Two-piece back, ribs, and scroll of bird's eye maple. Table of pine. Orange varnish. Brass tuning machines. An enlarged species of violoncello, referred to by contemporaries as “bass viol,” flourished as a distinctively American phenomenon during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Later generations often have referred to these instruments as “church 'cellos” or “church basses” to avoid confusion with either the true bass viol, the bass viola da gamba, or the “double bass” of the orchestra. What might be viewed as the first American “school” of stringed-instrument making seems to have concentrated on the production of these often rustic-looking instruments. They were used throughout the Eastern states to provide a substantial bass voice for various musical ensembles, especially in churches, where they were frequently the sole instrument used to support singing in those situations where the use of the organ or other instruments was either not affordable or was forbidden.

Abraham Prescott, Jr., (1780–1858) is the most important maker of the 'Yankee bass viol.' In his hands manufacture of the instrument, while retaining many of its distinctive traditional traits, was brought to the level of consistent professionalism. His use of brass tuning machines and massive and bold f-holes are two characteristics to be observed in this instrument. He was a prolific maker, with several hundred instruments to his credit. His instruments remade into double basses are prized even today by leading orchestral and jazz players. A farmer and successful business man, Prescott turned his attention to the manufacture of reed organs in his later years. The Prescott firm survived until 1917.