The Launch of Ludlow Bassoons!
11 October 2026
The Launch of Ludlow Bassoons!
Modern bassoon making in Britain has been absent for several decades, despite the country having a long and venerable history of making bassoons going back 250 plus years. Ludlow Bassoons is now addressing that deficit.
After fifteen years working with bassoonists through sales, repair and restoration, Double Reed Ltd. is taking a momentous new step: launching Ludlow Bassoons, a British workshop making professional modern and historical bassoons.
For many readers, Double Reed Ltd. will already be a familiar name. Founded by Oliver Ludlow in 2011, it has become firmly embedded in the bassoon world through its work as a specialist company selling, repairing and restoring bassoons.
The launch of Ludlow Bassoons builds directly upon that background.
Oliver Ludlow says:
'This is a very exciting development for us. The course we have been on as a specialist bassoon company has led us naturally into making professional bassoons. I have listened to countless professional players and soaked up their thoughts and frustrations with their bassoons, as well as what they love.
'It has been fascinating to act as a sort of General Practitioner of the bassoon, and I have loved it whether it is voicing, scale improvement, varnish restoration, keywork-making or regulation. This full immersion in the world of bassoons has led us directly into bassoon making.'
Oliver Ludlow sees the name change as a natural step:
'Associating the Ludlow name with the instruments reflects personal responsibility for the bassoons. It is a pledge of our commitment to all of our colleagues in the bassoon world.'
Ludlow bassoons are designed and made in their workshop in Newport, Wales. Oliver says:
'We started with thick planks from a single tree of aged mountain maple, and after many years of work have ended up with our bassoons. Every touch piece and pad cup has been carefully thought about: shape, angle, size, movement. Each tone hole likewise has been positioned and sized with precision.
'We have also been on a journey of tool- and reamer-making which has shown us why so few people have made bassoons; it is an enormous undertaking!'
The Ludlow flagship model is a modern professional bassoon. Alongside this there are two historical models, baroque- and classical-era bassoons, reflecting the company’s long-standing interest in earlier instruments.
Ludlow Bassoons has collected and studied historical instruments, and has taken from tooling, drawings and knowledge associated with earlier makers. That historical awareness informs the company’s sense of continuity.
The workshop itself combines traditional hand skills with modern precision. CAD (computer-aided design) and 3D printing together with accurate CNC (computer numerical control) machining, sit alongside hand-fitting, voicing, regulation and final adjustment.
The launch also brings a new visual identity and a new website but the company’s current activities – bassoon sales, repairs, restorations, sales of reeds and accessories – will continue alongside the new bassoon range.
At the core of the new visual identity is a dragon. Oliver Ludlow pointed out: 'In the past the makers’ marks often incorporated something from the area in which the maker worked; we thought we would revive that tradition by using the image of a dragon, which has had an association with Wales for at least 1,500 years.’
The company’s bassoons will be available for purchase in early 2027.