' live in. To make a fake bass is their goal, those makers. Survival is to fake and make more money even if it takes 2-3 months to make it. Not all the Luthiers in Hungary are fakers, just some of them. They even take new basses from Romania and fake them as well to look old. I have seen them and had 2 of them here.

As for finding a good deal on a real old Italian bass, good luck. You will need it. lol