It’s no secret now that Chinese violin making has made huge strides in the last ten years. It reminds me of when I was growing up and “made in Japan “ was a pejorative. Fifteen years later everyone was buying Hondas, Toyotas and Datsuns. and TVs were no longer being manufactured in this country. Chinese violins have come into their own in a similar fashion. We feel that these violins represent some of the best value in the under $2,000 range. Over that price we can still find European and American violins to offer.

We buy our Chinese violins from a variety of sources. Picking and chosing from different suppliers allows us to only carry what we feel are the best sounding and most visually attractive instruments at a given price. Some of the shops are quite small and with most of the work done by hand, oftentimes using stunning looking maple and nicely grained spruce. Close attention is paid to the graduation of the tops and backs. Varnished in a variety of shades, these instruments are made to sound and look good!

All insruments are set up in our shop. We plane the fingerboards and adjust the nuts for playing ease and comfort. We cut the bridges from Genuine Aubert French blanks. The soundposts are selected and carefully fitted for the best tone and response. Violins are set up with either Dominant or Helicore strings, violas with Helicore strings and cellos with Jargars. Other strings can be supplied on request.

The following is a small sampling of the types of instruments we tend to have in stock. Supply varies so call or come by for a complete look!

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