The death of someone so young and vibrant always seems so senseless. I have no words.
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Double Bass Andrea Spada Basses
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a friend of andrea's already reached out last night for just that reason. His goal is to get the half-finished projects, and raw material, to whoever paid for them. It has been made clear that due to some personal circumstances of the deceased, trying to be reimbursed for down payments is a lost cause. Several folks have already paid nearly in full for double-basses, and said they won't even try. I am also aware of an instrument (i believe a valuable one) that was in andreas possession. The owner has no immediate plans to get it, but will need to eventually - so at least we're in touch with folks who can help retrieve parts/wood.
as luck would have it, i saw mitch moehring who many of us know, express his condolences in instagram. He was friendly with andrea and appreciated his work. I asked mitch if I can get the violin (ribs glued to a mold + raw wood, as far as i know) if he could finish it. He said he'd be honored to work on something started by andrea.
of course there is the logistics of "i still need a violin," but the idea of just ordering a nice fiddle does not appeal to me. it would be really nice to see this project be completed - andrea was (as per my last post with the photo) very, very excited about this instrument. To have a friend of his do his best to bring it to life would be really cool. (doesn't hurt that mitch does great work as well!)
my other issue is: my contrabassetto order was nothing more than a down payment and a selection of wood. The person im in touch with could send me the very beautiful leopardwood, but i have no idea what to do with it - it's just raw wood, and it's pieces big enough for a small bass so shipping it would be expensive.
Terribly sad. I of course haven't had the honor of knowing him, but even in my paltry 4 DB years I've heard his name and of his reputation. My deepest condolences to his family, and to his friends everywhere.
It's worth mentioning, yes, heart problems happen in the young too. My wife lost a brother and a nephew, both in their 30s. Because we know she has heart conditions running in her family, evidently particularly with the men in her family, we have gone out of our way to stress to our two 30 year old sons to have their hearts checked regularly. Because my wife is a cardiology RN, we are aware, and anxious to get the word out. I'd highly recommend heart-specific checkups to all of our friends here too, especially if you have heart problems in your family.
Reading about Andrea here I probably would have ordered a contrabassetto this year. There’s a such a deeply personal beauty in its design I believe he was someone who would have enriched life just to know him. I’m sorry I didn’t get to. My heart goes out to those who did.
Shocked to hear—had just wished him a happy new year a few days before. Always so kind and grateful when talking to him.
I didn’t know him long... began talking about building a bass mid-year.
The outpouring on his social media is touching. After a few phone calls with him you could tell he was so passionate and thought deeply about the work. So willing to talk, discuss, and educate.
I don’t believe he began work on my bass—just some plans and photos of the wood...
I didn’t know him long... began talking about building a bass mid-year.
The outpouring on his social media is touching. After a few phone calls with him you could tell he was so passionate and thought deeply about the work. So willing to talk, discuss, and educate.
I don’t believe he began work on my bass—just some plans and photos of the wood...
Hi guys!
My Spada bass is almost repaired but my local luthier is a bit concerned about the removable neck system. Will that single screw be enough to hold all the pressure from all the strings?! Any ideas/ experiences?
My Spada bass is almost repaired but my local luthier is a bit concerned about the removable neck system. Will that single screw be enough to hold all the pressure from all the strings?! Any ideas/ experiences?
I have never had a problem nor even the slightest feeling that it was in anyway less then completely stable and solid.
Works great. Partly because the joint it so well fitted.
I miss Andrea. I am still so heart broken that we have lost him.
...I just threw some Perp solo strings on there with an oliv G (been on a Miroslav jag) and the contrabassetto LOVES them. Big open sound. Me thinks these smaller basses might like the tension lower....I tried them before but something is way different this time....
Works great. Partly because the joint it so well fitted.
I miss Andrea. I am still so heart broken that we have lost him.
...I just threw some Perp solo strings on there with an oliv G (been on a Miroslav jag) and the contrabassetto LOVES them. Big open sound. Me thinks these smaller basses might like the tension lower....I tried them before but something is way different this time....
Im so sorry too that his last bass was damaged and I am really happy for you that after this extremely long wait you will finally have your bass.
Then more I play my Contrabassetto, the more I appreciate the genius of Andrea Spada. The Contrabassetto is not a compromised instrument (no offense anyone) like the Kolstein Bussetto or the other skinny travel bass that Upright Bob just bought the rights to or the Czech Ease (although that last has a much bigger sound). It is not made to approximate something else, there are no laminates. The width of the bouts is ample, the internal volume of the instrument, is proportionally right, and it's speaking voice is not anemic. Moreover every note all they way up the 4 Oct board speaks, all the way across, and it is in every respect an artist instrument. My CB plays like a solo instrument with a quick singing voice, yet cuts thru when I am comping. I hope that this type of instrument will be revived by other luthiers.
At a glance, I can see how it could be assumed the Kolstein is "compromised", but after spending five months with one out of town during the first year of the pandemic, I came to really like and appreciate it for what it was and did well. I'm sure it doesn't have the sound of the Spada, but it was better than you might think acoustically, and with a mic in front I recorded a few videos for Deep Tones for Peace and felt the sound was excellent. The "skinny" thing takes some getting used to balance-wise. I believe Barry's added a bout extender now.
Dude I knew I was gunna get into trouble. I love the Busetto! Great instrument, works really well, well made, sounds good...I just wanted to differentiate this other thing, that Andrea did. I cannot believe more people did not order Contrabasettos when the chance was there...they were only a few hundred more then a Kolstein.
I just got my Spada bass and I had the first concert tonight. I don’t know where to begin really, but she’s great. She doesn’t sound as loud as my other bass but I don’t think that my other bass sounded this loud when she was new either. But she sounds beautiful.
I played a jazz gig with a quartet in a quite “messy” place and I used (only!) my new Schoeps mk41 and it worked! I’m very excited to use this instrument some more and see how she develops.
This is the last instrument that Spada built so I feel very emotional every time I pick it up , but I also feel very lucky that he built this instrument for me. A huge thank you, to Piro for introducing Spada to me. I’m not only thankful for the instrument but also for the written friendship we had for over four years. I miss you buddy!
Now it’s time for bed…
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Congratulations. Andrea was a great guy and a major talent!
Kristian, It may take some time for the bass to fully open up. Trying different strings (from solo to spiro might help too) I just put on a set of Perp solo strings with an Oliv G and while it does not have the projection it did before it sings. I really like Perp regulars on there. When I first got mine though there were some months of bowing to get it to open up. When summer came and it got hot the bass loved it though. Made in Rio after all.
Since I’m in fifths tuning, I play with a shorter string length AND I have a high E string, my options are a bit limited. But maybe that’s a good thing…
