Jax RCFB Bowed Strings & Fretless Lutes Musical Instruments Page

This page contains links to online information and resources regarding the instruments in boxes 1,3 and 4: i.e. violins, viols and fretless lutes. The scope is broad with a certain emphasis being placed on information useful to those of us who live in Colorado.

Inclusion of any individual or organization here is not intended to disparage any individual or organization not appearing on this page. The selection is personal and eclectic. Please if you have Web pages of immediate interest to bowed strings players and enthusiasts!

Other Disclaimers

• Jax RCFB Free Reed Musical Instruments Page
• Jax RCFB Music Theory Page
  

Contents

• Euro-American Classical
  • Violin
  • Viola
  • Cello
  • Bass Viol
    
  • Viola da Gamba
    
• Euro-American Exotica
  • Hardanger Fiddle (Hardingfele )
  • Rebec
  • Fretless Lutes
• Far Eastern
• Middle Eastern
• Construction, Repair, Parts, and Instrument Sales
  • Bows
    
• Music
• Musicians
• Miscellanous Resources
  
  

Euro-American Classical

Violin

• Light Bubble is electric violinist John Schussler's page.
• Violin Tips incidentally has a great article about the different styles of bowing.
  
• Violinist.com is news, forums, etc.
  

Viola

• The Viola Web Site
  

Cello

• Cello Heaven is a forum.
• Internet Cello Society
  

Bass Viol

• American School of Double Bass has a site worth visiting even just for the discussion of modern bass fingering.
• Bass Bowing on the British Philharmonia Orchestra site.
  
• The Bassist Magazine
• Double Bass and Violone Internet Archive has information about early basses. <== Unique site, recommended!
  
• Double Bass Links Page by Bob Gollihur has over 700 links to bass viol info as well as being a dealer for some interesting instruments and accessories.
• Double Bassist magazine is oriented towards classical.
• Frank's Doghouse Upright Bass Page is about pop performance bass, especially slap bass.
  
• Great Bass Viol site by Joëlle Morton focusses on historical instruments.
• History of the Double Bass
  
• Brief History of the Double Bass
  
• International Society of Bassists
  
• How to Choose an Acoustic Double Bass by Christopher Vance
  

Viola da Gamba

• Ruby Electric Viola da Gamba

Euro-American Exotica

Hardanger Fiddle (Hardingfele)

• Hardanger Fiddle Association of America
• Folkemusikk is a Norse folk music site.
• Spelemannsbladet is a Norse fiddlers' magazine [Eit frittståande folkemusikktidsskrift og meldingsblad for LfS (Landslaget for Spelemenn)].

Rebec

• The Rebec Project
  

Euro-American Fretless Lutes

• FretlessBass.com is designed to create a giant gallery of fretless basses.
  
• Improvisor's Bass Method by Chuck Sher is a great bass viol/guitar book, especially valuable to the experienced bassist who wishes to brush up on the theoretical aspects of bass playing.
• Unfretted is about fretless guitar.
  

Middle Eastern

• Amorfia Productions has a booklet + tape Studies for Arabic Music on playing Arabic maqams (scales) on the violin.
• Kemence.Com is the world's only site about the Turkish rebec-like kemence (keh-men-cheh).
  

Far Eastern

• Nicholas Magriel's Sarangi Site
  
• Sarangi, the Indian Fiddle

Construction, Repair, Parts and Instrument Sales

• Barbera Transducers manufactures electronic pickups for bowed strings and manufactures their own acoustic-electric five-string violins.
• Bass Café sells premium quality upright basses.
• Bischofberger Violins, Ltd in Seattle is quite a beautiful store.
  
• Bows
  • Bernstein Violins
  • Gollihur Music
  • Southwest Strings
• L.K. Brown Violins
• BSXBass makes an electric upright bass. Wow, I tried one of these, I love it.
  
• Contrabass Shop is a good online site to view high-end instruments and bows.
  
• Decor Music
  
• Eminence electric upright bass
• Freedom Guitar has very inexpensive entry-level basses and appears to have good reputation for prompt delivery of sound instruments if you're interested in taking the leap to upright bass.
• David Golber Violins among other virtues trades in Hardanger fiddles.
  
• Gollihur Music - Bob Gollihur really seems to love the instrument!
  
• Andy Holliman Electric Violins
  
• International Luthiers Supply, Inc. is "a supplier of tone woods and accessories for making and repairing wood stringed instruments".
• Jensen Electric Bowed Instruments makes some of the prettiest electric bowed strings I've seen!
• Italia Leather Straps for custom bass guitar straps.
• Kolaczny Music is a Denver family-owned music business in its third (!!) generation where they do excellent double bass repair.
  
• Lemur Music are double bass specialists.
  
• Michael Kelly Guitar Company makes very nice acoustic-electric fretless bass guitars.
• New Standard Bass makes high-end laminated upright basses.
• Palatino Electric Upright Bass is inexpensive.
  
• Stephen Perry, Violin Maker
• Primo Violins ... ever wondered from where all those Chinese-made instruments are coming?
  
• Puget Sound Area Violin and Bow Makers is a directory.
  
• Quinn Violins has a very interesting string ID search page which can tell you what strings you have on your Violin/Viola/Cello/Bass.
• Riedstra's Violin Shop
  
• Robert Ross Double Bass Luthier
• Ken Smith Basses
  
• Ned Steinberger Electric Upright Bass, Cello, Viola, and Violins
• G.R. Stevens Violin Company
  
• Stevens Violin Shop
• Stewart-MacDonald claims to have "everything for building and repairing stringed instruments."
  
• Strings Direct Instrument Construction Page with lots of useful explanations and measurements.
• Tulsa Violin does repairs including rehair of bows.
  
• Upton Bass for your bass fiddle needs including rehair of bows.
  
• Viken Violiner of Norway sometimes deals in Hardanger Fiddles .
• Yuehe Violins and Bows in case you ever wondered about all those Chinese-made violins!
• Peter Zaret and Sons Violins
  
• Zeta Music MIDI electric violins, violas, cellos and basses

Music

• Free-Scores.Com has free classical sheet music.
• Mutopia Project is free sheet music, free to download or perform or record.
  
• Orchestra Musician's CDROM Library
• Orient exPress String Quartet Music includes some downloadable free arrangements.
  

Musicians

• Mark Diamond is my favorite Colorado upright bass player.
  
• Sandy L. Reay is a Colorado upright bassist.
• Michi Regier is a Colorado violinist of note.
  
• Lionel Young is a noted Colorado classical violinist who also plays amazing blues and jazz on 5-string electric.
  

Miscellanous Resources

• Bass Player Magazine also features fretlesses.
  
• Fiddle Forum hosts online discussion of violin and alternative strings.
• TalkBass hosts online discussion of electric and upright bass.