Step-up line

better instruments for the advancing student

Martin Beck

Step-up violins and cellos - “Martin Beck”, Romania

Hand-carved in Romania of the highest quality tonewoods, these excellent advanced student instruments are carefully regraduated and finished by our importer, and precisely setup to our specifications by our in-house luthier. Powerful, smooth, and responsive, these instruments are our most popular step-up.

Dragon

Step-up Cello - “Dragon” by Zhonglong Sheng, China

Big, beautiful, and responsive tone characterizes the cellos of the Sheng family. “Dragon” instruments are made of beautiful Chinese and European Maple aged a minimum of five years in the white before being rubbed by hand with Zhonglong’s beautiful oil varnish and expertly antiqued.

Hofner

Step-up Cello - “Hofner”, Germany

Now made in Hagenau in Bavaria, Hofner has been making fine student instruments by hand since 1895. Made of hand-selected European tonewood carved in the traditional manner and hand-varnished with or without antiquing, Hofner cellos are powerful and easy to play.

Doetsh and Klier

Step-up violins and Cellos - “Rudolph Doetsh” and “Wilhelm Klier”, Germany

The Doetsch and Klier lines of cellos and violins from Eastman are made of top-quality aged European tonewood. They are very popular, well-established brands with an excellent reputation as second instruments for professionals. With top-quality aged German maple and spruce, they’re often said to sound like very old instruments.

Core Select

Step-up Cello - “Core Select”, by Ming-Jiang Zhu, China

Master violin maker Ming-Jiang Zhu is an internationally awarded luthier from China. His instruments are subtle and colorful, beautifully playing and powerful! With an unusually short body length, these cellos are rare and highly prized for their comfortable dimensions.

Tanglewood

Step-up Violin Model 300 by Tanglewood Strings, Boston, MA.

Strings Inc. is a Boston-based stringed instrument manufacturer. Their excellent imported violins are setup and finished in the U.S. before final adjustment in-house at Violins and More. The 300 model is an advancing student violin featuring a warm, responsive tone, and beautiful shaded red-gold finish.

Germantown

Step-up Violin - “Alfredo”, by Germantown Violin Co., Maryland.

Germantown Violin’s Alfredo Model 307 are handcrafted using the pattern perfected by Antonio Stradivari. They offer the student a mature, warm, and rich tone. Alfredos are made of high-quality select tonewood and finished in the US with good quality ebony fittings and golden-brown spirit varnish.

Jay Haide

Step-Up Violin - “Model 104”, by Jay Haide, California

Jay Haide is a USA-based firm headed by Jay Ifshin and Haide Lin. Lin is a highly-regarded and awarded luthier who together with Ifshin carefully oversees and finishes the production of their sought-after instruments in El Cerrito, California. For the advancing musician, the model 104 was created using beautifully flamed aged maple and an attractively shaded golden orange varnish of a softer texture. The tone is full and warm.