Petracci's 1847 Gaetano Rossi is the best bass I've ever played. I know that Marco Nolli in Cremona is making a copy. Anyone seen or played it?
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Double Bass Anyone played Marco Nolli's Rossi copy?
- Thread starter Mike Arnopol
- Start date
I've talked to Nolli---when I was looking for a bass (turned out to be my Golia). He's uber-expensive--way above my pay grade. It's just that I've remembered how great Patracci's bass was. Scary great.
I went to Petracchi's master class at the 2005 ISB and he had the Rossi with him. Just beautiful sounding and amazing to see. Of course he would make any bass sound good.
Hi Mike,
I've played on a few Marco Nolli's Rossi copies this summer at his shop in Cremona. My wife and I went on a belated honeymoon (married in April 2010) in Florence and northern Italy (with one stop in Austria) and I decided to make a stop there to see some of his instruments.
Mr. Nolli is a great guy, very professional but down to earth, and a really fine luthier. The Rossi copies have an amazing sound! They're extremely smooth and rich in tone color. And they have a really big relaxed low end - powerful and large, but not forced sounding or boomy. Some basses have a really big low end but have this boomy playing-in-a-bathroom feel (tubbiness), while I felt like his Rossi copies (exact copies) had an organ-like richness to them with complexity to match.
I played on two exact copies of Petracci's Rossi. One of them was Petracci's personal copy that he plays in a festival or classes (some kind of annual event) and keeps at Marco's shop. I remember that instrument as being very warm, mature, and clear. Both instruments had solo strings on them. I played them a bit as is then tuned them down to orchestra, but they still had a big sound. These basses have a 43" string length if I remember right. It was a little bit of a stretch to adjust (my bass is at 42.25" and my previous bass was 41.5"), but still not too difficult to play in thumb position and maneuver around the instrument. The hardest part to adjust to was the length of the body of the instrument. Even with the bass at the lowest endpin setting, the bass was at a considerable angle, and I'm 5'10". I play mostly standing and with my bass close to vertical. These are big basses! Still, the shoulders weren't too big to get around. I don't remember the measurements of the body.
He also makes a modified Rossi copy. It has a string length of about 41.5" (I don't remember exactly), and with smaller body dimensions. These basses still have a good sound, but I thought a little step down from the exact copies. They were easier to play, but had more tubbiness. Don't get me wrong, these were still great basses! I played two of these as well. I believe he had interest in these instruments as people were wanting something a little more player-friendly. I vaguely remember him saying something about making one of these for a smaller woman who was interested in the Rossi copies. I felt dumb after the visit because I didn't take any photos. Sorry about that.
As for price, I believe he sells his basses for 25,000 Euro.
Cremona's a great city to visit! My wife and I enjoyed riding bikes into the center of town. It's not so crowded with tourists like Venice, Rome, or Florence, but it still has lots of Old World charm.
It was a last minute thing to visit bass makers, as it was a honeymoon after all. My wife was great in working in the trip to Cremona. I emailed Luciano Golia, but he didn't get back to me and I didn't follow up. To be fair, I didn't give him but a few days notice. He was probably out of town or busy with summer activities. Maybe I'll be in a town with a Golia one of these days. I'm interested in what I've heard of them and their unique design. I'm guessing you still love yours, Mike. It's a real beauty! I like the roundness of the upper and lower bouts, and I bet it gets a massive sound!
I've played on a few Marco Nolli's Rossi copies this summer at his shop in Cremona. My wife and I went on a belated honeymoon (married in April 2010) in Florence and northern Italy (with one stop in Austria) and I decided to make a stop there to see some of his instruments.
Mr. Nolli is a great guy, very professional but down to earth, and a really fine luthier. The Rossi copies have an amazing sound! They're extremely smooth and rich in tone color. And they have a really big relaxed low end - powerful and large, but not forced sounding or boomy. Some basses have a really big low end but have this boomy playing-in-a-bathroom feel (tubbiness), while I felt like his Rossi copies (exact copies) had an organ-like richness to them with complexity to match.
I played on two exact copies of Petracci's Rossi. One of them was Petracci's personal copy that he plays in a festival or classes (some kind of annual event) and keeps at Marco's shop. I remember that instrument as being very warm, mature, and clear. Both instruments had solo strings on them. I played them a bit as is then tuned them down to orchestra, but they still had a big sound. These basses have a 43" string length if I remember right. It was a little bit of a stretch to adjust (my bass is at 42.25" and my previous bass was 41.5"), but still not too difficult to play in thumb position and maneuver around the instrument. The hardest part to adjust to was the length of the body of the instrument. Even with the bass at the lowest endpin setting, the bass was at a considerable angle, and I'm 5'10". I play mostly standing and with my bass close to vertical. These are big basses! Still, the shoulders weren't too big to get around. I don't remember the measurements of the body.
He also makes a modified Rossi copy. It has a string length of about 41.5" (I don't remember exactly), and with smaller body dimensions. These basses still have a good sound, but I thought a little step down from the exact copies. They were easier to play, but had more tubbiness. Don't get me wrong, these were still great basses! I played two of these as well. I believe he had interest in these instruments as people were wanting something a little more player-friendly. I vaguely remember him saying something about making one of these for a smaller woman who was interested in the Rossi copies. I felt dumb after the visit because I didn't take any photos. Sorry about that.
As for price, I believe he sells his basses for 25,000 Euro.
Cremona's a great city to visit! My wife and I enjoyed riding bikes into the center of town. It's not so crowded with tourists like Venice, Rome, or Florence, but it still has lots of Old World charm.
It was a last minute thing to visit bass makers, as it was a honeymoon after all. My wife was great in working in the trip to Cremona. I emailed Luciano Golia, but he didn't get back to me and I didn't follow up. To be fair, I didn't give him but a few days notice. He was probably out of town or busy with summer activities. Maybe I'll be in a town with a Golia one of these days. I'm interested in what I've heard of them and their unique design. I'm guessing you still love yours, Mike. It's a real beauty! I like the roundness of the upper and lower bouts, and I bet it gets a massive sound!
