Steve Swan String Bass

Here are some teaser photos of a bass that will soon arrive in the shop for consignment sale. It is a 1921 Giovanni Leoni bass, made with Lombardy poplar for the back and sides.

For a couple of decades I have heard about the 7/8 doublebasses that came out of Guadalajara that had a big, rich tone and handsome outlines. I was finally able to find one that had been used in jazz situations for about 30 years and had been used in Southern California orchestras for a couple of decades before that. This one differs from those offered by Paul Toenniges shop in having gamba corners and no fancy label inside. The basic construction was the same as those described as having been sold through the Toenniges shop in the late 1950s and early 1960s time period: Mexican Mahogany back and sides, Cedar top, Neck of unknown species, and a Mexican Rosewood fingerboard. The sound is thick and rich, perfect for a dark jazz pizz situation demanding a lot of acoustic volume. The arco tone is fairly dark and penetrating. I had planned to have the dovetail neck joint converted to a standard mortise for a neck reset and to have an ebony fingerboard installed. A local customer was captivated by the sound and feel of this instrument, so it quickly found a new home. An interesting side note is that the bass came equipped with a painted steel screw-on tailpiece saddle extension. It did not seem useful to this bass when strung with lighter strings, so I am keeping it in the bass parts "museum" on a shelf at the shop. I hope that it does not take another 20 years to find another example of this interesting high quality Mexican made bass.

This great sounding 7/8 German violin cornered carved back bass came to the shop as a veteran jazz bass. With a setup refinement, retirement of the Full Circle pickup, and a new set of Flexocore Deluxe strings, it is a majestic orchestral bass. A Jason Brown C extension would complete the possibilities for this fine bass, available at a very attractive price. For more information, please see the full text and photo posting at www.steveswanstringbass.com

More gut strings and packaging from the shop string museum. NONE OF THESE ARE FOR SALE. The 3 Eudoxa strings appear to come from a 1960s era set. The two "Manny's" brand D strings may have been rebranded from Artone string company. The unidentified D string package is a mystery! The old Olive string probably dates from the 1960s as well.