Instruments, Bows, and Gear

Instruments, Bows, and Gear

pochette violin

The Tiny Pochette Violin Made Constant Travel a Breeze for Dance Masters of the 18th Century

A pochette, an 18th-century violin about 2/3 the size of a standard adult violin with a proportionately larger fingerboard, has contributed immensely to modern dance music, including hip-hip.

Violin label close up through f hole

An Insider’s Guide to Violin Labels

It often comes as a surprise to learn how unreliable that paper label pasted inside your instrument can be in identifying an instrument's maker, age, and place of origin.

c. 1590 Harshman, Sandeman Gasparo da Salo viola

Gasparo da Salò’s Violas and Violins Illustrate a Style That Stood in Contrast to the Cremonese

By Philip J. Kass There’s a famous tale that everyone in the world of violins eventually learns. This tale involves the competition for the design of the vi... Read More...

Bow maker François Xavier Tourte

Mr. Tourte, I Need a Bow! How the Tourte Design Became the Model for the Modern Bow

The story of the development of Tourte's bows—now the gold standard in bow design—illustrates the interplay of influence among bows, instruments, and musical style.

Map showing Mantua, Italy, home to important historical violin makers

A Buyer’s Guide to the Work of Mantua’s Historical Violin Makers

The Italian city of Mantua was home to some of the most important violin makers in history, including Pietro Guarneri, Camillo de Camilli, Tommaso Balestrieri, and Stefano Scarampella.

F-hole cutting

F-Holes Are All Basically the Same—Except That They’re All Different

Every violin f-hole looks like its twin, and they all look the same. But this is not the case with classical makers, especially the Italians of the Golden Period.

TekPin cello endpin

Cellist Emmanuel Feldman’s TekPin is a New Endpin with Freedom in Mind

The TekPin is a cello endpin designed to support the instrument at a vertical angle, intended to reduce the weight the cello puts on a player’s body.

is a 1-piece violin back better than a 2-piece?

Is a One-Piece Back on Violin Really Better Than Two?

Is a one-piece back really better than two? A violin maker explains how to see the forest through the trees.

strad forma B illustration

The Stradivari Forma B Cello Revolutionized the Way Cellos Were Made… Sort Of

The cello has also allowed for some variability in its size, but a key moment in its development seems to have happened in Cremona, in part thanks to Antonio Stradivari.

proper string height: Violin strings and bridge

Understanding the Perils of High Action on Stringed Instruments and 3 Ways to Recognize it

Here are some tips to find your comfortable string height on violin in a range that is also healthy, and how to recognize high action when things are out of whack.