Customers of Fein Violins: Comments and Reviews

Here's our running blog with comments and reviews from our customers:

Andy Fein, Violin & Bow Maker, Fein Violins

Hi Andy,

Just wanted to say thanks for all the help with my students! Thought you might like to know one of my violinists just got one of your bows to solo with her high school orchestra, another is concertmaster of her school on one of your violins and another got into AllState ork playing on one of your bows. :D We appreciate you!

Jackie 

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I'm just so happy to have a violin that's COMFORTABLE for me now as well as sounding good.

Judy

(F. Costa 7/8 outfit)

Hi Amy,

Wow wow and wow, what a beautiful violin, my wife and I were just totally amazed when we opened the case, I can't thank Andy and you enough, I will write a

Why Scrolls?

By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins

Scroll of a Gasparo da Salo viola, Brescia circa 1609

In my role as a violin maker and shop owner, I often hear string players searching for an instrument say, "I don't really care what it looks like, I'm only interested in the sound." To which I usually reply, "If looks didn't count, we could paint them all black and use a square block for the scroll." Obviously, in violin family instruments, looks count. We're all interested in the color and beauty of the varnish, the beauty of the wood, and the artistic details such as the f holes, the arching, and the scroll. The scroll is

Why f Holes?

f holes, The 'Harrison' Stradivarius circa 1693

image from The National Music Museum

By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins

It's pretty hard to miss the very distinctive feature of the violin family's sound holes. The f hole. They are almost like a violin maker's fingerprints. Very distinctive and a true sign of a maker's skill.

 f-holes of a Stradivarius on display in the Royal Palace of Madrid

But why f holes? There are many other sound hole patterns that would probably work as well.