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Double Bass Contrabassetto from the ground up
- Thread starter flatback
- Start date
Yeah there was a whole kind of prejudice about Brazilian woods and how they crack when they get here. I admit I was super stoked when Andrea went to Italy to buy the wood for my bass, but in subsequent conversations with Andrea he got me really excited about Brazilian woods, in that there are those he is using that have really excellent and unique aural ramifications (depending upon how they are implemented. There are so many Luthier/bass makers who I admire both here and everywhere else, but Andrea is special to me, he has a looseness, a creativity, a truly artistic spirit, combined with a super old school aesthetic and DEEP dedication to the craft and the history of the craft. When he says he is incorporating local woods, you know that he is bringing a discernment and ear and refinement to his decisions that you can trust. Beautiful slabs he has chosen for you. Looking forward to seeing the progress.
Years ago I had a hard time convincing people about the quality of Latin American woods used by the late Roberto Giormenti in his basses, and it made it difficult to get his work accepted here. Mike Saucier (pictured with the Gamba) has been using that bass for over a decade with great results and the violin cornered bass is a main stay of the Loyola Marymount U student orchestra. I am thrilled that Andrea, who is younger, hipper, more tech savvy, and an even better builder than Roberto was, is helping break through the resistance.
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this is so deeply true.
I see it as a very honest dedication to the craft. if d'salo or maggini were here today working in brazil the idea that they would shun anything that wasn't italian sourced, and traditionally used, is crazy. yes the great makers of the past were using italian wood. but they lived in italy. long before you could just order tonewood online..
there are lots of things I see in andrea's work that align with the design characteristics of traditional violin making. sometimes we see a shape that is 'new' and consider it to be an overtly modern invention - such as a contrabassetto. but really when i look at the outline, the proportions, the way the shape flows, it looks like a traditional brescian design in those terms.
on the topic brazilian grown / carved, flying to new york.. well, i trust andrea. I made it clear to him that new york winters are cold and dry, and the summers are warm and humid, and this was a concern of mine. the long story short on this topic is he said "okay, no flatback then." and we moved on. he diddn't seem too concerned about wood choice when it came to climate questions.
I so want another of his basses. There is a cat in town here, who bought @LouisF 's -Spada guitar shaped 5/8ths. I am really interested in this bass and trying it out. The Contrabassetto holds it's ground so well in a group that I just cant seem to really NEED another bass. I like big basses (I have an AS and a friend is bringing over a 3/4 to stay for a few months) but I play this CB all the time. Part of it is the exquisite modern totally dope setup which Andrea so nailed that it makes it hard to move away from. Just a huge fan of the man.
i mean, i definitely dont "need" a contrabassetto, the same way you don't need a 3/4 bass of his.
what sold me honestly was the price, and how much I like his style.
I looked around my studio and thought "I can sell this bass for X, that one for Y, and X+Y = the cost of a contrabassetto"
since placing the order every time I have to lug my 3/4 bass around I groan and think "soon i'll have something better for travel!"
anyway, you know as well as anyone you'll be happy if you order one. you don't need it. but it'll be worth it. go for it!!!
Agreed,
I didn't really need my Kolstine Busetto, I have a 5/8 Mirecourt and it's served me very well. My justification for getting it, revolved around the close quarters and terrible load in's we have locally.
Once you add an amplifier to the mix, it became apparent to me that a contrabassetto, can sound remarkably close to a bigger instrument. Sure, their are sonic tradeoffs but I live in a world
where "if it looks like a bass and it sounds like a bass, then it is a bass. Just my take. I can't wait to hear your new one.
i posted this in the other thread on andrea as well..
I'm sorry to be the one sharing this news, but our friend andrea passed away yesterday.
Huge loss. I only knew him through discussions on instrument orders, but i considered him a friend. he was a brilliant man and as this thread and others show, everyone who interacted with him loved him.
huge loss.
I'm sorry to be the one sharing this news, but our friend andrea passed away yesterday.
