The luthier

Months of painstaking work go into every cello and bass Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand makes in his studio. 

Writer: Dan Ray
Photographer: Jeremy Taylor

Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand’s handmade instruments can be heard all over the world. Two of his upright basses are in the New York Philharmonic. Others are at the Metropolitan Opera and major orchestras in London and Amsterdam. His largest model, the Romano, toured with Barbra Streisand and backed up Billy Joel at Shea Stadium.

His workshop, set up in the garage of his Iowa City home, features some of his newest designs, including an acoustic-electric guitar with P-bass pickups that he named “Geneva Rose” in honor of his mom and a maple electric bass dubbed “Ry’s Comet” after his son. Sawdust covers the walls, and cat fur floats around in the air as one of his three cats, Arlo, pads across the floor.

“By the way, cats got me into both playing and into repair,” Threlkeld-Wiegand casually mentions while we’re sitting on a couch in his studio. He’s petting Arlo, who is listed as COO (Cat Obesity Officer) on the Heartland Strings Bass Shop website, heartlandsbs.com.

When Threlkeld-Wiegand was in third grade, he and his older sister went to see “The Aristocats,” the 1970 Disney movie about a family of cats returning home to Paris. Along the way, they meet a Russian Blue named Billy Boss who plays the upright bass in a jazz band.

“The next Monday at school, this guy comes walking in. ‘Who wants to play the violin? Who wants to play the viola?’ Everyone’s raising their hands,” Threlkeld-Wiegand said. “He holds up a bass. I was the only one. I go, ‘I want to play that!’”

Years later, he was living in Austin with two cats, Henry and Georgina. One morning he went to get something out of the room where he kept his bass but forgot to shut the door on his way out. Moments later he heard a big crash: The cats had knocked over the bass and broken its neck.

Threlkeld-Wiegand took the bass to a local repair shop, where the fix took forever and cost a fortune, with shoddy results. At the time, he was working at Collings Guitars, where some of his friends told him he could have done a better job himself. So he did.

Now, some 30 years later, he makes a living crafting and repairing all kinds of stringed instruments for Heartland Strings, with a little help from his family. His sister Monica, who took him to “The Artistocats” way back when, suggested the company’s name and handles the bookkeeping. His Aunt Kathie used to make him a bass-shaped cake every year for his birthday. He even gets help from his other two cats, commander-in-chief Boone and chief inspector Zander.

At New York’s Metropolitan Opera, David Romano, left, plays the first bass Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand ever made, while Brad Aikman plays his 39th. Photo: Daniel Krekeler with the Met Opera

Along with his basses, Threlkeld-Wiegand has made several cellos and is working on a new mandolin design, even though he doesn’t play either. He’s also toying with the idea of making his own bows.

A mandolin, guitar and bass guitar, in various stages of completion.

“When an idea comes to me, if I don’t do anything to help it become a reality, I feel like I won’t get those ideas anymore,” he said. “Even if they don’t become a reality, I have to at least make an attempt.”

When he’s not coming up with his own designs, he focuses on repairs. For his latest project, an upright bass from 1838, he fixed its sunken top and patched cracks that crept in over the past two centuries.

A label inside an upright bass Threlkeld-Wiegand repaired notes that it was made in 1838.

And, of course, he spends his spare time playing the bass — just like Billy Boss.

“I like playing for myself or the cats,” he said. “They listen sometimes.”

Back in Iowa City, Arlo (named after Arlo Guthrie) gets plenty of attention in the workshop.

Contributor Dan Ray has covered music, arts and culture stories for Seattle Mag, Little Village and dsm magazine. A musician herself, she joined Threlkeld-Wiegand for an impromptu cover of “Come Together” during her visit to his studio.

Contributing photographer Jeremy Taylor of Des Moines also enjoys creating music in his free time and has a passion for specialty coffee.