Thomas Kennedy

Thomas Kennedy, to me one of the three greatest makers of English double basses. This instrument is a flat back violin cornered copy of a Maggini. Everything about this bass is very good. Good selection of woods, good measurements making it easy to play, perfect varnishing making the whole look of the instrument good. To my way of thinking, these are the instruments that make great sections in an orchestra. The sound has this great quality of blending, thus complimenting all the higher strings without standing out like some of the great Italian makers. All in all, the sort of bass that I would have loved to use when I was playing.
Thomas Kennedy was born in London in the year 1784. He leant his trade by working with the another great maker, William Forster. It is thought that as many as two thousand string instruments were made by Kennedy, mostly violins, violas and cellos. But to me it is his basses that really stand the test of time, plus they fetch the most money. Kennedy made copies of Maggini, Gasparo and Test ore, but it is also known that he made special orders for selected clients, to wit he has also copied Abbati. It is a copy of the later that we have for sale at the time of making this page in our website.

Peter Jansen

Peter Jansen is one the great players in Holland. He is the first double bass in the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Hilversum, Holland. Along with some other principal players of the bass in Holland, Peter has shown Europe and the World that bass playing can learn something from such fine sections. The Radio Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the great orchestras in Europe today, with a fantastic bass section that supports the orchestra well. Needless to say, most of the basses that are played in this orchestra were bought from Gallery Strings. 

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