Matthew Tucker (Australia) 2022
This is the last evolution of my own model, evolving from, and slightly larger than, my two preceding "Castagne" basses.
The back and sides are highly figured Tasmanian blackwood, with a slab-sawn black walnut dart. Purfling inlays are a simple stripe of red Jarrah from Western Australia. Neck and scroll are maple, with blackwood cheeks. Fingerboard is Solomon Islands blackwood, a beautiful very hard and dense timber from the pacific region. Top is imported Carpathian spruce - there are very few Australian woods suitable for soundboards.
The bass has a string length of 41.75" in the old money, an overstand of 40mm, and is a delight to play. Neck is bolt-on, as in all my previous instruments.
The scroll is a copy of a beautiful italian scroll that came through the workshop last year.
Internal bracing is the Responsive system of course, and the bass bar is again, a "Lamarre" design.
I named this bass "Kashtan" after the Ukrainian word for chestnut, a symbol of Kyiv.
http://www.bresquebasses.com.au
