Hot Weather Warning Please, don’t leave your instrument in the car on a hot day! Bad things can happen to the instrument and the bow. The better varnishes will melt!! Carbon fiber bows will soften, and will warp and lose camber. Last year a rental carbon fiber bow was ruined during hot weather, so we want you to know how to avoid this problem. New Student Violin Outfits There’s no reason to spend a lot of money for a good student violin outfit. We’ve been told that local stores charge more than $1000 for beginner violins in plastic cases. That’s not good value! We just received six Jocelyn 4/4 outfits from West Coast Strings. Nothing fancy, just a good basic instrument. We do all the setup ourselves, and these are priced at $395. The sound quality is much better than the price would suggest, in fact they will blow away the +$1000 outfits mentioned above. We also have Rosalia 4/4 and ¾ outfits for $695. The materials used for these violins are outstanding. These are in a nice oblong fabric case and are matched with an upgraded bow. We’ve had good luck with these, in fact they compete well with instruments in the $1000-2000 range at other shops. Both of these outfits include our one-year guarantee and 100% trade-in value. Other shops don’t offer you these perks--Ask them and they will just look at you strangely and say “you must be mistaken...” Bow Hair Bug Infestations We are seeing a lot of violin/viola cases coming in infested with bugs that eat bow hair. If suddenly you seem to have a lot of broken bow hairs while the bow is stored in your case, this is likely to be the problem. You should carefully vacuum the case, and even consider storing the bow on a tabletop or on a hanger on the wall. Your bow will be safe if it is in circulating air. The bugs only come out and feed on the hair in dark, humid areas like inside the case. It’s usually not a day-to-day problem; it’s more associated with cases that are stored closed for many months or years. You can see the dry white bug carcasses lying in the case. They look a little like small snails although I think technically they are weevils. We are Making Violins! Our current models are the very successful Strad 1715 “Cremonese”, Strad’s famous 1704 “Betts”, and the 1743 “Rovelli” by Guarneri del Gesu. We are making use of castings from actual instruments, CT scans, and extensive photographs to make high-quality reproductions. We would be happy to show you some of our materials, which most violin makers never have access to. In our opinion you should never do business with a “violin shop” where people are not actively constructing violins, and can’t show you rib sets and neck blocks in progress! Their tool skills are not likely to be very good if all they do is sell merchandise bought from suppliers. And be aware, there is no violin making going on in some shops that call themselves “violin makers”, especially if they are referring to generations removed. Thanks to the Bothell Police Department for arresting the thief of a violin outfit from Kenmore Violins (and items from other local small businesses). A fraudulent stolen check and stolen ID were used to buy an outfit in March, 2010. The detective tells us that the thief is looking at seven years in prison. Crime does not pay!! We will prosecute thieves to the full extent of the law. String Sets Still 20% Off We get strings for a pretty good price, so we pass the saving on to you. Also, we will mount strings for free, on the counter while you wait. Other shops charge full retail price ($93 for Dominant violin set), often without offering free installation. Clarifying 100% Trade-in Policy The purpose of this generous offer is to allow players to easily upgrade their musical equipment as they grow, or as their skills improve. You are welcome to trade in your Kenmore Violins bow, instrument, or case towards another bow, instrument or case of equal or greater value (condition must be same as when purchased). However, you cannot combine items, and there is no cash value or credit. In other words, you are welcome to trade in a $200 bow towards the cost of a $400 bow, but you cannot trade in the bow for a violin case. Likewise, you cannot trade in a ½ size bow, violin, and case for a 4/4 bow (only the ½ bow can be traded in towards the 4/4 bow). You cannot trade in bow, instrument, or case towards accessories, strings, or repairs. If you go from a smaller outfit to a larger size outfit of lesser value, you cannot carry a credit towards other merchandise. We hope that you will see the trade-in policy as a strong benefit for you. Funny, but most other shops don’t want your trade-in, even if they sold it to you. That should tell you something. Preventing Damage to your Bow Bows are fragile and expensive to repair, but with care they can last for several lifetimes. -Avoid overtightening the bow. Tighten the stick until there is just enough room to slide a pencil between the hair and the stick. The stick should never look straight. -Store the bow in the relaxed position, or else you risk breakage, warpage, or loss of camber. -Avoid using too much rosin. It causes a harsher sound, and then falls off and causes a sticky cleaning problem on instrument and strings. There’s no need for rosining to become a regular ritual; wait until the hair needs rosin. When you look at the hair it should look like fairly clean hair, not covered with cakey yellow powder. -Apply rosin evenly in long strokes, not rubbed hard into one spot (even excellent teachers get this one wrong). You don’t want to have a LOUD spot on your bow, do you? -Replace broken bone tips. The bone tip protects the head from damage if the bow is dropped, and also from the force used to insert plugs while rehairing (the rehairer may decline the job if the bone tip is cracked). -Hairs break mainly because they are pinched between the hardwood stick and the metal string. If you break a lot of hairs, tighten the stick a little bit more, or get a stronger bow. -Rehairs need to be done regularly, every 6 to 12 months, or before an important performance. -Rosin is perishable. It lasts a few years at most. If your cake of rosin is hard and you have to scrape it to use it, it is too old. Also, rosin is brittle. Don’t drop it! -Lastly, please don’t rush the rehairer/repairer. Bow repairs are difficult and should be done slowly and carefully. Gift Pens For a limited time we are offering deluxe handmade Cross-style pens made from genuine violin-making woods (curly maple, pernambuco, ebony, cocobolo) and gold-plated hardware. Each is an original work of art, made by JS Loen, all-American violin maker. These are available from no other source. Sale price: $29.50 (normal price: $32.50). Comes in a beautiful wooden case. Why our prices are lower You might notice that, unlike other music shops, we do not advertise in local media. Advertising is expensive (thousands of $$) and every dollar has to be made up by marking up prices. That’s why our violin bow rehairs are $55, compared to big-advertising shops who charge you as much as $100 for the same service. Similar differences in prices are evident with our instruments. Yes, the difference in prices between a non-advertising shop and one that spends big on advertising can easily be 25-50%! Otherwise, the same suppliers cater to our shop and the big advertising shops. Many of the products are the same. In effect, the big advertisers charge you money just to tell you that they exist. That’s all you get for your money. Such actions do not benefit you in terms of product quality. So, if you see adverts in glossy magazines, or hear spots on the radio, think about running in the other direction! PLEASE, read this before you buy violin, viola, cello, or bass on the internet.