New Calin Wultur "Corsini"

fdeck · #1 05-23-2010, 02:31 PM

It's a new Calin Wultur "Corsini Model" fully carved roundback, sold to me by my friend and luthier, Vince Jesse (TB vejesse), who runs the Double Bass Workshop in Madison. Mensure is a tad over 41 inches, so it's not a giant bass, but of a size and proportions that are comfortable and not too hard on the eyes.

The widespread advice rings true: "Play as many basses as possible." In my case, having played the same old bass since 1982, I had to play a lot of basses, both inside and outside of my budget, to really wrap my head around the difference between instruments.

I wasn't compelled to buy a bass from Vince's shop, but it was nice that I was able to "buy local" after a search that included shops in Chicago as well. Vince's setup work is immaculate, and he provides a very laid back environment.

forester · #2 05-23-2010, 02:53 PM

well well....
good fortune,good looking,good choice,

Greg Clinkingbeard · #3 05-23-2010, 02:55 PM

I am honored to be the first to congratulate you! It's a nice looking bass and looks like it fits you well. Is that a Full Circle with the jack mounted like an Underwood?

Greg Clinkingbeard · #4 05-23-2010, 02:56 PM

Let me be the second.

fdeck · #5 05-23-2010, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clink

I am honored to be the first to congratulate you! It's a nice looking bass and looks like it fits you well. Is that a Full Circle with the jack mounted like an Underwood?

Thanks!

When Vince installed the pickup, he mounted it that way using some PVC tubing and a cable tie. Unfortunately... the cord interferes with my bow quiver when it points in that direction, so I have subsequently re-mounted it using my universal magic scheme as shown on my old Kay in this post:

BassMax pickup

@forester, I agree with your choice of words, "good fortune." Given the variation among basses, I feel fortunate indeed that the right one came along at the right time. I was actually leaning towards another bass (Shen Rogeri Willow, also a fine instrument) when I found out that Vince was going to get this bass, and I felt it might be worth waiting for.

mr.hughes · #6 05-23-2010, 03:42 PM

Lovely bass Fdeck. I had one of these for about two years and loved it dearly. Sadly had to sell it as it had a dead-note on the D and A string F#'s that was impossible to deal with live. Other than that I still miss it. Mine came with D'Addario Helicore's which sounded a little stiff to my ear (compared to other basses I had them on) but the bass really opened up with Kolstein Heritage strings on it.

drurb · #7 05-23-2010, 07:01 PM

Hey congrats again! Haha-- I actually congratulated you before anyone here but I had special knowledge.

Enjoy it for a long, long time. Looks beautiful!

JtheJazzMan · #8 05-23-2010, 07:36 PM

Theres the new bass smile.

Are you using the fishman solid adjuster on the treble side? Those things are about 8 grams too heavy, plus a 2 piece adjuster is less wear on the wooden threads.

Something to keep in mind when the desire to mod your bass springs into your mind.

fdeck · #9 05-23-2010, 07:39 PM

What do you mean by 2 piece?

I've got the original adjusters, so I could always swap one of them back in.

Will Yager · #10 05-23-2010, 08:04 PM

Congrats from a fellow Corsini owner!

JtheJazzMan · #11 05-23-2010, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdeck

What do you mean by 2 piece?

I've got the original adjusters, so I could always swap one of them back in.

Adjusters with a separate threaded rod and threaded disc, as opposed to the fishman which is one piece of metal.

If you have some spare adjusters its a worthwhile experiment drilling out as much material without making them too weak.

I drilled out about 4.5 grams out of a 14 gram adjuster+thread. I noticed an increase in string clarity in the higher frequencies.

Something to do on a rainy day

tornadobass · #12 05-24-2010, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fdeck

The widespread advice rings true: "Play as many basses as possible." In my case, having played the same old bass since 1982, I had to play a lot of basses, both inside and outside of my budget, to really wrap my head around the difference between instruments.

Congratulations!

