Our shop was established in Ardmore, 20 minutes west of center city Philadelphia, in 1985. Our reputation as a shop has been built on our commitment to the comfort of the player, as well as the quality of our instruments. In addition to finding the right instrument and bow for each person, we will spend as much time as necessary adjusting the instrument and fitting it to the customer. We highly recommend that customers come by appointment, so that instruments in their size and price range can be set up and ready for them, and so that we may be able to give each person our complete attention.
We deal primarily with better quality student and professional violins, violas, cellos and basses. The price range for instruments is from $350 to $75,000 and up (occasionally we can find less expensive instruments when the case merits it). Bows range from $50 to $10,000 and up. We carry cases, strings and all other accessories at discounted prices, as well as our own brand of hand-poured rosin. We carry all sizes of instruments: violins from 1/16th (1/32nds are sometimes available), violas from 12" (1/4-size) (violas have ribs which are higher than violins), cellos from 1/10th and basses from 1/8th. We have an inventory of more than 2000 instruments.
We have a generous trade-in policy for instruments and bows purchased here:
Instruments- price paid; minus string replacement and any damage costs.
Bows- price paid, minus re-hair charge and any damage costs; 1 also discuss trade-ins on instruments from other shops.
We will rent violins and violas by the year. We appraise and purchase instruments as well. We are also available to give talks on string instruments to student and profession.
About the owner, Paul Stevens
- Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Colorado.
- Studied with Carl Blum who had learned under the tutelage of some of the great restorers at the old Lewis and Son shop in Chicago.
- Studied Cello with Jurgen deLemos who was principle cellist of the Denver Symphony.
- Eleven years experience in the William Moennig and Son Repair Department.
- 22 years at present location in Ardmore – (West of Philadelphia) – since 1985.
We have an instruments care guide available upon request. If there are any specific accessories, books or other supplies you would like us to have available, we will make every attempt to accommodate. We are glad to assist anyone seeking a private teacher, and we would be happy to add to our list the names of any teachers you would recommend. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Paul E. Stevens
(610) 649-0737
www.stevensviolins.com
