New LaScala

[salcott]

I picked up my bass today at Arnold's shop. It's really well made and the finish is beautiful. Little details like the excellent purfling really make a difference. I feel at home immediately on it even though it's 1 1/2" shorter string length than my other bass and violin rather than gamba shape. You have to look pretty close to see that it's not a carved bass. First gig (no amp) is Monday. I'll know more then.

[bribass]

Originally Posted by salcott

I picked up my bass today at Arnold's shop. It's really well made and the finish is beautiful. Little details like the excellent purfling really make a difference. I feel at home immediately on it even though it's 1 1/2" shorter string length than my other bass and violin rather than gamba shape. You have to look pretty close to see that it's not a carved bass. First gig (no amp) is Monday. I'll know more then.

Congrats Steve!, BG

[drurb]

Congrats!!!

Now, PICTURES, please.

[BPeder]

Cool Salcott. I hope the new meatball is all you wanted and the bread too. I'm also in the "got a new bass" club and man is it a great place to be. Enjoy!

[salcott]

So, I did the gig and the bass worked out great. The band: tpt, tenor, electric keys, drums, and me with no amp. We all know how an electric keyboard, even played softly, can eat up an unamped uprite. The LaScala projects really well; it isn't swallowed up by the electric keys. It also speaks a bit quicker than my Tyrolean partner of 32 years. It also looks really good-you have to get a good look at the edges to realise it's plywood. An added perk, and a main reason I've gone the NS route, is to be on the subway after the gig and not have to worry about the slightest little bump making a really expensive noise. I'm sold. Cheers for Arnold and Wil.

[marvin spangles]

There has been much hyperbole written on this forum about this bass so I decided to wait a couple of weeks before submitting a review. During that time I have played two medium big mand gigs two small jazz quartet gigs and a weekend playing the Bach Double Violin concerto in a string ensemble of 15 including 5 cellos.
So what about the bass. I have to say that straight out of the box it was rather underwhelming. it didn't sound much different from my other fully carved well set up cheapie.
After playing just a few hours though the differences became very evident. The responsiveness or playability is what really sets it apart. It is just so much easier to get this bass to sing. I used to get sore hands if I played a couple of gigs back to back. Now I can have much more stamina. I don't have to work so hard to get a full sustaining tone. The instrument feels much more organic if you know what I mean. It feels more a part of me. The tone is rich though not particularly loud. It played really well in the classical ensemble. I was delighted with its rich woody sound.
i can't see many instances where I would use it unamped outside of the classical genre. It amplifies really well though the evah strings I ordered with it are best suited to being unamped imho.
Now when I go back to playing my old bass it feels so stiff by comparision. The notes are less focussed and I have to work so hard. The downside is that it cost me £1200 to import it . That includes vat flight and customs duty. Even though it pained me to part with the money it no longer bothers me because I have an instrument that I love. Hats of to Wil and ARnold at new standard for making such a good bass. I'd be interested to hear what kind of strings other La Scala users have experience with. My prime interest is Jazz but I am taking grade exams so I will spend most of my pracitce using the bow.

[salcott]

I'm using the DAddario Hybrids. I discussed string choice with Arnold, asking for whichever ones made the most noise, and that's what he suggested. They feel great, project really well unamped pizz., and amplify well on top of that. The arco sound is still pretty raw, due IMHO to new strings, new bass, and mediocre bow chops. I'm confident this will change as the bass becomes more comfortable with itself, and as I become more comfortable with it. My upstairs neighbour says it has a "pretty" sound. Bottom line after 10 days: I really like this bass a lot, and fully expect to like it more and more.

[MingusAmongUs]

That's a rare and good upstairs neighbor you have there....

Congrats on the new acquisition. I think we may be witnessing a milestone in AS's career... he's falling out of love with Spirocores and flirting with D'Addarios. It may be my fault. Let's hope D'Addario has worked out their QC issues. The nice thing about these strings, IME, is that they settle in much quicker than the Spiros. Give them 2 or 3 weeks and that new string honk should have warmed up nicely.

[CamMcIntyre]

Congrats guys.

[M Ramsey]

Originally Posted by MingusAmongUs

I think we may be witnessing a milestone in AS's career... he's falling out of love with Spirocores and flirting with D'Addarios. It may be my fault. Let's hope D'Addario has worked out their QC issues. The nice thing about these strings, IME, is that they settle in much quicker than the Spiros. Give them 2 or 3 weeks and that new string honk should have warmed up nicely.

No intention of derailing this thread about the newfound love for a new LaScala. The info about (D'Addarios) Helicores vs. Spirocores is exactly what I experienced with strings a few years back when I was still playing steel strings.

