ISB @ Penn State..

[Ken Smith]

I just booked my Hotel for the week so it looks like I will be there from the beginning till the end.

As far as the Forum here goes, I will not be bringing a computer with me so the world will just have to wait until I return. Play nice while I am away..

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

I just booked my Hotel for the week so it looks like I will be there from the beginning till the end.

good luck!

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

As far as the Forum here goes, I will not be bringing a computer with me so the world will just have to wait until I return. Play nice while I am away..

i will keep an eye on richard

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Anselm Hauke

good luck!

i will keep an eye on richard

I'll keep an eye on Anselm

[Ken Smith]

We will be in Room 117, near the Esber Recital Hall in the School of Music Building, sharing the large Room 117 with one, perhaps two other vendors.

This is not where most of the other exhibits are but it's near the Recital Stage area in an adjacent building. Maybe we will be able to use the Stage to demo Basses, who knows?

The line-up at this time is;
Samuel Gilkes, London 1814
John Thomas Hart, London c.1830
Attr. English Gamba, c.1780
Oreste Martini, Mantova 1919
Oreste Candi, Genoa 1936
Peter Hamilton-Box, Kent 2008

We will also show a collection of fine French model Bass bows as well as our affordable KSB Bows in French (stamped C.Loveri) and German (stamped B.Fendt).

[Ken Smith]

I started this Thread about coming to the ISB a few weeks back but since then something has happened on the Bow end of things.

I advertised that I will have Bows by Sue Lipkins as well as others but the two Lipkins Bows I had have since been sold. On the Lipkins make, to ease any sorrow about not having them I will bring my Lipkins Sartory model so at least I have one to show.

Also, about a week ago I get a call from a dealer friend of mine who mentioned he couldn't make the Show and asked if I could use some extra Bows at the Booth to show? I said maybe, what kind of Bows? he replied, Bazin, Fetique, Pfretzschner etc.. My eyes lit up.

Today I received two boxes with a total of 17 Bows in them. I have a Lotte and Ouchard in the pack as well as several beautiful high end German Bows. One is a gold mounted Snakewood Bow by Jan Krusig? Don't know him but the bow is beautiful with the screw in Snakewood to match. In total I recieved 9 French Bows and 7 German Bows. The lowest priced bow in the pack is an English maker who went to study in Italy and made this Bow in Verona, priced to move at only $2400. The only living maker in the French bows is G.Lucchi. All the rest are oldies..

I also have two beautiful bows in German style stamped G.Werner. Anyone know who or what that is?

Anyway, I will have these plus a bunch of my own collection as well as all of the KSB Bows I have in stock in the higher grade French and German models so if you are Bow shopping, come by and see me before you make any decisions about a new Bow.

All in all, I have Bows from $120 (low end German) on up to $11k in classic pedigree French.

[Joel Larsson]

I found a New Zealand site selling a "Dörfler, stamped G. Werner" for NZ$730. Eventually I found http://www.vivaceviolin.com/pp/Bows/.../VlnBw406.html which seems to further indicate that G. Werner is student grade bows made by Dörfler. On their website, I found no information on the stamping of their beginner/student level models, though...
G. Werner bows seems to sell for USD150-500.

On Krusig I have nothing. Can't find anything online, no matter which of the German words for bow or bow maker I use in association with his name.

[Richard Prowse]

Ken, good luck.
Just a little thing though, I noticed you've been doing a little bit of episodic posting on this thread. Please keep multiple posting for the bull pit, where it belongs.
Oh, and I'll keep an eye on Tim while you're away.

[Richard Prowse]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

I found a New Zealand site selling a "Dörfler, stamped G. Werner" for NZ$730.

Where? Down here (NZ)? What city?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

I found a New Zealand site selling a "Dörfler, stamped G. Werner" for NZ$730. Eventually I found http://www.vivaceviolin.com/pp/Bows/.../VlnBw406.html which seems to further indicate that G. Werner is student grade bows made by Dörfler. On their website, I found no information on the stamping of their beginner/student level models, though...
G. Werner bows seems to sell for USD150-500.

On Krusig I have nothing. Can't find anything online, no matter which of the German words for bow or bow maker I use in association with his name.

I found a few websites that sell them but also list them in more than one level of Quality and price. All have been French that I have found. These are fairly high quality German made German Bows, from what I can see. Still, the prices the dealer set for them are probably what they sell for retail in NYC. At an international show, these two Bows may or may not be competitively priced. Still, I have a good bunch of great and classic bows besides these. I was just curious what was known about them out here because I had never heard of them before.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

We will be in Room 117, near the Esber Recital Hall in the School of Music Building, sharing the large Room 117 with one, perhaps two other vendors.

This is not where most of the other exhibits are but it's near the Recital Stage area in an adjacent building. Maybe we will be able to use the Stage to demo Basses, who knows?

The line-up at this time is;
Samuel Gilkes, London 1814
John Thomas Hart, London c.1830
Attr. English Gamba, c.1780
Oreste Martini, Mantova 1919
Oreste Candi, Genoa 1936
Peter Hamilton-Box, Kent 2008

We will also show a collection of fine French model Bass bows as well as our affordable KSB Bows in French (stamped C.Loveri) and German (stamped B.Fendt).

On the Gilkes, Tom Martin kept telling me to pronounce it Jilkes as that is the English way so I have to practice that.. Jilkes.. Jilkes.. Jilkes..

All of the Dealers and players that saw the Gilkes loved it and commented on the sound and fantastic condition. Tom also mentioned that Gilkes (Jilkes) was the Customs Examiner to the Queen for instruments entering the country. Charles Harris, the teacher and relative of Gilkes is also listed as a Customs official. This Gilkes Bass by Samuel, the only one known to have been made by him (labeled and branded) as well as having that 7-layer purfling with the Diamond neckless of purfling under the button may have been a Royal Commission of some sort. I guess we will never know.

Leon Bosch commented that he wished he had use the Big Gamba for his recital. He was able to get around that bass like it was a solo instrument. What an amazing player he is.

Players had pre-arranged for instruments loaned out to perform on as many came without a Bass. Stefano loved the Candi but the Karr bass had been brought in for him to use prior to the show. He commented that when playing the Gilkes (Jilkes) up at the end of the FB on the 'G' that it was one of the best sounding basses he had ever heard.

Guys, these players I heard this week, up close and personal, can make a bass sound that is beyond words I can describe. I never knew how good the Gilkes or Martini was before hearing it played at this show. Most agreed that the big Gamba was a very special bass but there was one top dealer (not to be named) that said "I like the Gilkes best over all of them"..

My Wife today asked if I had told them that it was her that picked out the Gilkes over a dozen other basses for me to buy when I was shopping some 5-6 years ago for my personal bass. So officially, my wife Claudia is the one responsible for me getting the Gilkes.. There.. I said it..