These basses look very good indeed! Any idea how the cornerless basses are constructed ? Possibly along the principles of acoustic guitar making ?
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Double Bass Contrabassetto from the ground up
- Thread starter flatback
- Start date
Had the oppotunity to play on a Kolstein travel recently.
Nice ok travel instrument
Norhing like a contrabassetto. Andrea makes artist instruments hand carved epic designs totally sick set up ( he is one hell of a player too) . Then there is the fact that FOR THE SAME MONEY as the Kolstein you can get any number of epic different designs with way more interior space ( bigger more sound and tone) . Andreas basses are just stellar. Just sayin
Nice ok travel instrument
Norhing like a contrabassetto. Andrea makes artist instruments hand carved epic designs totally sick set up ( he is one hell of a player too) . Then there is the fact that FOR THE SAME MONEY as the Kolstein you can get any number of epic different designs with way more interior space ( bigger more sound and tone) . Andreas basses are just stellar. Just sayin
It looks like Andrea is making travel basses in addition to the contrabassettos. They are about the same size as 1/2 bass. Has anyone tried one? Link Removed
This bass continues to perform so well for me. While it does not project the sound of a 7/8ths or have the deep low end of a larger instrument, it does sing with a bow and is unbeatable in any amplified setting (which is 98% of the situations I play in). Such a great gigging bass.
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Andrea liked one of my recent photographs on Instagram which was enough prompting for me to go back thru a whole lot of his Luthier photography. His basses and innovations and subtle artistry are so underappreciated, I cannot even believe it. I am just amazed that I still have the only Contrabassetto in the USA, while other travel type basses (fine to be sure but clearly of different fundamental pedigree, artistry, attention to detail, depth, wood, craftsmanship, design, etc) sell for the same price. Also his smaller bodied basses 1/2, 5/8, hybrid are so ridiculously exceptional and fully resonant and inclined toward a virtuoso ease of play (and played by virtuosos see above) Why isn't he overflowing in commissions? This Contrabasetto that I play cost lest then many Factory hybrid CNC basses, and the resonance is so much bigger then it's size that it stuns me sometimes when I look down. Anyway ,looking back at Andrea's extraordinary designs, his scrolls his purffling, all done by him, no assistants (check the photographs) the varnish,the custom designed and made tuners, the removable neck, the European hand picked (by Andrea on his yearly visits back to the Italian Alps where the worlds best tone woods are seasoned) woods I am in awe of him and daily I appreciate my own instrument's sound, feel, play-ability, ease of transport, and beauty.
I am really hoping to commission a larger bass too (although I use the CB exclusively right now and I'm totally happy) and I think it might be a jazz version of the Machado bass above but with a slightly longer string length.
That bass from a boutique US or European maker would be so far out of my price range that I wouldn't have a hope of getting one, but Andrea's prices are crazy good...I think that he is able to do that because of the Brazilian economy, he cuts no corners in materials, craftsmanship, design, artistry or in the time it takes to produce these instruments by his hands.
Just shoutin out about my brilliant friend.
I am really hoping to commission a larger bass too (although I use the CB exclusively right now and I'm totally happy) and I think it might be a jazz version of the Machado bass above but with a slightly longer string length.
That bass from a boutique US or European maker would be so far out of my price range that I wouldn't have a hope of getting one, but Andrea's prices are crazy good...I think that he is able to do that because of the Brazilian economy, he cuts no corners in materials, craftsmanship, design, artistry or in the time it takes to produce these instruments by his hands.
Just shoutin out about my brilliant friend.
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You may have answered your own question, Flatback, when you note that you have the only example of his work in the U.S. You only have to think of the number of times people have posted on this forum the advice to “never buy a bass sight unseen” to understand how that might be part of the issue. Plus, there may be some ingrained bias against smaller instruments, justified or not.
There is also a resistance to Latin American makers because potential buyers are concerned about the (sometimes nontraditional) woods and the conditions (more humidity there during build). I found this when I was trying to get the late Roberto Giormenti's basses known here. I think both reasons are unfounded. If Roberto or Andrea were in Italy or the US their prices would double, and not just from cost of living adjustments.
While Bobkay has a point about “never buy a bass sight unseen”, commissioning a bass from Andrea (and previously Roberto) is not like ordering a stock bass from Gollihur, Upton or String Emporium -- let alone the significantly less dependable/reputable online dealers.
With Andrea my experience echoes Flatback's: you engage in a custom conversation, in great detail, about your needs, playing style, price range etc, as you would with any custom builder here. So, in that sense, you are buying an "unseen" bass from Arnold, Nick Lloyd, Gary Upton, etc., as well, if you commission a bass that does not yet exit. You are betting on their reputations. We think Andrea's reputation should be better known.
While Bobkay has a point about “never buy a bass sight unseen”, commissioning a bass from Andrea (and previously Roberto) is not like ordering a stock bass from Gollihur, Upton or String Emporium -- let alone the significantly less dependable/reputable online dealers.
With Andrea my experience echoes Flatback's: you engage in a custom conversation, in great detail, about your needs, playing style, price range etc, as you would with any custom builder here. So, in that sense, you are buying an "unseen" bass from Arnold, Nick Lloyd, Gary Upton, etc., as well, if you commission a bass that does not yet exit. You are betting on their reputations. We think Andrea's reputation should be better known.
Wait! Ya mean my praise and endless gab isn’t enough to make dozens of bassists go out and drop thousands of dollars apiece on an unheard/played new design bass from a humid politically volatile South American country? Yeah I hear it.
