Brian Lee

One of my friends plays on a nice Chinese cello that she bought from Paul Schuback - even if he doesn't have something in your price range, he should have some good recommendations!

Laura Vigato is a wonderful maker.. I heard that Itzhak Perlman uses one as his teaching violin. Other names that come to mind are Vittorio and Marcello Villa, Eric Blot, and Riccardo Bergonzi.

I tried the ex-Mischakoff Roth - it was a pretty nice one.

Every few Tarisio auctions, you see another "ex-Oliveira" violin..

It was a great show! I'd been wanting to try David Burgess's instruments for a while now, so that wish was finally fulfilled. Also stop by Vladimir Radosavljevic's booth and try out his bows - you will not believe how good they are! He has a Pajeot, a Dominique Peccatte, and a Pierre Simon on hand for comparison (that are also all for sale).

The luthier I go to charges $370 for a new violin bridge - and I know of another who charges $600 for a new violin bridge, tonal adjustment not included. If you want fine artisan fittings, you're paying for the work and for the quality of the materials. I made the mistake several years ago of buying a cheap Indian-made pearwood tailpiece for my violin - it lasted for about two months, but when I opened my case one morning, it had split in half at a weak point in the wood, and my violin was unplayable for three days while it had a new bridge made (the old one had snapped) and tailpiece installed.

Currently, my violins have fittings have boxwood fittings on them by Bois d'Harmonie and by Gerald Crowson - when I get my third instrument (hopefully within the next five to ten years), it's destined for mountain mahogany fittings by Eric Meyer. If you truly care about your instruments - you would spend more money up front to make sure no costly mishaps occur in the future! One nice set of fittings costs less than a crappy set of fittings, a replacement bridge, and then a good set of fittings afterward.