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The fiddle reviews database is here to help educate people before they purchase an instrument. Of course, this is not meant to be a substitute for playing the instrument yourself!
215 reviews in the archive.
I sent my 1993 Charles Horner fiddle to Don in Richmond, as my playing had outgrown my homemade setup job. It came back playing and sounding so much better. Don was responsive and understanding of the needs of a fiddler, which makes sense as the instruments he builds in house are popular across styles, and I believe he is a fiddler himself as well. His suggestions were well considered and he did not try to perform unnecessary work.
His work is perfect and his prices beat the violin shops in Atlanta to boot. With shipping the overall cost was comparable, but I am 100% positive his work was superior and more attuned to my needs, without the 4 hours of driving time using a shop a in Atlanta would require.
I hope to someday buy one of his handmade fiddles, but in the mean time I will definitely send my setup work his way!
Overall Rating: 10
I am really happy with the fiddle I bought from Don Leister. It sounds very rich, is nice and loud and looks beautiful. I originally sought out Don Leister because of an article I read about him in Fiddler magazine. While visiting Washington, DC I went to several violin shops and then took the 3 hour train ride to Richmond. I am so glad I did! The fiddle I bought from Don is just wonderful. It has a beautiful warm and open sound and it sounds great whether I'm playing a fast dance tune or a sweet and slow song. On my old fiddle my teacher was always telling me that I wasn't playing loud enough, but when I tried to get more sound it got all squeaky. On Don’s fiddle I can play very loud without it sounding harsh at all. My teacher, who plays on a 250 year old German violin said he really likes mine!
I tried out fiddles between 2-5k at the DC violin shops and the one I bought from Don sounds and looks better than anything I tried in DC--even violins that were twice the price. There are a lot of people who say they would prefer an older instrument, but I really like it that I can e-mail the person that made my fiddle! He was able to tell me where in Switzerland the spruce for the top came from. For sentimental reasons, I really liked the idea of a fiddle made with American maple for the back and Don is the only person I had heard of that does that. I am a beginner and had intended to just buy a upgrade, but I don’t want anything else but this instrument. This fiddle will last me long, long time.
Overall Rating: 10
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