Gamba Italian Basses..

[Ken Smith]

I played the Loveri in 2 orchestras to give it a good run and see what it can do. It sounds great but personally I need a C-Extension for what I do. Having several larger bodied Italian and English Basses with Extensions already I have opted to send the Loveri off to market to find a new home. It will be showcased up at Arnold's shop in Brewster, NY.

[Ken Smith]

Ok, below you will see 2 Basses. One we know is a Carlo Loveri. The other has nearly identical F-holes. Please look for your self and tell me what 'you' see!



Maybe someone here has some 'photoshop' skills and can size and overlay these on top of each other to see how close they are.

On the Loveri, all Bouts have been cut and reduced in size so the relationship to the outer edges are not original but close as only the upper Bouts were cut severely. On the other Bass the C-bouts and Lower bouts are original but with some edge wear. The upper bout has been cut as well just above the cornerblock but only slightly. Have a look at them side by side!

[Brandon Mason]

They look very similar to me. The darker bass may be a Joe Loveri, one of the unsung Neapolitan makers.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Brandon Mason

They look very similar to me. The darker bass may be a Joe Loveri, one of the unsung Neapolitan makers.

There is a Joe (Guiseppe?) Loveri? Where is this information noted?

Thanks for the 'Photoshop' work. They look 98% identical. Plus, the 1873 Loveri was Cut. It is not impossible for the FFs to be slightly re-shaped on that Bass either. The new acquisition is all original in the FFs as far as I can see but I could slightly alter them and get it to 99.5% identical if need be..

[Brandon Mason]

98% is right! Are you sure your Loveri doesn't have an eHarmony profile?

I would definitely look further into this. The obvious difference is the varnish. Is that just oxidized, Italian red? Would, say, Loveri use such differing varnishes?

Whatever the case, great looking bass. I'm anxious to see the restored result.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Brandon Mason

98% is right! Are you sure your Loveri doesn't have an eHarmony profile?

I would definitely look further into this. The obvious difference is the varnish. Is that just oxidized, Italian red? Would, say, Loveri use such differing varnishes?

Whatever the case, great looking bass. I'm anxious to see the restored result.

First off, I am not sure about the darker stuff. It may have been varnished over that lighter golden brown as seen on my 1873 Loveri.

On the 'Joe' thing, he is a 20th century maker aka Loveri Bros. The Henley book had 1825 for a date on the Loveri Bros. so something is confusing here. This new/old Bass of mine is very old. By the edge wear alone and other natural aging signs I would guess it to be well over 100 years old if not 150 or more. It looks as old or older than my former Dodd, Prescott, or current Hart and Gilkes all of which are 1830 or earlier. Maybe those Bass were just built stronger and better stood the test of time?

I will research this Bass very carefully but I have it sometime in 19th century Naples. Also, the Dimensions on the middle and lower bouts as well as the body length and overall length are very similar to my Loveri. What is very different though is the original string length. The Loveri was at least 43" before cut and this new one before the slight cut was maybe 42" or so.

Both are long bodied Basses with long Gaglianoish FFs. Hey, maybe it's one of the Gagliano's or another maker in Naples from before the Loveri's, who knows?

In the mean time, here is the Link to the Attributed Old Neapolitan.

[Ken Smith]

Ok, I just strung her up a short while ago. I didn't' have any old strings lying around so I put on a new set of Eurosonic Orchestra Lights (ones that I helped develop).

First off, the Fingerboard is poop. Some stupid wood from the Amazon and humped on the neck so it buzzes all over and dives down to the Top so the action is whacked.

The Bridge barely sits well on the Top and is warped way towards the strings as well as shortening the String length quite a bit.

In Shipping the Neck/Scroll/Pegbox was broken in the Graft area so I 2-toned it with some Epoxy overnight just to see If I could do a quick set-up and get a taste of what she has.

The Bass Bows very smooth and the E has great power. The upper notes are fair but hey, you can sort mail thru all these cracks that are open in the Back as well as seams, Ribs and the Top of course.

So, what does this Bass need? Well, what doesn't it need? I think this Bass will be in service in 2-3 years from now and need 2-3 years more to break back in. In the mean time, I think it has a nice low end spread and feels like a 200 year old Orchestra Bass. The sound is wide and quite warm ,just not tons of power now probably because of the 50 places the air is leaking from. Despite all this, the sound is quite focussed as well.