Andrew Pitts - master craftsman making double basses in the heart of Prague

My guest this week is Andrew Pitts, an American double bass maker living and working in Prague. A native of Los Angeles, Andrew has lived in the Czech Republic for eleven years, and was the first ever foreigner to be accepted in the Prague Violin Makers' Guild. He now works from his own tiny studio tucked away behind the Old Town Square, making double basses and cellos for the world's master musicians.

Andrew Pitts - master craftsman making double basses in the heart of Prague

Andrew Pitts

Andrew, why did you decide to come and live - and make double basses - in Prague in the first place?

"Frustration! I was a musician in the States, and I was interested in making things with my hands, and I didn't really find an outlet or a school for anything that seemed appealing to me. So when I graduated, I just packed up my things, bought a one-way ticket and came to Prague. And the rest is history!"

We're sitting in your workshop, where you make double basses and cellos and other instruments, surrounded by tools and pieces of wood. How did this all come about?

"Well, not in one day, that's for sure. I think it must have been five years ago when I decided I was going to study to be a luthier, here in the Czech Republic..."

What's a luthier?

"A luthier is anybody who makes stringed instruments. So violin makers, guitar makers - they're different trades, but they're all considered luthiers. Basically I went to a trade school in the Czech Republic, the only school for violin makers that still exists in this country. It's on the Czech-German border at a place that used to be called Schoenbach, now it's called Luby u Chebu. I studied there externally, learned how to sharpen my tools, learned the basics of the trade, and then found an apprenticeship in Prague with a couple of Russian violin makers from Moscow who said 'Andrusko, come and study with us! You can learn nothing anywhere else!' (laughs) So rather naively I jumped and moved into a workshop on Ujezd, which is in the Mala Strana district of Prague, and set up a very humble workshop there, with no heating, no electricity, no gas. It used to be a horse stable that just happened to be close to the master shop. So I started there in a very medieval sort of way! And suffered through a very old-school apprenticeship before I had my own shop."

So now you're based here, in your workshop behind the Tyn Church on the Old Town Square. Tell me about the process of creating a double bass or creating a cello. Is that something you're involved in from the beginning, choosing the wood and so on, to the very end, tuning the instrument?

"Absolutely! It's something that not every maker does. From choosing the word, sure, but it can even go as far as choosing the trees."

Choosing the trees themselves?

"Yeah! I have quite a collection of tone wood that I cut and process myself, and it's sitting in the barn, drying."

What is tone wood?

"Tone wood is any wood that produces a tone, or resonates. And that's basically what we're looking for. It can be maple, or it can be spruce - the top disc is always made of spruce, and it is really what's vibrating and what produces that beautiful sound we all like."

Sitting just a few feet away from us is a double bass in the process of being built. It looks almost complete to me. How long would it take you to make one of these instruments?

"I think six weeks is my record. And that's not the most comfortable pace, but any work that's worthwhile is never really comfortable. I think two months is the normal length of time it takes me to make one."

Are you commissioned to create instruments for musicians, or do you make the instrument and then try and sell them to them?

"I work mostly on commission. I've just completed my last one for this year. So right now I'm making a new series of violincellos."

I'd imagine the world's master musicians are fairly difficult customers.

"Absolutely. It comes down to such fine detailed tuning, and it's very demanding. To start the instrument is very easy, to finish it, and to finish it to the requirements of the client is always a challenge, and always will be."

How would a factory-produced cello or double bass differ in quality to one crafted by you?

"Well, from the beginning to the end. The materials may not be as high quality, may not be dry. I can't say anything against the factory method, because they're providing a service to musicians as well which is economic and is great for students and fulfils a need in the musical community. But basically what a factory is doing - like in MacDonalds or thanks to Henry Ford! - is that you have one person making one part, and he'll make twenty of those parts. So they'll be thirty people each producing one thing, and then it'll all be thrown together. The skill required in assembling them is a lot less, and therefore financially more suitable for students. The end result can be good, but it's not the same as the unspoken quality that I would like to think that I'm providing! (laughs) But I can't criticise what other people are doing. I could never work in a factory. I couldn't stand the noise. Using large machines to produce something - as a musician - is not my idea of a good time."

Does that also imply that an Andrew Pitts double bass or cello is quite an expensive item to own?

"Well, yes and no. On the international level, I'd say my instruments are going for a lot less than what more established makers in the United States and Europe are selling them for. One of the benefits of living here in the Czech Republic - a benefit which is constantly changing - is that my overhead costs are not so ridiculously like they would be in the States. I've had lots of good access to material, so I'm saving money that way. And I get to pass that on to my clients."

Do you ever get the chance to hear your instruments being played?

"Oh, that's the best part! When it's all together, and it's nice and shiny, and it smells great, then you get to hear if it sounds great, and the musician is happy, and everyone gets to listen to it. My teacher who I consult with - Honza Slipka - is the resident violin maker with the Czech Philharmonic, at the Rudofinum. So whenever I have a finished instrument, I get to take it onto the podium, and all of the musicians there at the time get to give it a road-test on the podium, which is fantastic."

And to find out more about Andrew Pitts and his instruments, see http://www.doublebass.cz