We Find a Bass

Yesterday we drove (with Deb navigating) to the town of Pezenas. Deb had done some telephoning for us and found that a shop there, the Autour d'une Guitare, would rent us a bass to use for a few days.

Yes, that's Max making coffee. Notice the rocks sticking out of the wall. Our digs are literally that. Dug right into the side of the mountain.


Pezenas is a bustling little town with lot's of artsy shops, antique shops, and an ancient neighborhood with super narrow streets and an historic Jewish ghetto.


We found the guitar shop right away and they were expecting us. They have a pretty fair selection of instruments, mostly acoustic guitars including a few Martins, and run a repair and customization shop, too. The owner/luthier, Luigi Notarangelo, is very nice, speaks pretty good English, and does beautiful work. Ruth played one of his guitars, a sappelle dreadnought, and pronounced it very nice. We made arrangements to rent the bass and to pick it up after the lunch hour during which EVERYONE except restaurants close for two hours. (Notice the deserted street. Eveyone really goes home for lunch here.) This gave us time to eat a very nice lunch in a place recommended by Luigi and stroll around town.

We had told Luigi that Ruth plays a Martin D35, so after lunch we brought it with us when we went to pick up the bass. Luigi was impressed with the D35. He strummed a few chords with both pick and fingers, seemed to be checking out its bass response, and pronounced, "It's like church!" Then he asked if his assistant could try it. When he tried it the assistant immediately got an amazed look on his face and all he could say was, "Whew!" He's and excellent player, too. After that we packed up the bass and headed out of town.

We drove via some narrow and twisting roads, some running right through the beautiful vineyards of the area, to the village of Puissone where we hoped to meet another luthier and bluegrass fan, one Claude Fouquet. We found his studio and though his wife had invited us there was no one there. Right behind his shop we found a very old amphitheater, just the kind of place we wish we could play. Maybe next time!

Finally, we headed back to Dio with the bass looking forward to some playing and getting accustomed to the new rented instrument. It's made by one Antoine Jean-Baptiste Leducq jst two years ago. It's very lightweight. The flat back is plywood. The sides and top are solid.