I found that there was virtually NO break in time with the Helicore Orchestra strings. I liked Spirocores prior to that period (since it was about all I had used) but once I tried the Helicores, it was over for me. A little less tension underneath the left hand and smoothness galore (especially after installing new strings).

If I were to go back to steels, Helicores would be the first place I'd visit. Right now, that's doubtful.

[larry]

Originally Posted by marvin spangles

I'd be interested to hear what kind of strings other La Scala users have experience with. My prime interest is Jazz but I am taking grade exams so I will spend most of my pracitce using the bow.

I've had my hybrid Lascala about 2 years now I think. I've bounced around from Obligatos to Superflexibles to Sprio Orchestra and now to Olivs.

The Oliv D & G are hands down the best damn strings I have ever used. Those strings on that bass are the sound I want.

I have an Oliv A I am still messing with. I think I really need to have gut strings (wrapped gut anyway), but I may try the Eudoxa E & A.

That huge fundamental you get from gut on such a light, easy-speaking bass like the Lascala is an amazing thing. Olivs bow really nice too. Way better than any steel string I've tried.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by salcott

I picked up my bass today at Arnold's shop.

Originally Posted by drurb

Congrats!!!

Now, PICTURES, please.

Still no pix! What a tease!

[Marcus Johnson]

I'm with Larry; Oliv D&G were the best on my La Scala as well. I always wanted to try them with the Eudoxas on the bottom. Olivs on top will ruin you for everything else if you can afford them.

That said, everything I installed sounded good on that bass. Besides the Olivs, that would include Spiro Weichs & Mittels, Pirastro Obligatos, Velvet Animas, and currently Pirastro Evah Pirazzis. If you are doing any amount of arco work in addition to your jazz pizz playing, I think you would like the E-Ps.

If you can bow them, I think Spiros perhaps fit the character of the bass better than anything else. I can play anything that pops into my head when they're on there, which isn't always true of other strings. My personal preference is Weich g, d, and a, with a Mittel E.

[salcott]

You guys are killin me! I promised myself I'd wait 6 months before I went into string swapping frenzy so everything could settle in. I'm still gonna do it, but oy vey! the temptation. Pix soon-the process for me is: camera-wife's computer-email to me-posting if I can figure it out. Be patient; I just got a celphone last year and still listen to LPs as much as CDs.

[MingusAmongUs]

Originally Posted by salcott

You guys are killin me! I promised myself I'd wait 6 months before I went into string swapping frenzy so everything could settle in. I'm still gonna do it, but oy vey! the temptation. Pix soon-the process for me is: camera-wife's computer-email to me-posting if I can figure it out. Be patient; I just got a celphone last year and still listen to LPs as much as CDs.

You are on the true Jedi path.
Resist the string frenzy temptation. Keep your LPs, nothing eklse sounds like em. And I only got a cell phone about a year ago too, and it's only for car emergencies. No signal here in the woods anyway.

[Samie]

Going back to the New laScala. Can a laminated or a hybrid really compare to fully carved? Is it the wood choice, the construction method?

is this the hybrid model?

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Samie

Going back to the New laScala. Can a laminated or a hybrid really compare to fully carved? Is it the wood choice, the construction method?

DURRL can answer that. Matter of fact, he has.

[drurb]

Originally Posted by MingusAmongUs

...Keep your LPs, nothing eklse sounds like em.

That's true-- CDs don't have all the noise plus ticks and pops! Sorry to go off-topic but the preference many express for LPs has much to do with 1) the poor job of mixing done by many engineers in the early days of transcription to CDs; 2) the frequency-response limitations and anomalies inherent in LPs. Many find the latter desirable and engineers learned to mix with those taken into account (related to point 1). I, too, have many LPs that sound better than their CD counterparts but it's not the result of limitations of the CD medium, per se. Happy to go to PM with all this.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

[salcott]

Couldn't agree more, drurb, re CDs and the improved quality thereof. A lot of stuff I listen to isn't on CD yet, if ever. I have 40+ year old LPs that are virtually silent due to good care and quality playback equipment (good TT, Dynaco ST70). Back to the program: my posts refer to the non-hybrid LaScala. It's probably never gonna sound like a vintage carved bass (duh!), but it makes a sound now that pleases me and all who have heard it, and I'm convinced it will improve with age and playing the same way any high quality instrument will. The important part of that statement is "high quality". This bass is made of light, resonant wood, and as such IMHO, at least, it will continue to "come together" as a single vibrating unit.

[Marcus Johnson]

Originally Posted by Samie

Can a laminated or a hybrid really compare to fully carved?

My La Scala Hybrid kills a lot of fully carved basses in the volume department. The tone is rich and complex.