| Some of the Fine Products and Services Featured at The Loft: |
CodaBow - Carbon Fiber Bows for Violin, Viola and Cello
CodaBow is the premier family of carbon fiber performance bows for violin, viola and cello. Our complete line of bows enhance all levels of performance from student to professional. Violin, viola and cello players the world over have discovered the power of CodaBow performance. Find the CodaBow that is right for you and Release the Performance Within!
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Howard Core & Co., Inc. was founded by Howard and Myrna Core in New York in 1976. In late 1977 it was moved to Alabama. In 2001, Howard Core Company LLC was formed, with Alex Weidner and Howard Core as partners, which insured the future of the firm.
The Howard Core Company brands, such as Johannes Köhr, have attained a reputation for honest value and excellence. The 20 staff members of our company have one goal – to continue to provide the best service and finest products available.
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Sofia Violins:
Sofia Violins are individually made by a global group of luthiers in the time-honored tradition of crafting fine handmade violins, violas and cellos. Because they make their own instruments, they have complete control over all aspects of quality down to the selection of the actual trees that will provide our premium wood for future years.
Every Sofia instrument is individually made by the violin maker whose name appears on its label. Most of the Sofia luthiers work in their Eastern European atelier, but some prefer to work at home. Once a month their instruments are flown to the United States where their American luthiers carefully check, enhance and finish each instrument.
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| Marco Raposo Bows
Brazilian born, Marco Raposo studied bow making at the university of New Hampshire, in the United States, and decided to establish his workshop in the high mountains of Brazil's Atlantic Forest, in the village of Domingos Martins - ES, home of the precious Pernambuco wood - Pau-Brasil.
"Marco Raposo Bows", established in 1995, manufactures the finest quality bows for violin, viola, cello and bass, for professionals and advanced students. Their goal is to assure quality to our customers and protect the environment.
The company operates a sizable production facility and manages a large neighboring area of forested land, which will eventually serve as a perpetual resource for the enterprise. Marco Raposo maintains a policy of sustainable development and work closely with forestry officials to ensure that it will continue to grow in an environmentally sound manner.
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Samuel Shen ...
... is a well known and respected Luthier out of Windsor, Canada now living and working in China. The Shen instrument line combines excellent value, exceptional workmanship and wonderful tonality. Their instruments exhibit sound qualities that extend well beyond their reasonable prices. The staff of The Loft highly recommends their instruments, but especially their cellos and basses. From the newest laminated “80”series for students and schools, all the way to their fine, hand-carved performance celli and basses, Samuel Shen provides great playability, value and sound.
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| Scott Cao:
Scott Shu-kun Cao is listed among the best-known contemporary violin makers in the world. His instruments are currently in the hands of soloists, famous professional players and collectors. For their tonal quality, Scott's instruments are renowned. Among makers, Scott's violins are said to not only project a beautiful sound but are also aesthetically superior. During the past fifteen years, Scott has won many awards in international competitions. Five times out of six, Scott Cao was awarded the "tone" award by the Violin Society of America's international competition committee. The following is a list of awards:
- Tone award for violin 1986 VSA Competition
- Tone and workmanship for viola 1988 VSA Competition
- First place award for tone and violin 1990 Violin Maker's Association of British Columbia
- Certificate of merit, violin tone 1992 VSA competition
- 3rd place in 1994 7th international competition of Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy
- Silver medal for violin 1996 12th Annual International Competition
- Silver medal for viola 1996 12th Annual International Competition of VSA
- Silver medal for cello 1998 14th Annual International Competition of VSA
- Scott Cao is probably the only violin maker who has succeeded in getting tone awards in the international competition every two years.
Visit The Loft Violin Shop to try one of these fine instruments for yourself!
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Yamaha Electric & Silent Strings
The Loft Violin Shop is pleased to carry the Yamaha Silent Violins. Christian Howes, Yamaha artist in residence, has been a part of The Loft "family" for years. We carry the full line of Yamaha instruments and add the special touch of being set-up and crafted in our shop by our skilled craftsman. Come in today and give them a try!
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The JonPaul Bow ...
...history is the story of a family of craftsmen. In 1960, Peter Prier immigrated to the United States after graduating from the Violin Making School of Bavaria in Mittenwald, Germany. He was a pioneer in many aspects. He brought master skills to the new world, set up a world-class violin shop, and founded the renowned Violin Making School of America. He also began the creation of a non-wood bow long before its time. While fulfilling his passion as a master luthier and teacher, Peter's wisdom and experience inspired the next generation to create bows of uncompromising quality in the tradition of the fine French masters. This is the JonPaul team.
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Water Violet Bows
Water Violet Bows was founded in 1994 by Renato Cesar Casara in the small village of Demetrio Ribeiro near the town of Joao Neiva located in Southeastern Brazil. Since its founding, the company has shown increasing signs of prosperity - a trait of the Italian immigrants who colonized the region in the 19th century.
In the beginning, the company produced only twenty handcrafted bows each month. It relied on a small staff of one bowmaker and three other employees.
Water Violet Bows entered the 21st century with a production rate of 450 bows per month, and has a production capability of 600 bows per month. Presently, Water Violet Bows employs a total of 38 professionals. Among them are ten master bowmakers who handcraft the finest violin, viola, cello, bass, and baroque bows.
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Snow Stringed Instruments
In October 1989, the renowned luthier William Hu (Chinese name Xueping Hu) established the Snow Workshop in Beijing, China with six workers, to produce hand-crafted string instruments. Nine years later, Snow Stringed Instruments, Inc was born in New York. William’s brother, Jack Hu expanded Snow into an international wholesale business specializing in quality violins, violas, cellos, and basses only produced from Snow workshop. Over the past years, Snow has consulted leading luthiers from Italy, France, the UK and the US for specific guidance regarding construction, tone production and varnishing .The company has continued to refine its artistry and follow the latest technologies in crafting exquisite stringed instruments, and steadily produce a new line for each year. Snow proudly carries a passion to create new ideas around its instruments. By 2007, Snow’s Workshop has grown to 70 workers to fulfill the increasing market demand. As Snow approaches 2008, we came up with the idea of using today’s technology to make our violins more accessible to our customers by listing individual violins with their own pictures and sound sample on our new website. It allows the buyer to pick and choose through a number of models that are best for their own tastes at a convenient point.
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