The Koussevitzky / Karr Bass -- Scientific Dating ****ysis

[Sam Sherry]

Many posters may find this monograph concerning tree-ring dating of the Special K Bass interesting.

Cool pic of Serge Koussevitzky with his bass too!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

Many posters may find this monograph concerning tree-ring dating of the Special K Bass interesting.

Cool pic of Serge Koussevitzky with his bass too!

Thank's Sam for the article link. This is nothing new about this Bass as we have known for years it's nothing Italian at all. The age they place is the youngest possible but that doesn't mean it is so. What if it was an old piece of wood they used? What if the wood came from a building beam? I have a new English bass with 200 year old Top wood. Panormo made some Violin backs from an old Billard table. Using old wood on new instruments is nothing new.

I have heard that the Back and Top are from different instruments making the Bass a composite and the Scroll even more recent English work.

The most pedigree thing about this Bass is who owned and played it and now who made the parts or modified it either.

Many old basses have stories to tell. usually it is too expensive to do all the testing to make such a report. Imagine having a report on every old bass attached to it at the time of sale. What would that add to the price?

Wood dating usually only tells us the earliest it could have been made and not actually when it was constructed. More like when it was NOT constructed is the case. The rest is a bit of guess work.

[Jake de Villiers]

Originally Posted by Sam Sherry

Cool pic of Serge Koussevitzky with his bass too!

Great photo - I really like the bass trunk too!

Good point on the wood - the bass can't be any older than the wood but it could be newer.
I wish there was a university where we could send pix of the wood and they'd date it for $20.00! That would be terrific...

[Joel Larsson]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Imagine having a report on every old bass attached to it at the time of sale. What would that add to the price?

It seems like the price would actually have to be lowered, doesn't it?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

It seems like the price would actually have to be lowered, doesn't it?

Lowered if it disproves the maker and date. But raised if all is correct and you have the added cost of dating it and proving it.

It can swing either way or not at all.

For instance, I have a Gilkes and a Hart made less than 20 years apart. Unless they can prove the dates and origin of a later date and different maker, proving it correct will not raise the price. Dis-proving anything can easily hurt.

On my Gamba, if we find the Bass is Gagliano and not a later English copy then the price would go up.

More than usual, Basses are proved to be as-is or later, hardly ever earlier.

Sometimes you see a dealer selling some Italian or French or English bass for a fantastic price. Then you find out it's NOT what the say it is and the price is actually High for what it really Is. Not such a good deal then huh?