Where to buy an instrument in London?

February 6, 2005 at 09:44 AM · Greetings,

according to the brochure he inserted in the Strad Magazine, Bishop's (just of fBond Street, is very good. tehy do seme to be supplyign a lot of good players htese days.

The other shop that always gave me a good deal was Beares.

Cheers,

Buri

February 6, 2005 at 11:12 AM · Tricky question. People might be tempted to give the names of the their friends in the trade - and suppress negative points about others for fear of being sued, or at least making themselves very unpopular, as it is a fairly small world! What kind of ccello do you have in mind? I have been going round a few London dealers looking at instruments recently, but not Beares. Beares is arguably the biggest name for famous Italian violins, but maybe not the obvious place to start if you only have a one or even five thousnad pounds to spend. I heard they used to make a point of being helpful to violin students, though. Maybe that was true when Buri was going there? I don't know whether it is still true.

February 6, 2005 at 01:01 PM · Thanks for your advice. I’ve been playing violin for 4 years but now I’ve decided to take up cello. It is something that I really consider continuing with but at the moment my budget is quite limited because I’m a student. So I’d like to find an instrument that isn’t beyond my budget but still would be a good choice in the long run.

Does anyone know if the online shops are any good? If I could try the instrument elsewhere and then order it... Somehow I’m not comfortable with this idea but am I only being paranoid?

You mentioned couple of shops in the London area... do they have a web sites so I could check the address and other contact information?

February 6, 2005 at 02:12 PM · I think you have to try the actual instrument you buy, whether factory made or individually made, no two are alike. Mail order is highly risky. It is best to buy where you are in striking distance of the shop as after sales service can be valuable. It is also best if you are close enough to have the instrument for a week on approval. Perhaps it is worth looking near where you live?

The shops I visited are Bridgewood and Nietzert, which is rather far from an underground station but the excellent 73 bus passes the door. And Phelps Violins, where it is a good idea to make an appointment as it is a problem if you go when the shop is only covered by front desk staff, some of whom do not know a great deal about violins or the stock. Both have websites, though no full stock listings on the websites. Both sell new instruments as well as old, Phelps had a couple of lovely violins by Peter Goodfellow, Brigewood and Nietzert took over the new work group, when the new owner of Phelps decided not to continue that side of the business. And Colin Nicholls, who is an ex-Hills luthier who works from home, no website, but it is worth trecking out to see his stock, not least because he has to rely on word of mouth, and attracts customers because he is very good at setting up instruments. I also tried a new violin from Steve Burnett which was sent down from Edinburgh - he has a website.

In the end I decided to make do with a violin my father gave me - only a 100 year-old factory-made Stainer copy with a crack along the bass bar, which would probably fetch 100 pounds at auction, if it sold at all, but properly set up, and in the hands of a good player, it sounds fine.

February 6, 2005 at 11:40 PM · Greetings,

John. I have no idea whether Beares is still the same as it was in the late seventies. Back then I bought a beautiful Pique for about ten thousand pounds.

So at leats one Frenchie has sneaked under the radar screen,

I would agree that going to Beares for a first time cello buy might not be the way to go.

Cheers,

Buri

February 7, 2005 at 01:54 AM · I second the vote for Bridgewood's; they know their stuff and have always done excellent work for me - and I hasten to add I don't know any of the staff except professionally, so no undue favours! Phelps is in Kentish Town and is now owned by Mila Strnad and his wife. I'd also recommend Guivier's off Portland St (Oxford St tube); colleagues of mine use them, and the staff are lovely. I'm not sure they deal with student instruments, though.