by John Rihani | Jan 11, 2022 | Uncategorized
As with nearly everything else in life, trends come and go. For as long as I’ve been playing cello, most professional-caliber instruments were set up with steel core strings. The tungsten-wound Spirocore strings from Thomastik were nearly ubiquitous for the G...
by John Rihani | Jan 6, 2022 | Uncategorized
Happy New Year! All of us here at Encore Orchestral Strings and Paige’s Music wish you all the best in the coming year. We’re excited about what this year will bring and we’re working hard to make sure we have the instruments, bows, cases, and...
by John Rihani | Oct 27, 2021 | Uncategorized
John is building a cello! Well, trying to. My interest in violin making precedes any serious cello playing I ever did. My original plan in high school was to attend the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City. My dad was adamant that I pursue a...
by John Rihani | May 18, 2021 | Uncategorized
By popular demand, we are now stocking a limited supply of Wiedoeft cello and bass rosin. Several of my friends in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra use this and recommend it to their students. On my rosin shelf at home, I have Pirastro Oliv, Wiedoeft, and Larica...
by John Rihani | May 4, 2021 | Uncategorized
Help me welcome a distinguished addition to the Encore family of instruments – this achingly beautiful 1974 E.M. Pollmann “Grodner” model bass. This instrument came to us in a remarkable state of preservation and Ben Parrott completed a beautiful...
by John Rihani | Apr 13, 2021 | Uncategorized
We talk about the beautiful materials used to build violin-family instruments often on this page. While maple gets most of the glory in the violin world, there are other woods that are just as lovely. This Rogeri-pattern Shen bass just arrived with this swirly,...
by John Rihani | Mar 16, 2021 | Uncategorized
We are excited to have our first sets of Rondo strings for viola in stock now! As I wrote a while back, I am using the Rondo cello strings on my personal instrument and love them more each time I play. If you have been breaking up your viola string sets and using a...
by John Rihani | Mar 2, 2021 | Uncategorized
Alan Rafferty is a cellist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, cello faculty at University of Cincinnati – CCM, and Artistic Director of the Cincinnati Young Artists…and he’s also the young man Yo-Yo Ma is instructing in this photo as part of a...
by John Rihani | Feb 23, 2021 | Uncategorized
Finding the right strings for your instrument can feel like an endless journey. You can even make a convincing argument that it IS an endless journey – your instrument changes subtly over the years you play it and you change as a musician. Some people are...
by John Rihani | Feb 9, 2021 | Uncategorized
While most people familiar with the construction of violin family instruments associate maple with the wood of choice for the back and ribs (sides), poplar is also a wonderful and viable option…especially for cellos and violas. Take a look at this beautiful...
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