Storioni?

[5stringDNA]

I have no idea if I am spelling this name right, or if I'm completely botching it. At any rate, I got talking with the principal bassist at the Colorado Symphony Orchestra last night (they performed an assortment of italian works) and mentioned how much I loved the dark old grizzled look and the huge deep tone of his bass. I was rather surprised at the age (I thought it was early to mid 1800's, he said it was approximately 1774). I am not terribly well informed about many of the very "antique" builders so to speak and was curious if someone knew of some otehr examples or knew a little more about the name. Does Storioni sound right/ familiar to anyone? (ken, that's you, haha) I didn't get around to inquiring about the price as I thought it out of place, but I'm guessing it's worth quite a bit more than anything I've ever played.

[G-force]

Originally Posted by 5stringDNA

I have no idea if I am spelling this name right, or if I'm completely botching it. At any rate, I got talking with the principal bassist at the Colorado Symphony Orchestra last night (they performed an assortment of italian works) and mentioned how much I loved the dark old grizzled look and the huge deep tone of his bass. I was rather surprised at the age (I thought it was early to mid 1800's, he said it was approximately 1774). I am not terribly well informed about many of the very "antique" builders so to speak and was curious if someone knew of some otehr examples or knew a little more about the name. Does Storioni sound right/ familiar to anyone? (ken, that's you, haha) I didn't get around to inquiring about the price as I thought it out of place, but I'm guessing it's worth quite a bit more than anything I've ever played.

Hey, i don't have my book in front of me but I believe that storioni was one of the last great Cremona makers of his period. There are alleged bass which claim this being made by him but I know of none which are authentic. If it is a real one it and in good shape it's worth its weight in gold if not more....
I had a friend who owned a Storioni fiddle. It was not cheap.

[ispider6]

According to cozio.com and The Strad, this is an example of a Storioni 1791 double bass (guitar-shaped).

http://www.cozio.com/pic/9306.jpg

Pretty neat.

Did the Colorado Symphony guy have a guitar-shaped bass or was it violin cornered?

[KSB - Ken Smith]

Any of the major named Italian Basses today in working order are in the 100-200k range. Many of the great Violin makers did not make Basses. They still claim these makers but it's rare to find one that is agreed upon. I wonder why the make Amati and Guarneri model Basses and with sloped shoulder no doubt when these makers have few Basses if any we can claim let alone with small shoulders.

I have seen Maggini, D'salo, Gagliano, Guadagnini and a few other names of Basses confirmed but not ervery great maker did Basses.

It doesn't have to be the best known guy of that city and year to be a great Bass. How many 300-400yr old Basses are around that are in great shape, easy to play and sound good in the solo register as well as the E string and extension range? Not many!

I just bought another English Bass that needs about a one year restoration or so. A mold must be made to re-shape the top. This Bass was made after 1800 and was used for most of it's life and needs a ton of work. Imagine a 300-400 year old Bass used as much not to mention the repairs and alterations. By the way, this may be the Best Bass I've had but was only able to play it briefly as it is literally coming apart.

Back to Storioni, I have seen some in books and listed from shops claiming to be from him but it's hard to say. Maybe he did make a few. Who here can say he did or didn't? Certainly not me! I will play tomorrow with my Dodd and one of the subs that has a sweet looking no-name Italian Bass over 200 years old. The Dodd will bury it as did my Martini last time and it's under 100 years old. There is a reason that so many Orchestras have old English Basses as well as some modern Italians in the under 100 year age class mixed in the sections. They work!

[5stringDNA]

His bass looked nothing like the link. It had very modest violin corners, but the color and finish were similar to the pictured bass. He mentioned that they had peeled off several consecutive labels applied on top of each other by various shops over the years, each with a different name, in order to get down to what was believed to be the orignal. From what he said, the appraisals indicated 1770's was the very earliest the bass would have been made. It definately looked like it had 200 + years of use on it! haha

[KSB - Ken Smith]

If my Bass was an old Italian and said Storioni on the label, there would be very little to put over it to make it more valuable other than d'Salo, Maggini, Amati etc. The problem is that any expert can tell the label and Bass doesn't match.

I heard recently of a dealer buying a Violin at auction with a French label. He saw another one under it and it was Viennese maker. Not more or less valuable but more of the truth which I think has value. It is hard enough to pinpoint the makers after 100-300 years but replacing labels is a huge crime in this business.

I just looked up a Cello and it was nothing like that Bass as far as Scroll, FFs or Varnish. One of the Storioni attributed Basses I once saw was also Guitar shaped.

[Paul Warburton]

I had a friend in San Francisco who had a Storioni...It wasn't the guitar model, but it was a killer. Elgar says many were made of poplar wood for backs abd ribs.