Best of British

Somerset luthier Martin Penning

MARTIN PENNING was 20 years old and working as an electrical engineer when he took his first violin-making class. ‘It was a eureka moment,’ he recalls. He went on to study at the School of Violin Making in Newark and worked briefly with a renowned luthier in Melbourne, before settling in Somerset, where in 2008 he started his own business, restoring stringed instruments and making double basses.

Penning, now 46, produces just four a year. It can take two months to make each one, and they cost between £12,500 and £15,500 to buy. To begin, he researches the musician who will play the instrument. ‘If it’s an orchestral player, they’ll want a large bass with a deep rumbling sound, while a jazz player will want something smaller and more focused.’ Several years ago, Pen- ning began learning to play and reached grade seven (of eight). ‘It’s really helped me understand players’ requirements.’

Next, Penning chooses the wood, usually maple or spruce from the German Alps. ‘The wood needs to have a tight grain, which makes the bass stronger and more stable,’ he explains. Then he sets to work building in his workshop, while listening to Radio 4.

He made his first double bass during his time in Melbourne, following his scholarship from QEST (the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust). First, Penning bends sheets of wood around a mould to form the sides. Then he carves the front and back sections, both inside and out. ‘I use gouges, thumb planes and finish it off with a cabinet scraper [a steel tool that gives a sharper, cleaner finish than sandpaper].’

Penning then saws out the f-holes – two distinctive holes in the front of the double bass that help project sound – and glues a bass bar inside the instrument (this also assists with sound). Finally, he assembles the instrument and leaves it to dry.

The most intricate part of the process, explains Penning, is carving the neck and scroll (the decorative top). The finishing touch is to add a fingerboard, fashioned from ebony.

‘At this stage the wood is very pale, so I put the double bass under ultraviolet light for a week,’ says Penning. ‘I’m literally giving it a suntan.’ Finally, the bass is varnished, cogs and strings are fitted, and it is ready to be played.

‘The last bass I made was for a musician in the Brussels opera,’ he recalls. ‘I’d been working on it intensely for months and to see it on a stage is quite a moment.’

Meanwhile, the oldest bass he has restored dates back to 1580 – and it’s still going strong. Penning adds, ‘I’d like to think my double basses will be played in centuries to come.’ mpenning-luthier.co.uk; qest.org.uk

Interview by Jessica Carpani. Photographs by Alice Whitby Clockwise from main Luthier Martin Penning in his Somerset studio; a close look at the f-holes; an unvarnished front section and (behind) assembled instruments.