Huge loss. I only knew him through discussions on instrument orders, but i considered him a friend. he was a brilliant man and as this thread and others show, everyone who interacted with him loved him.
huge loss.
So sorry to hear this.
Sorry for the loss of your friend, and to the world for the loss of an excellent luthier.
As several of you know, I commissioned a pear/guitar shaped bass from Andrea several years ago. Not only was he concerned, in our discussions, about my bass playing needs, but also what I needed in an instrument post-cervical surgery. He produced a gorgeous 5/8ths bass that was elegant and resonant; an instrument that would have cost 2 or 3 times as much from an Italian or American maker.
I chose that bass to use in a concert of the Mozart Requiem after our daughter died prematurely. When we down-sized both Andrea's bass and the Upton Concord went to good homes. Andrea and I remained friends (long distance) and this is just devastating news. He was a true artist and innovator and I am sorry that more musicians will not be able to benefit from his talents. It's a huge loss.
I'll post this in the other thread. Thanks for letting us know.
Louis
I chose that bass to use in a concert of the Mozart Requiem after our daughter died prematurely. When we down-sized both Andrea's bass and the Upton Concord went to good homes. Andrea and I remained friends (long distance) and this is just devastating news. He was a true artist and innovator and I am sorry that more musicians will not be able to benefit from his talents. It's a huge loss.
I'll post this in the other thread. Thanks for letting us know.
Louis
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WHAT? OH NO. I am deeply saddened by this news. Andrea was a brilliant musician instrument maker and friend. Yesterday the day he died I spent the afternoon in the park playing my Contrabassetto, and thinking about how lucky I am to have this instrument and how close Andrea is to me all the time. Today's news is just devastating.
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I just got my CB back from a trip to the Bass Doctor Matt Bohn.Man Matt Bohn is THE MAN. He replaned the fingerboard making it oh so much more playable, put a new (recycled from an old flatback) sound post in...I had the original one in there and I was really feeling as though the bass only sounded it's best when it is REALLY hot (like Brazil where it was made) Matt understood exactly what I wanted out of it (just as he had with the American Standard I brought him) recut the bridge to match the board, plugged the Wilson holes, thinned the bridge, fixed the endpin and a bunch of other things including new strings (Weich's). I thought the bass was killing before but HOLY S. he got so much more better sound out of it and made the fingerboard so playable and nice. I love this little bass. RIP Andrea.
Tune ups are great. My 5/8’s Mirecourt just got a New Harmony Carbon Fiber end pin. I swear it sounds better. 
With great sadness it pains me to say the Andrea Spada died during the Covid years and there are no Contrabassettos being built any more.
Mine continues its proof of concept in that it sounds and plays great and is a great bass to play in all environments. I wish some other luthier would begin to make them. The key is not just a small bodied bass (like the Kolstein) but a fully carved and beautifully luthiered instrument with a small body.
Mine continues its proof of concept in that it sounds and plays great and is a great bass to play in all environments. I wish some other luthier would begin to make them. The key is not just a small bodied bass (like the Kolstein) but a fully carved and beautifully luthiered instrument with a small body.
If you're ever passing through the Half Moon Bay area, I'd love to see this bass. I don't build basses, but I do work on them and would really appreciate seeing (and hearing) the details in person.
i have actually seen some. I forget what they were called - nice little basses.
but, what andrea did was special i think. I think the details are in the "violinmaking" more than the size/design. the graduations, arching, and of course choice of wood and such, seemed to be the magic - which if course came from his hands, and guided by his unique mind. not that it can't be replicated, but it seems pretty unlikely.
I was just thinking of andrea a few days ago. funny this thread popped up again.
hope his family is doing well since losing him a few years ago.
What Andreas definitively proved beyond a shadow of a doubt is that a smaller double bass, expertly built and crafted can fill out a small ensemble
equally as well any other when it produces a clear, singing and articulate sound. I know this to be true.
equally as well any other when it produces a clear, singing and articulate sound. I know this to be true.
