Adapted from the sale listing from Homewood Music in 2015

Tieri is a little-known contemporary (and neighbor, about 2 blocks around the corner) of master archtop builder John D’Angelico. Both were Italian immigrants who settled in New York, along with Puntolillo, Ciani and others to create innovative and ultimately, distinctly American guitars and other stringed instruments. Tieri arrived sometime in the 1920’s and worked into the 1940’s.

The affixed label reads: RAFFAELE TIERI Manufacturer Of String Instruments Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar And Repairing Spring St. New York.

Without a reference point or more information it is impossible to determine the relative size. The neck joins the body at the 15th fret, and it clearly has a far greater range than the normal mando-bass, presuming that it is tuned in standard bass tuning (and not, for example, two octaves below a mandolin)

The Tieri bass is the only other known bass to feature a top with F-holes.

This instrument was sold to David “Dawg” Grisman who has passed it on.