Shop Instruments: the “House Brand”
These are instruments which were not made by me, but were purchased unfinished (in the white) or in pieces, as a kit, and which I completed in my shop, finished in much the same manner as I do my own instruments, and set up to the same standards as my personal instruments. (See the featured image above.)
Since I am not the maker, personally, I do not claim them as my work. They do not have my signed and numbered label; instead, they bear the label “Atelier Chez les Eveques“…which is French for “The Shop at the Bishop’s Place”. (A friend suggested it, and I like it. 🙂 )
At any rate, because these instruments require about 20% of the labor it usually requires for me to build an instrument, I pass the savings on to my customers, and they acquire a very good instrument, at a very reasonable price (about 1/3 the price of my handmade instruments.) It is easier for me to provide this service in traditional instruments, because the unfinished instruments are readily available. But I can get five-string fiddles, in the white, if someone wants to go this route, and save a good deal of money.
They play very well… and sound very good. Here is a Youtube link to the owner of the fiddle pictured above, playing a piece written by Mark O’Connor.
Call for a quote if you are interested in this option.