Mario Bedocchi, ca. 1905
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Price: $100,000
Description:
This is one of the more fascinating basses to ever come into my shop. The bass was originally thought to be a Grancino, but there is no evidence to substantiate that claim. The bass has repair labels (or writing) from 4 different luthiers: Giovanni Cavani (1907), Enrico Orselli (ca. 1925), Cesare Candi (1940), and Sergio Scaramelli (1999). There is also a nearly unintelligible label in which “Maggini” and “Brescia” can be discerned only with the aid of UV light and image-enhancing software. Clearly, the bass is not by Maggini. After a lot of research and some help from Mr. Scaramelli, I can now attest that this bass was made by Mario Bedocchi (1880-1955) who worked in Reggio Emilia. The top is made with 6 pieces of spruce. The back is flat. The scroll is not original. It was expertly carved but has an extra ¾ turn and no chamfer. At first I thought the upper bouts were cut down but now I’m not so sure. There are no tell-tale issues with the purfling that would indicate that. The sound is loud, clear, with good depth and great projection. Dimensions: String Length - 41 1/4”, Body Length - 43 3/4”, Rib Depth - 7 3/4”, Upper Bouts - 19 1/4”, C Bout - 14”, Lower Bouts - 25 1/2”