by John Rihani | Nov 21, 2017 | Uncategorized
We’re still catching our breath after having SYBARITE5 play an amazing concert in our new showroom AND having a grand-opening reception this past Saturday night. The rooms are looking better than ever with our seating area finished, artwork hung, and new...
by John Rihani | Nov 7, 2017 | Uncategorized
When I think of tweaking, I’m usually envisioning a different tailpiece on an instrument, or possibly a different set of strings, or maybe a soundpost adjustment… As anyone who has moved into a new apartment or home knows, it takes a while to get the space...
by John Rihani | Oct 24, 2017 | Uncategorized
One of the wonderful facets of my position here is that I get to work closely with violin makers. As a group, I find violin makers fascinating. The field attracts all kinds of personalities…but I have yet to find a boring violin-maker! My hope is always to...
by John Rihani | Oct 17, 2017 | Uncategorized
It’s always an exciting day when we get a cello from our good friend Larry Wilke. Larry is an award-winning maker from Clinton, CT. Although he makes violins and violas as well, he is known primarily as a cello maker. We’ve had the good fortune of...
by John Rihani | Oct 10, 2017 | Uncategorized
I had the good fortune to attend Butler Cello Day this past Saturday and heard Adriana Contino give a masterclass on performing the Bach cello suites. These six suites occupy an incredibly special place in the hearts and souls of cellists. I personally have...
by John Rihani | Oct 3, 2017 | Uncategorized
Changing strings on violin-family instruments is often an “ouch” moment because of the cost involved. Dominant violins strings are around $60/set, Obligato viola strings are around $115/set, a popular pairing of cello strings comes in around $325 for four...
by John Rihani | Sep 26, 2017 | Uncategorized
Value. A word with a myriad of connotations. A word that has been bandied about so often as to be practically stripped of any meaning. And yet, value is a word at the very center of everything we attempt to offer here at Encore. Through our beginning rental plan,...
by John Rihani | Sep 19, 2017 | Uncategorized
All string players have experience with the inevitable task of rehairing your bow. Even the best hair does not last forever and a bow with excessively stretched hair or too many hairs missing can potentially cause harm to the bow. How do you know when it is time to...
by John Rihani | Sep 12, 2017 | Uncategorized
For the large portion of the years I’ve been playing the cello, the Larsen (and then Larsen Soloist) A and D strings have been the professional standard for cellists. Many people continued to successfully use other strings, but cellists rarely bought whole sets...
by John Rihani | Aug 29, 2017 | Uncategorized
Because Encore handles higher quality, more advanced instruments often sought out by experienced players, we haven’t devoted as much space here to small-size, fractional instruments. This point was driven home to me recently because of the large number of...
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