Elinore Morris - instrument maker

15/02/2026

Oh, what a week!
My friend Elinore Morris - instrument maker invited me to spend the week in her wonderful workshop in Hedefors Bruk, near Göteborg in Sweden.
My head and heart are full from all the happy moments with her and her team.
The week was intense, packed with rich exchanges about the beautiful instruments she cares for and beautiful winter lights.
It was a busy week. We plaster-casted a lovely Panormo bass front together (many hands make this work so much funnier).
We had long talks about everything, life, work, instruments, techniques...
Also, she took the time to patiently walk me through every step of making my first ever C-extension, for which I am forever thankful. C-extensions are a complex mix of woodwork, fine mechanics and geometry, and it is important to get every detail exactly right. So the time she took to teach me all the ins and out or it is of unmeasurable value to me.

Many many thanks to her, her family and her joyful, talented and friendly crew for welcoming me again and making me feel at home.

Cheers to friendship, to seeing each other again soon, and to hopefully many fruitful collaborations and projects together to come!

(Swipe, swipe, swipe- too many pictures but you'll get a feel of it I hope.
———

Je reviens tout juste d'une semaine en Suède, en visite à l'incroyable atelier de mon amie Elinore Morris.
La tête et le cœur une nouvelle fois pleins des lumières de ce beau pays et des moments partagés avec Elinore et son équipe.
Ce fut une semaine intense. Des échanges riches et pertinents au sujet des (très) beaux instruments dont elle prend soin. La réalisation ensemble du moulage en plâtre de la table d'une très jolie Panormo. De longues conversations sur la vie, notre travail, les instruments, les techniques....Et puis, Elinore a aussi pris le temps de me guider pas à pas pour la réalisation de ma première extension en Do , m'en expliquant dans les moindres détails chaque élément de mécanique fine, de géométrie complexe et d'ingénierie astucieuse. Je lui en suis tellement reconnaissante.

Alors merci, merci, merci à Elinore, à sa famille et à son équipe joyeuse et talentueuse, pour leur accueil, et pour leur amitié

13/01/2026

Yesterday we had a visit from Magnus and tried out a new pickup on his bass. It was a beautiful winter's day and we got some lovely pictures of the workshop all tidy and organised for the new year.
photography: Magnus Bergström

05/08/2025

And here is a sound recording of the new bass.

Herbert Kramis is trying out his new bass in the workshop in Hedefors/ Stenkullen, Sweden. The bass was finished on the 31st of July 2025. The initial sound ...

05/08/2025

Portrait pictures of my recently completed bass. This bass is inspired by the work we did for the Brescian Triology videos with Chain of Sounds and mostly based on the Gasparo Da Salo bass that is currently owned by the Dextra Musica Foundation in Oslo and played by Dan Styffe. The back and sides are made of flamed ash, and it has a round back with a lower break for more comfortable playing. It has a bolt-on removable neck, with a moveable point of attachment. The neck sits on top of the body rather than being dovetailed into the top block, which is visually more similar to how the bass would have originally looked. It has a 'cosmic' bass bar, a design that was developed by the Canadian luthier Mario Lamarre and has been very successfully used in other Brescian model instruments. It has a string length of 104cm and a body size that has been reduced to maintain the beautiful proportions while being easy and comfortable to play. The rib width is 21cm to give a generous volume to the body. The bass was developed with and made for Swiss jazz musician Herbert Paul Kramis.
Photo credit: Magnus Bergström

15/06/2025

Ahead of the launch of Discover Double Bass's latest masterclass with Anders Jormin, we are sharing this little gem of Magnus Bergström jamming together with Anders. Magnus on his new bass which was just a few days old at the time.

With thanks to the DDB team and Joona Toivanen.

While Discover Double Bass was in Sweden recording masterclasses, Magnus Bergström took his new bass for a spin together with the legendary Anders Jormin. Th...

28/12/2024

Part two of the Brescian Trilogy is out. We had such a nice visit to Dan Styffe's In Oslo a couple of month's back to see the amazing Gasparo Da Salo bass that he plays. Since then I've been studying what we measured and recorded and I look forward to sharing what I've learnt in due course. I believe this very special instrument holds important clues that will give us a deeper understanding of how these incredible instruments came to be.

With Nisse Palm Mikael Säwström Chain of Sounds

In the second episode of The Brescian Bass Trilogy, Elinore Morris continues her quest to unlock the secrets of 1500s Brescian double basses. This time, we r...

13/12/2024

I've just become a supporting subscriber of Chain of Sounds.

Learning the double bass as I did in southern Africa back in the day was an obscure, rather isolated, make-do-with-what-you-have kind of experience. Now, as a repairer I get to work together with all kinds of musicians and have really got to know how the instrument works on a deep level. A bass luthier is such an essential link between the musician and their instrument.

But there is another part of this equation, which I know much less about, and that is the interface between the instrument, the musician and the audience. In other words - how sound production works in real life playing or recording situations, and all the gear that helps to make this happen. This is one of Chain of Sounds' main focuses - aiming to provide essential information for the musician in a way that hasn't been done before. It will be possible to objetively compare how different sound set-ups work for different basses, musicians, musical styles and accoustical spaces.

It becomes clear that bass player, their instrument, the luthier, the set-up, gear, the sound engineer, and the audience - really all are connected links in a chain. Each part working together creates a greater whole. Community.

Which brings us to the other important aspect to point out - that all of this is build within an ethos of responsible use of materials and sustainability. We are reaching the point where many of the natural materials that are an intergral part of our instruments - eg ebony for fingerboards and pernumbuco for our bows - risk being restricted or unavailable. The best way we can deal with this is by working together and spreading awareness which will lead to appropriate action, and for this musician networks and communities are needed.

I really look forward to following this journey. Even though it is still early days and there is much work that lies ahead, I have really enjoyed working and geeking out with Nisse Palm and have seen how he and his team take an idea, run with it and make it happen.

sign up:
https://www.chainofsounds.online/signup

subscription link:
https://www.chainofsounds.online/account

06/12/2024

Here we are talking about Brescian basses. Since this video was made we've made even more exciting discoveries about how these amazing instruments were made - which I look forward to sharing with you in due course. So stay tuned. With Chain of Sounds

Welcome to the first episode of The Brescian Bass Trilogy! Join Elinore Morris as she explores a unique double bass crafted in Brescia during the 1500s, now ...

10/11/2024

Genelec have made two beautiful videos featuring Bach Jazz and the new bass (only 6 days old at the time of recording) that I made for Magnus Bergström. Great music and great production value. I'm posting one here and the other on my profile.

From our Stockholm Artist Room, Genelec presents a stunning exclusive live performance of ‘Air’ by Bach Jazz, Sweden’s exciting classical and jazz fusion tri...

31/10/2024

A few weeks ago we had a visit from Discover Double Bass, who amongst other things, interviewed Magnus and I about Magnus' new bass.

Today we meet the wonderful bass maker and luthier Elinore Morris in her beautiful workshop just outside of Gothenburg in Sweden. It was amazing to meet her,...

06/10/2024

Charming and delightful, Ulrika and Magnus perform Swedish song gems in duet with double bass. The final video from our little bass concert at Hedefors a couple weeks ago.

This delightful duo rounded off our little concert at Hotell Dahlia in Hedefors Bruk, in the most delightful way. Magnus plays his new bass built by Elinore...