Bow Rehair & other Services
John maintains a busy practice in bow rehairing and repair, often involving particularly rare and valuable bows. All bow work is completed personally by John. With more than 23 years experience and meticulous work on over 15,000 bows, we guarantee you only one quality -- The best!
Customers include concertmasters, principal players, and international soloists such as violinists Sarah Chang and Gil Shaham, and concert cellist Alban Gerhardt.
Bow rehairing is a surprisingly delicate task, requiring years of regular application to execute consistently well. Part of the challenge is that no two bows are exactly alike. Some bows are precariously fragile. Please remember that a bow rehair is not like an oil change in your car. Paying a few dollars less for a "good deal" on a rehair from a less conscientious and skilled technician could end in a distressing disaster. Besides, the precision quality of our work means that you will go much longer between rehairs.
We generally request a rehair turnaround of 2 working days. For busy players and people coming from a longer distance, we do our best to provide 1 hour rehair service (!), with prior appointment.
Our expert rehairs include:
The cost for professional quality rehairs is:
$85 Violin and Viola
$90 Cello
$80 Baroque and Gamba Bows
$105 Bass. Slightly higher for white hair.
Customers include concertmasters, principal players, and international soloists such as violinists Sarah Chang and Gil Shaham, and concert cellist Alban Gerhardt.
Bow rehairing is a surprisingly delicate task, requiring years of regular application to execute consistently well. Part of the challenge is that no two bows are exactly alike. Some bows are precariously fragile. Please remember that a bow rehair is not like an oil change in your car. Paying a few dollars less for a "good deal" on a rehair from a less conscientious and skilled technician could end in a distressing disaster. Besides, the precision quality of our work means that you will go much longer between rehairs.
We generally request a rehair turnaround of 2 working days. For busy players and people coming from a longer distance, we do our best to provide 1 hour rehair service (!), with prior appointment.
Our expert rehairs include:
- Installing a meticulously sorted and even ribbon of premium quality hair.
- A gentle cleaning and French polishing of your stick.
- Conservative cleaning and polishing of metal parts.
- Cleaning and lubrication of your frog and button screw.
The cost for professional quality rehairs is:
$85 Violin and Viola
$90 Cello
$80 Baroque and Gamba Bows
$105 Bass. Slightly higher for white hair.
Sarah Chang's gold mounted Dominique Peccatte after John's rehair - Tip
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Sarah Chang's gold mounted Dominique Peccatte - Frog
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Bow Repair & Restoration
With over 20 years of high level bowmaking and daily work in bow restoration, John has the experience to artistically and skillfully complete most any bow repair or restoration requirement. We make every effort to quote you a fair price for the work right up front, so you don't have any surprises.
Typical repair and restoration work includes:
Typical repair and restoration work includes:
- Ivory Tips - We can artistically replace your broken tip with "renewable" 10,000 year old mammoth ivory.
- Imitation Ivory Tips - Frequent international travelers concerned about potentially arbitrary customs regulations regarding ivory bow tips can have their bow tips meticulously replaced with a synthetic resin tip. Please note that it can't be guaranteed whether a tip replacement will negatively affect the later sales value of your bow. If absolutely necessary, the replacement does present a viable option. We will gladly provide you with a letter confirming the tip replacement should you request one.
- Thumbleather Replacement - An overly worn thumb-leather can result in excessive wear to your stick. We offer an assortment of choices, including lizard skin, Moroccan, snakeskin, water buffalo, etc.
- Pearl Slide - Replacing a worn slide enhances the longevity and beauty of your frog. We stock many attractive pearl options.
- Pearl Eyes - We can conservatively replace worn or missing eyes in your frog and button to exact size and fit.
- Broken Heads - Heads can usually be strongly repaired by inserting a thin veneer called a "spline."
- Eyelets & Screws - Slipping and worn parts can be fitted with new first-quality replacements.
- Recambering - A precise correct camber (the curve in a bow) is a crucial element of easy bow playability. A surprising number of bows, even those made by master makers, are not optimally cambered. Camber change can develop as a bow ages and/or from an unskilled later adjustment. Bows like this will play more securely after a skilled recambering.
- Bow Balancing & Rewraping Handle - Proper bow balance is vital for optimal bow playability. We can suggest and install a choice of different wraps to customize your bow's balance and response.
- Rebushing Worn Screw Holes - A loose fitting frog might be a symptom of worn screw holes. This is a natural result of many years of use. We can return these borings to "factory specifications."
- Replacing Metal Parts - An overly thin ferrule (the "D" shaped metal ring on your frog) is the most common replacement. If it is too thin, the ferrule won't provide sufficient support for the wooden "spreader wedge," which helps maintain a full width ribbon of hair at the frog.
Bow Appraisals
We offer bow appraisal services on a case-by-case basis. Appraising bows involves considerable responsibility on our part. We only will write appraisals on bows when we are very confident of authenticity.