By appointment
Fine Instruments
CHOSEN ONE AT A TIME, NOT BY MODEL
Past about six thousand dollars, instruments stop being chosen by model and start being chosen one at a time. Each has its own voice.
Finding the one that suits your playing takes longer than an afternoon, and we would rather you took the time.
What changes at this level
Below this price, an instrument is made to a specification, and consistency is the point. A shop can order three of the same model and they will play much alike. That is a real virtue when a student needs something reliable.
Above it, that stops being true. Two violins by the same maker in the same year can want different strings, different bows, and different players. The wood was chosen by one person, the arching was cut by hand, and the varnish went on in a particular room in a particular season. Those choices are audible.
What you are paying for is response. How fast the string speaks under the bow. How much colour is still there when you play quietly. Whether the sound reaches the back of a hall or dies in the fourth row. A player who has spent years developing a right hand will get all of that back. A beginner will not, which is why we do not sell these to beginners.
The other thing that changes is the time it takes. Nobody should buy an instrument at this level from a photograph, and we do not sell them that way.
What passes through the shop
Richard has dealt in, repaired and restored string instruments in Rexburg for decades, and the instruments that come through reflect that.
GERMAN
Ernst Heinrich Roth, 1923
Matthias Klotz, 1732, out of Mittenwald
FRENCH
Amédée Dieudonné, Mirecourt
Charles Buthod, from the Thibouville-Lamy workshop, around 1900
L. Courtier, 1927
CZECH
Ota Kuncer, 1953
ITALIAN
Antonio Mario Gazzola, 1980
AMERICAN
Christopher Dungey, cellos
Timothy Stephenson, cellos
Edward Sage Brown, 2000
Brian Drake, New York City
Raymond F. DeMeo, violins and violas
Rachel Masterson Gray, violins
Mark Moreland, Atelier 2005
Paul Hart workshop, Salt Lake City, 1995
ONE WORTH NAMING ON ITS OWN
A Jago Peternella viola, 1956
Made for Alan de Veritch, who played principal viola with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and spent a career teaching the instrument.
This is what the shop sees, not what is on the floor today. Instruments at this level come and go one at a time, so call before you drive out and tell us what you are looking for.
How buying one works here
There is no way to shortcut this and no reason to. The players who end up happy are the ones who took a month over it.
Call first
Tell us what you play, what you are on now, and roughly where you want to get to. It saves a wasted drive if the shop is thin on what you need that week.
Come and play
One instrument on its own tells you very little. Four in a row tells you a great deal, and the differences stop being subtle once you hear them against each other.
Take them out
A room you have never played in is a poor test. Take the shortlist to your teacher, to a rehearsal, into the hall you actually perform in.
Decide
Anything bought here carries trade-in credit for its full original price, so an upgrade later is not money lost. There is no hurry from our side.
Condition and history
Where an instrument's history is documented, we will show you what we have. Where it is not, we will say so. Labels inside old violins are wrong more often than they are right, and a shop that tells you otherwise is selling you something.
Setup, repair and restoration happen here. An instrument that leaves this shop has been adjusted for the player taking it.
Questions we get asked
Can I see your fine instruments on the website?
No, and we do not intend to list them. Instruments at this level come and go one at a time, so any list would be wrong within a week. Call and tell us what you are looking for.
Can I take an instrument out to try?
Yes, and we would rather you did. Take the shortlist to your teacher, to a rehearsal, and into the hall you perform in. A room you have never played in tells you very little.
Do you provide certificates or appraisals?
We will show you what documentation exists and say so plainly when there is none. Formal appraisal and certification are separate work, and we will tell you when an instrument needs an opinion beyond ours.
Do you take trade-ins at this level?
Anything bought from us carries credit at its full original price. For an instrument bought elsewhere, bring it in and we will talk about it.
Come and play a few
The fine instruments are not listed on the website and never will be, because the list would be wrong within a week. Call the shop and tell us what you are looking for.