In my workshop you will find a selection of instruments from different eras as well as contemporary instruments, from student instruments of all sizes through to instruments for professional players. A selection of bows, instrument covers and cases, strings, rosin and other accessories are also available for you. Please check out a choice of violins, violas, cellos and double basses.
A selection of bows, instrument covers and cases, strings, rosin and other accessories are also available for you.
I am happy to make time for your visit, it is important to me to meet your individual demand and answer all your questions around your instrument. Instruments and bows can be taken out on trial, so please don’t hesitate to contact me to arrange an appointment.
This section is primarily aimed at people who have little or no experience in choosing a stringed instrument.
You might ask yourself the following questions:
You or your child would like to learn how to play a string instrument? That’s wonderful!
As an adult, you will most likely want to choose an instrument that will accompany you for many years. You might want to take lessons for the first time, or you already play in a group or an orchestra.
Or you may want to find a beginner’s instrument for your child. If your daughter or son is at a young age they will need a smaller sized instrument to suit their smaller frame. Perhaps your child is already advanced and wants to take part in a competition and needs a better instrument?
In any case, I can guide you through the decisions with professional advice.
Of course, only you can answer this question. I offer instruments for almost every budget. And if price is an issue or you do not want to commit yourself just yet, then there is always the option of renting an instrument from me.
Please bear in mind that a poor quality instrument will quickly lead to disappointment. Progress is difficult if playing is no fun.
Would you put your child or yourself on a cheap bicycle where the handlebar slips, the front wheel wobbles and missing padding on the saddle causes pain? Certainly not!
Of course, you can buy a cheap fiddle online for a temptingly low price. But it is unlikely to give you much pleasure. Even if an instrument is made from prefabricated parts, the parts have to be put together, correct measurements have to be observed and the instrument needs to be set up by hand for playing.
The cheaper the instrument, the faster and with less attention to detail these steps are carried out. Then there is a bow, which according to the description is made with real ebony and horsehair. The whole thing is offered in a case and imported from the Far East, with at least one dealer and the logistics company making money from it. And all this is supposed to be possible for 100 to 300 euros for a violin? How is that supposed to work?
You will receive an object that looks like an instrument, but after the second lesson at the latest the teacher will send you to a luthier or tell you to send it back. So why not come to me straight away!
As an adult you will play a “normal” size, a so-called 4/4 violin. The size of a viola depends largely on the size of your hands. The cello also has a fixed 4/4 size, while the double bass, like the viola, is not so strictly standardised in terms of size. For most adults, a ¾ bass is suitable, but again, it depends on how tall you are and on the size of your hands.
The size divisions 4/4, ¾, ½, ¼ etc. do not refer to mathematically exact parts of a whole, but ratios to the 4/4 size. The size of violins and violas is relatively easy to determine. If a child holds the instrument under their chin in a normal playing position, they should be able to reach round the scroll of the instrument with their left hand, palm up, without stretching their arm unnaturally.
It is more complicated with cellos, where the chair should also be adapted to the child’s height. Both feet must touch the floor with the whole sole of the foot when sitting with the thighs parallel to the floor. The upper saddle of the cello should be at eye level and the size of the instrument should be such that the bow can cross all strings without touching the thigh.
A double bass has the right size if the young musician has the upper saddle at eye level in a standing playing position and can comfortably bow without having to bend or stretch their arm.
There are many possibilities, but the best place is with me! You can buy an instrument online, just like many other everyday items. But is a musical instrument just any such thing? Or isn’t it something rather special because it has a sound, a certain feel and because it creates an emotion?
There is nothing wrong with buying an instrument through your music teacher or going to a music shop. Opting for an instrument handed down from friends or family, especially an heirloom with memories attached can be a good choice. However, if you are only considering one instrument, it makes sense to at least get an independent opinion before you spend your money. Especially with private sales, as it’s usually “bought as seen”!
You may have a close relationship of trust with your music teacher who offers you an instrument to buy. However, it can still be an advantage to get advice from an independent professional.
A major advantage of buying from my shop is that you have a selection to choose from. You can compare several instruments directly with each other! You can ask questions and, take instruments with you on approval and decide at home without pressure.
I am your professional partner for all matters relating to string instruments and you benefit from the statutory warranty. Visiting a real violin makers workshop with its smell of varnish and wood and its many specialist tools will be a memorable experience for you and your children. It is the place where an instrument is made.
You and your child should like the instrument! Ideally, it should be fun to pick it up and play it every day. For this, a number of aspects need to come together. Of course the most important thing is the sound. But in order to create a beautiful sound the instrument must be playable or at least be in a condition that it can be made playable.
Please do not choose an instrument that causes pain, either in the ears or under the fingers. Admittedly, at least with the cello and double bass, you will at first have to get a hard skin on your fingertips before pressing down on the strings no longer causes any discomfort. Initially, the playing position of all instruments is unfamiliar and can be strenuous at first. But that’s not what I mean.
Make sure that the string hight of an instrument is set in such a way that playing it does not cause any unnecessary pain. No more than a sheet of paper should fit between the string and the fingerboard at the upper nut of a violin, or a business card for a cello or double bass.
At the bridge end of the fingerboard the dimensions should also be correct, 4mm under the E-string and 6mm under the G-string for a violin should be adhered to. The pegs should hold the strings without slipping and be easy to turn without noise; for this the pegs need to be exactly tapered and perfectly round.
Instruments with large open cracks should definitely be avoided. If there are glued cracks you should urgently consider having them checked by a luthier. It is very important that the neck angle is neither too high nor too low because the neck angle determines how much pressure the strings exert on the bridge. If the neck angle is too steep, then the pressure is very high – the sound of the instrument is usually sharp and shrill, the instrument sounds forced. If, on the other hand, the neck angle is extremely low, the instrument has little resonance. It won’t project enough sound into the room and it can be difficult to bow the outer strings without hitting the edges of the instrument. Apart from repairing cracks in the bridge area, correcting the neck angle is one of the most expensive repairs when making a stringed instrument playable.
The bridge curve is also important, if it is too flat it will be difficult to bow each string individually. The fingerboard should be ever so slightly hollow to stop the strings from buzzing. If the fingerboard is too flat or uneven, the string will hit the fingerboard when playing, creating an irritating noise.
If you are not quite sure whether you can asses all these points then you now have one more reason to seek professional advice from me. I will be happy to help you and advise you without obligation. All my instruments are set up for easy playability and their dimensions correspond to current practice. I will help you to find the instrument that meets your demands.
I have only very rarely experienced that! Unfortunately, many people convince themselves that they are quite tone-deaf.
