We are so excited to announce that the Museum will feature an array of new instruments! Keep your eye out for the redesign of our “Getting Louder” display in Gallery 1, where we have added a couple of additional basses and a Silvertone Amp-in Case electric guitar. We will also be adding custom acoustic guitars, a Kohlert bassoon, a Junod Mandolin Piccolo Cylinder Music Box, a Gretsch Army Ukulele, and more.

Along with displaying artifacts from manufacturers, we also want to shed light on smaller shop—sometimes called “boutique”—instrument makers. Here is a sneak peek into a one-of-a-kind instrument with a fascinating story. 

The Scaled Electric Upright Bass (pictured above), made by luthier Harry Fleishman (1948-2024), was designed and built to allow bass guitarists to play using a bow and get a more upright bass tone. The 25” scale was derived from comparing the way the hand’s tendons allow comfortable finger span from horizontal playing to that of a more upright position. It turned out to be a ratio of approximately 1.2:1. What this means for the bassist is that fingerings on the Electric Upright Bass, or EUB (a term coined by Fleishman in 1978), at the new 35” scale would feel the same as the bass guitar’s 34” scale, allowing an easy transition and familiar muscle memory. Harry Fleishman designed and built the pickups for both low-end response and a more “acoustic” blossom of the note.