This mild-mannered Mittenwald Double Bass has its gorgeous evening attire in the back! This Mittenwald is built with a flat back of well-figured Maple hand-varnished to a light-catching luster. Bravo gang! The Mittenwald brings the generous dimensions and rib depth of our Brescian to a gamba-cornered instrument. As with the basses of its namesake, the beauty is really in the wood and craftmanship of this unadorned style. A big precise delivery in this full-voiced bass – Jack just shook rafters with the bow! Looking to expand your knowledge of the construction and history of the double bass?
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The Brescian Model Double Bass was being designed and prototyped at the same time we were raising our post-and-beam workshop in 2012. From the original Upton Hawkes pattern, our gravitational pull was always towards giant Italy-via-England contrabasses – violin patterns with broad proportions built enormous for lavish orchestra sections. The Upton Brescian Model was our new push to create a wide-ribbed bass in this classic style, while applying all of our invention in construction and ergonomics. When we think of a ‘Brescian’ style (from Northern Italy), we reference the masters such as Gasparo da Salo, Maggini, and Rogeri. Vincenzo Panormo…
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Oreste Martini (1893-1957) learned his craft from the great Mantuan maker Stefano Scarampella. After his tutelage under master Stefano Scarampella, beginning at age 14, Martini was producing his own instruments by his early 20s. He began his career with a focus on double basses (reported to be a double bassist himself) but went on to craft many violins, violas, and cellos (He is credited with more than 300 violins, 10 violas, 50 cellos, and 45 basses). While other pupils copied Scarampella's works, Martini adopted his own artistic flair. He received medals for his work in Cremona, Padua, and Paris and…
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If you're not an active follower of us on Instagram, or waiting for your bass to be finished, you may not know what we've been up to all summer! With COVID-19 we've all been hit with varying degrees of challenges, and getting basses to folks in a safe and affordable way has been a hassle. Restrictions on the pickup are forcing higher than normal rates, and just trying to be a part of keeping people safe through social distancing practices, made us (ok, Gary led the charge!) think outside the box. Gary had a Sprinter cargo van that he used…
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