I had a similar situation...played an American Standard since 1983 and wanted a more conventional instrument with a more comfortable string mensure. I ended up with a carved bass also called "Corsini" but under the maker name Matthias Kriner.

It took quite awhile to decide on an instrument, although this one stood out early on and I kept going back to try it again despite a few small problems.

This bass will mostly be used for chamber orchestra and pit settings. I'm not sure if I'll need a pickup on it, but I installed my early version RS II over the weekend. This version used a jack with an RCA plug, so I can remove and install the pickup quite easily while just leaving the jack on the tailpiece.

Paul Warburton · #13 05-24-2010, 08:05 AM

Nice. Congrats. I see the wolf tone eliminator. Was the wolf in the standard place on the A string? No big deal, but after bowing it a lot for a few months you could try taking it off. I've seen them go away completely on a new bass after some playing in.
Have fun.

Eric Swanson · #14 05-24-2010, 11:07 AM

Congratulations! It looks lovely. Thanks for sharing the photo.

Gornick · #15 05-24-2010, 12:18 PM

Beautiful bass, F. Curious, what do you think of the sound, projection, overall volume?

Dudie · #16 05-24-2010, 04:26 PM

Congratulations!
From another new "Corsini" owner.

New Bass!

fdeck · #17 05-24-2010, 07:57 PM

Thanks for the many kind words.

@Gornick, this is possibly the hardest question for me to answer because I don't have a good sense for the terminology of bass tone. Perhaps I can make some comparisons. Another bass on my short list was a Shen Rogeri Willow. The Shen products are all high quality, and also seem to have reasonable consistency from one bass to another within a given model.

Side by side, the Rogeri and my Corsini (both fully carved roundbacks) had comparable volume, which I didn't expect from the Corsini being a somewhat smaller bass. The Corsini had more "bite," which I decided that I preferred. I am also really pleased with the sustain of the A and E strings.

There were some flatback models that I played with even more "bite," including a Shen Rogeri flatback and a Wultur model. I have to confess to having a predisposition towards a roundback, for both maintenance and aesthetic reasons, but in the final analysis, the tone of the Corsini was where it was at for me.

There were basses outside of my price range that were louder. Lots of folks have reminded me that volume isn't the be-all, especially since most gig work will be amplified, but dagnabbit, a loud bass is a pleasure to play.

When auditioning basses, I was looking for something that would be capable for both pizz and arco work. Most of my gigs are jazz, but I have really gotten into bowed soloing, and also I do most of my practicing at home with the bow. It's fun.

@Paul, thanks for that advice. I was the first customer to try out the Corsini, and it did have the wolf in the usual place. But I will try your suggestion. Also, I plan to try a set of Spiro's that I just got, so I will have to re-evaluate when that happens.

@Tornado, I am doing little or no legit work right now, and this will be my only bass except for keeping the Kay as a winter beater. So I am OK with just leaving the pickup on there for now. As always, "specifications may change without notice."

Daniel Baskin · #18 05-25-2010, 03:02 PM

Hi Fdeck!

I am a proud Corsini model owner as well (flatback, though). Congratulations, I like my bass as well.

In your picture I saw that you had Obligatos strung on it. I've considering that string for my bass and was wondering how you like them on that bass in particular. Have you tried that string on other basses?

Thanks!

--Daniel

peterpalmieri · #19 05-25-2010, 03:12 PM

Best of luck with your new bass......

I wanted to make a witty comment about the dandelines in the grass but I couldn't come up with anything.

fdeck · #20 05-25-2010, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daniel Baskin

Hi Fdeck!

I am a proud Corsini model owner as well (flatback, though). Congratulations, I like my bass as well.

In your picture I saw that you had Obligatos strung on it. I've considering that string for my bass and was wondering how you like them on that bass in particular. Have you tried that string on other basses?

Thanks!

--Daniel

I like the Obli's. I've never tried them before this bass. My old Kay started out with Superflexibles, then I switched to Spirocores. The Spiro's were somewhat difficult to bow, so I decided to start out with Obli's on the new bass.

But I have a new set of Spiro's that I am going to try on the new bass as well.