Erin Shrader

By Erin Shrader | From the November-December 2020 issue of Strings magazine “They’re awfully ugly,” opines violin auctioneer Jason Price at the mention of church basses. He’s sold one or two through Tarisio, his online auction company. “Have you run out of things to write about?” wonders David Bonsey, [at the time of writing] head of musical instruments at Skinner auction house in Boston, when I mention these seminal American stringed instruments.

Winterizing your fiddle will stabilize it and ensure that your fiddle survives the season’s humidity changes By Erin Shrader Stringed instruments are happiest given a constant temperature of 60 to 70 degrees and a relative humidity of 35 to 50 percent. Unless you’re a tropical sun worshiper, you’re probably quite comfortable under similar circumstances—where do you typically set your home thermostat in the winter?

By Erin Shrader Taking care of a bow is not complicated, though it does require diligence. Whether you’ve just bought your first bow or are playing on a fine antique or contemporary handmade bow, the ground rules are the same: don’t overtighten it, keep it safe, keep it clean, and get a rehair when the bow needs it. Of course, the devil is in the details, so here we will go over a detailed guide to taking care of your bow.