INSTRUMENTS
From time to time we have some basses or bows for sale, they will appear on these pages, they can't be bought from the website so please telephone 01513361506 or 07833916420 or email me to arrange a view.
Basses are available to view by appointment at any time in the North West of England however they can be brought to London on request.
For 1992 Mike Hart please scroll down past the Italian bass
For The "Schofield" scroll down passed them both
18th. Century Unnamed Italian Double Bass
Affectionately known as "Fritz" or the "Fritz bass" after the previous owner Fritz Spiegl
Unnamed Italian Double bass made in the 1700's
This bass is very interesting and distinctive, small and attractive in shape it has not been cut down as some might think. It has a lovely leaf design all over the scroll, a lovely bass clef design inlaid on the tailpiece (as have all my basses) I have owned this bass for 10 years and it has been a labour of love. When I purchased it from the widow of the previous owner it was in poor condition, it had been left close to an open fire and the heat led to shrinkage cracks which you can see on the photos of the back. so in the space of four years it had extensive renovations.
1. General clean up (Andrew Hutchinson)old glue had to be removed, there had been poor repairs over the years, this was put right and put into playing condition
2. New Neck (The Bass Place)the old neck had warped and was not usable, this was replaced and new fingerboard fitted
3. New Bass bar, crack repair, new bridge, tailpiece, endpin (George Martin)put into top playing condition
I have played it without any problems for the last six years It has a quality even sound but it is not huge, it is at its best when playing within a smaller orchestral setting or chamber environment however it will hold its own in a Bruckner symphony if needed.
The previous owner (Fritz Spiegl) was a true polymath, known in the bass world as the narrator of the BBC documentary "The great double bass race" about the Isle of Man double bass competition in the late 1970's if you have not seen it please do it really is interesting.
two links for you
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Spiegl
Youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTzy85j-wW4
Fritz was much more than a musician, a publisher and artist as well as a radio and tv presenter however he was only ever an amateur double bass player
Boring stuff
Vibrating string length (stop) 42" or 106 cm
Total height 72" or 183 cm
length of back 45" or 105 cm
width of bottom bout across back 26" or 65 cm
width of top bout across back 19" or 48 cm
What you need to know
This is a good opportunity to own a piece of Double bass history, it plays well, it's even, It has a Barnaby mechanical extension for the low notes, it will never over-play but it can't dominate a section in the same way as an old English master can. It would ideally suit a player who needs a quality instrument for a first job, a smaller person who needs a bass to get around easily or a chamber orchestra player who needs a blending sound that will not dominate an ensemble.
It's not heavy and has Pirastro flexicore original strings and a Tony Manson Superspike so it won't slip
Price £35,000
that is UK pounds Stirling
1992 Michael Hart 4 string, swell back
1992 Mike Hart bass, four string with C extension fitted by Neil Heppleston,
swell back, Lovely condition, plays very well, easy to get around, good size, even sound low down and at the top,
No cracks, very few scratches, new Pirastro original flexocor strings, lightweight and fits in a 3/4 size cover
I have had this bass for a few years and used it for quartet work and lots of practice at home :-)
Nothing else to say, it would suit serious amateur, good student or young pro. or an "at home" / touring instrument for any pro.
Boring stuff
stop length 42"
Width across top bout (back) 20" - 51cm
Width across bottom bout (back) 27" - 67cm
Top of back to bottom of back 45" - 114 cm
Price
£12,500
That is UK pounds Stirling
1820 Quality English bass by J Schofield
very fine example
Quality old English bass by Schofield of Yorkshire C1825
Very distinctive shape, cello shoulders, large scroll, beautiful wood, slightly swell back, ebony tailpiece with bass clef inlay design, Pirastro original chromsteel strings. renovated mechanical C extension.
This bass has a wonderful sound (as all Schofields do) a large, warm English sound that carries some distance, If Playing "The Messiah" you need never go over mf.
LOB 44 1/2" (113cm)
S. Length 43" (109cm)
I have had the bass since 1991, It has only had 3 owners in 110 years, I purchased it from Ray Hutchinson the ex principal bass of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, it has been in the RLPO since the 1950's. I will hate to part with it but I need to scale things down.
It had a verbal valuation in 2015 of £90,000 A Warrick
A couple of fun quotes about the bass;
"You might want to play a little less there" -Neil Tarlton (Philharmonia)
"turn the amp down" - John Wilson (bass was not plugged in at the time)
Price £80,000
Information courtesy of Neal Heppleston
"During the spring months of 2018 I had a repair job from a customer with a bass attributed to “Schofield”. There was little to no information about the maker, who he was, where or when he lived. We had a few little snippets of information with some suggesting that he was a farmer or blacksmith, and that he made basses for churches around Leeds, this was commonly agreed upon but nothing much else was known. After researching occasionally for a few weeks I gave up thinking that there was no more information to be found for the customer.
Fast forward a couple of months, whilst doing some other research in some newspaper archives I saw a glimpse of something odd, looking closer, I had inadvertently stumbled on the correct spelling of his name, a small advert from 1914 of someone selling a “double bass made by Scholefied”. From this piece of information I was able to find out a lot more.
Joseph Scholefield was born in Birstall, near Leeds in 1790, and was married to Elizabeth Gill (1794-1861) on 17th August 1814, the two never had children, and his main occupation was listed as a Machine Maker. At the time, the area was very important for cotton manufacturing and it is probable, but not definite, that he would have made and repaired hand looms and spinners for the local workers. During this time most of cotton spinning work was done residentially before it moved into factory work later. He had two apprentices through his career, John Yates and Luke Kelsall (Joseph's nephew), the later taking over Joseph's business when he died.
During his lifetime he made at least 11 basses, however it is likely that there were 13 or maybe even a couple more. They were all of the same model, whether he used a mould or an outline is unknown. All known basses have the same violin corner outline, arched back, and cello shaped top bouts, some have since been cut down or raised at the top bouts. The scrolls are all of large proportion and would have originally been made for 3 strings, there are no labels or branding by the maker.
By 1839 he had made at least 10 basses and he continued to make and advertise them for sale until 1847. It seems as though the first 10 were made for churches around the local areas before 1839 when he started to try and sell them through newspaper advertisements, whether this was because he was in need of money due to the Industrial Revolution impeding on his main career or if the churches no longer needed or wanted them is unknown. The churches that had Scholefield's basses were:
Wesley Chapel, Leeds
Zion Chapel Wakefield
Gomersal Chapel
Calverley Chapel
Holmefirth Chapel
Birstall Chapel
Baptist Chapel Salendine Nook, Nr Huddersfield
Batley Methodist Chapel
Primitive Methodist Chapel, Holbeck
Eccleshill Methodist Chapel
They were also located, or bought by:
Mr. Marsden in Bradford
Mr Wardle in Beeston (Who played for the Leeds Choral Society)
The Liverpool Choral Society
Bradford Choral Band
Joseph Scholefield died on 16th December 1849 at the age of 59 years old and was buried at the Weslyan Chapel, Birstall."
