Gamba Italian Basses..

[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.

[Ken Smith]

After discussing the pics of my latest mystery acquisition with two prominent NY Luthiers, both of them independently agree that this is a 19th century Neapolitan Bass. I also asked if it could possibly be Czech, German or Bohemian like some less informed people suspected from looking at some poorly taken pics. Once again they both believe it is Italian and most likely Neapolitan.

The factors that point to 19th century Naples are the classic FFs, the long Scroll/pegbox with the grade of the Scroll wood (which seems to have a few original glue joints showing it was pieced together length and width-wise), the slab cut Rib wood and the rift cut Top wood. The cut shoulders displaying the current upper bout shape was not discovered till now as well as the wood traits mentioned when carefully examined in person at my shop.

I recently learned about another Loveri Bass that has an open peg Box similar to mine and the Luthier that worked on it believed it was most likely original as well.

Here are some pics that helped in the deciding factors I just mentioned;



The FFs and the Scroll were major factors separating it from anything Central European. The style of the wood chosen was also another clue as we almost never see Slab cut wood on Germanic/Czech type Basses nor do we see Scrolls made with multiple pieces for yield. The open Pegbox can mean anything but the fact that it looks original like the other Loveri mentioned shows that this style was used. The wood plates on the cheeks are not original and I doubt the Gear order is either. The Gears though can be original but I would have to destroy the plates to find out as they are glued on the cheeks. The 1873 Carlo Loveri I have was made more Cello shape and cut down to a solo shaped Bass. This one has only been slightly cut at the bouts and then sloped up at the block as the shoulders still have some width to them.

[Ken Smith]

I went out to Jeff Bollbach's yesterday to bring home my Storioni for some concerts as the restoration is currently on hold. Jeff suggested I bring along the new Gamba I just got in to have a good look inside the Bass.

As soon as we put the Bass up on the bench, he commented something like 'this is nothing 'but' Italian from what I can see' (as a few people looking at pics suspected Czech). Looking inside the Bass it was obvious by oxidation that the Bass was at least 150 years old if not older (c.1850 or before). In comparing the FFs he commented how similar they are to Loveri but also that they are only similar and not Loveri's hand (Jeff has worked on several Loveri Basses). Hence, this Bass is not by Loveri and older as well. Jeff also examined the Scroll and said the open back is original (like a Loveri he has worked on) as well as original to the Bass. With the exception to the slight shoulder cut, the Bass is all original.

So, now that I know what it's not, we may never know who the actual maker is. At least I know now that it's a Gagliano School Bass just like Loveri is. That's a good start even if it's all we even find out.