Varnish

While there is no way I could cover even an overview of violin family instrument varnish in a single blog post, it’s been on my mind this past week.  Several of the makers we work with either send me pictures of the instrument in various stages of construction,...

Cello bows!

As I helped a cellist choose a bow last week, it struck me what a wide selection of cello bows we currently have at the shop.  In pernambuco bows, we have everything from nickel-mounted workshop bows all the way to gold-mounted, master-maker bows.  In carbon-fiber, we...

Chicago Bass Works instrument update

A few weeks ago I shared two beautiful basses by Andrew Hassel of Chicago Bass Works that were in the shop.  We had previously helped match one of Andrew’s basses with a talented college student so we were excited to have his next two instruments in the shop. ...

The role of sound

Sound is a big part of what I do.  I realize that might sound obvious, but I’ve been thinking a great deal lately about the role of sound.  When shopping for an instrument or bow, I often hear statements like “sound is most important” or “it...