Don Rickert Musical Instruments

Special Pricing for a Violoncello da Spalla (Standard Model) and a Tenor Viola (additional information for prior article)

I recently announced that I have a newly-built Violoncello da Spalla and a refurbished Tenor Viola for sale. In that announcement, I mentioned special pricing, $13,500 for the Violoncello da Spalla and $3,500 for the Tenor Viola. Why the special pricing? A basic reason has a little bit to do with the competitive landscape. Quite simply, there are too many luthiers selling what amounts to their student projects as master-level instruments, often at attractively low prices. This is especially true in the world of niche instruments like violoncellos da spalla. This confuses those looking for an instrument and diverts business away from experienced makers. Competing on price is, in the end, a fool’s errand; however, a reasonable discount as a “nudge” is OK. Different reasons for each of the two instruments The Violoncello da Spalla The Violoncello da Spalla for sale is a nice example of my “Standard Model” in terms of workmanship, playability and, especially sound. It has a dramatically-flamed maple over spruce Baroque fingerboard and matching solid maple tailpiece. Looking at the photos, you can see that the instrument is well-scraped and the purfling is close to flawless. The back and sides, however, are not as well-flamed as I would like. In fact, the flaming is rather subdued on the ribs. This is the reason that I have decided to sell the instrument for a discounted price. If desired, you can purchase the instrument now and I will make a new one just like, but with very well-flamed... Read more →

The New Ultimate Octave (aka Baritone) Violin by D. Rickert Musical Instruments

Attention!: This is an older post. The instrument described has been replaced by the Rickert Tertis Body Tenor Viola (one octave lower than violin) 15.5 inch body size. Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. The T-Max Tenor Long Scale Octave Violin by D. Rickert Musical Instruments and other amazing low-pitched acoustic bowed instruments are available at the Don Rickert Musician Shop. Introduction Since the beginning of our adventure as an independent boutique custom lutherie (2007 officially), we have always allocated much attention to designing and making the best possible acoustic octave (aka baritone) violins and fiddles. More recently (about 4 years ago), we added acoustic octave violas (aka chin cellos) to our product offerings. Our continuous research with octave violas has become intertwined with our constant quest for the best octave violins possible. Our newest offering, the T-Max Tenor Long Scale Octave Violin is an example of nexus of octave violin and octave viola design research. With the new T-Max Tenor, we have to revise what we mean by “ultimate.” This new instrument is the most incredible octave violin that is played on the shoulder, to date. It is the new ultimate octave violin. The T-Max Tenor Long Scale Octave Violin The T-Max Tenor Long Scale Octave Violin is a variation of the T-Rex Octave Viola. See our article, T-Rex Octave Viola by D. Rickert Musical Instruments with Demo Video. The new instrument from D. Rickert Musical Instruments was suggested by a client. Don't know why we did not... Read more →

T-Rex Octave Viola by D. Rickert Musical Instruments with Demo Video

Attention!: This is an older post. Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. How good can an acoustic octave viola sound? The T-Rex Octave Viola sets the standard. Note The T-Rex Octave Viola by D. Rickert Musical Instruments and other amazing low-pitched acoustic bowed instruments are available at the Don Rickert Musician Shop. Go Right to YouTube for Demo T-Rex Octave Viola Demo on YouTube Introduction Since the inception of our ongoing adventure as an independent boutique custom lutherie (began in 2007 officially), we have always allocated much attention to designing and making the best possible acoustic octave (aka baritone) violins and fiddles. More recently (about 4 years ago), we added acoustic octave violas (aka “chin cellos”) to our product offerings. Our Initial Goal for Octave Violas When we stepped into the octave viola arena, our goal was simple: To develop an instrument that sounded a lot better than the original “ChinCellos”, cleverly marketed by a large Asian manufacturer with an Italian-sounding name. These original “ChinCellos”, still sold today through the large online musical instrument mega-stores, are basically student-level instruments set up with special octave viola strings (made by SuperSensitive) and tuned to the same notes (i.e. frequencies) as a full-size cello. The maker claims internal modifications to increase sonority. We assume that this would be some kind of modification to the bass bar. These instruments sound about as good as an $800 converted student instrument could sound. To summarize, their sound is somewhat muffled with a particularly weak-sounding C-string.... Read more →

Don Rickert Musician Shop is Unique: Part 1 (Hard to Find Stuff)

Please visit the Don Rickert Musician Shop. Don Rickert Musician Shop (D. Rickert Musical Instruments) is the place to go for unique instruments that are either very hard or even impossible to find anywhere else. Some examples: Travel / Backpacker Violins and Fiddles We make and sell the finest innovative and ergonomically perfect travel/backpacker violins in the world. Several dozen customers a year opt for one of our travel violins, despite the fact that they cost from 3 to 4 times as much as our apparent competitors. 5-String Violins We make and sell one of best 5-string violins that money can buy (note: There ARE some very fine 5-string instruments by competitors). We also sell the very nice new 5-String acoustic-electric Realist violin by David Gage. We also make and sell an incredible 5-string travel violin. Octave Violins and Violas We make the most advanced and best-sounding octave violins and octave violas (aka “chin cellos”). Dr. Rickert has been researching acoustic octave violins for more than 15 years. He has designed a number of such instruments over the past decade, each new one better than the rest. We sell a lot of these. Top recording artists own a number of them. Tertis Wide-Body Violas in all Sizes We are one of the only U.S. based sources of extremely high quality Tertis wide-body violas, in sizes from 15” to 16.5” (note: viola size is designated by the length of the instrument body, from the saddle to the neck joint). These instruments... Read more →