My new BASS!!!!!

Well, I can finally talk about my new acquisition since I have had it my possession since Friday!! I just got a 2003 Rumano Solano doublebass; a copy of a 1700 Matthias Klotz bussetto corner, which is the bass that Prescott copied as well. It is a 4/4 sized beast, with a very playable 41.5" string length. I'll post some pictures once my friend e-mails them to me in the next day or two.

Dimensions are:

Overall length scroll to bottom block: 77"
Width of upper bout: 22"
Width of lower bout: 29.75"
Width of C-bout:16"
Rib Depth: 8.5" (upper bout) 9.5" (lower bout)

Woods used were 70 year quarter sawn spruce for the top, and moderately flamed tiger maple for the back and ribs. Ebony fittings with a carved figure boxwood tailpiece. In order to make the upper range easier to access, the neck angle is steeper, with a tall Despiau bridge. To accommodate the steep break angle from bridge to tailpiece, Solano put in a very nice tailpiece raiser. The tuners are individual Irving Sloane machines, with a nice Ulsa endpin with a screw on crutch tip (underneath is a sharp spike to dig into a floor for more volume, something my wife doesn't want me to do with our wood floors!!)

When I originally tried this bass in May, it was strung with Helicore Orchestras, but over Rumano's objections (he thought the bass might lose volume), I wanted it strung with a more pizz friendly string, so he delivered it with Obligatos. The E and A might be slightly less than with the Helicore, but I doubt it.

The only thing I can say is WHAT A SOUND!! I played Friday night in a loud club with an AKG C3000 mic on it. I just barely had it on, and the band was even more excited than I was. The most common comment was how big the low end was, and how easy to hear. The biggest problem I had playing was learning how easy it was to get a big sound, and not overplaying. At the end of 4 hours, I felt like I had barely played. My action is lower than it was on the gut-strung Juzek, at about 7-9mm on all the strings.

I love it as a jazz bass, but it is a great orchestral bass as well. The tone is dark and refined, very cello like clarity. It shakes the floor under your feet and just completely fills the room. It is quick, springy, and loud under the bow.

The biggest drawback to this bass is its massive size and weight. Fortunately, the Bobelock bag it came with has a million useful handles, but one night of carrying it made me determined to buy a good wheel, because putting this bass on your shoulder is not an option at well over 40lbs with bag, bow, and a minimal amount of stuff in the pocket (rosin, tuner, pencil, spare set of strings). Carrying it with the handles bear-hug style is also a problem as it is so wide. I like the bag, but the long zippered part of the bag being on the E side of the bass is taking a little bit of getting used to, as that is opposite of my Mooradian.

Can you tell how excited I am about this bass? I would say Rumano has successfully transformed himself from making affordable student instruments into a maker of fine instruments (still relatively affordable).

Monte

 

Yep, it was one of the ones he brought; the reddish varnished one that he didn't enter in the competition.

Monte

 

Chris,

I swore not to tell what I paid, but I can tell you that he will work with players to build something they can afford, and that his asking price seems to be just an asking price.

I do know after the ISB he has raised his asking price, because when I insured it, I insured it for what he was asking in May, which was $12,000. When he delivered Friday, he suggested that I up that to $16,000. This is the most expensive bass he made.

When he showed his other basses at OU, he had some very impressive ones, and it was a tough desicion between the Klotz and his 7/8 Carcassi flatback, which was bought by the bass teacher at OU, Mark Osbourn. I was also impressed by his Busan copy (the prettiest bass), which was bought by one of the girls who plays at OU, and the 7/8 William Forrester copy had some serious balls to it as well.

Heck, even his student model 3/4 size French bass copy with plate tuners was impressive. I think he sold it for around $6,000, although I don't know what the asking price is.

He is an interesting cat, as Jeff put it. He gets very excited about his instruments, which he sells himself by loading them up in a van and traveling around to schools.

Monte

 

There are lots of schools of thought on this, so I can't give you a definitive reason.

However, Rumano did it for this bass (I think the only model he puts it on) because he angles the neck back a little to make it easier to play the upper range. This makes the angle from bridge to tailpiece pretty severe, which the raiser alleviates.

Monte

 

I really like them. They are so much more accurate than the plate tuners on the Juzek. I'm used to making a small adjustment and over shooting the pitch. With the Sloanes, you have to do some cranking just to get a half step.

I'm gonna hate changing strings though!!

Monte

 

Is this something I can get at Home Despot or NOTLowe's? Sounds promising.

The bass came with Obligatos, and although I've got a new set of the reformulated Velvet 180's that I'm dying to try (I loved the pizz but the arco was raspy with rough windings), I like the Obligatos well enough. I hear bad things about taking off and putting them back on, so I'll leave them on until they go dead.

Monte

 

Didn't want to leave you hanging, so I wanted to let you know that I'm still in a love/ hate thing with the Obligatos, but I haven't had the urge to get rid of them quite yet. If I don't like the new 180's, I'll probably go with a mixed set of Obligato E & A and Oliv D & G. I just miss that great sounding G string, although this bass is good enough to take out some of the "nasality" of the Obligato G.

Monte