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Claire Givens Violins, Inc

Dealers, Makers & Restorers of Fine Violins, Violas, Cellos & Bows

  • Instruments
        • Instrument Collection

        • VIOLINS

          • Up to $1,000
          • $1,001 – $2,000
          • $2,001 – $4,000
          • $4,001 – $8,000
          • $8,001 – $12,000
          • $12,001 – $20,000
          • $20,001 – $40,000
          • $40,001 – $60,000
          • $60,001 – $100,000
          • Over $100,001
          • Small Violins
        • VIOLAS

          • Up to $1,000
          • $1,001 – $2,000
          • $2,001 – $4,000
          • $4,001 – $8,000
          • $8,001 – $12,000
          • $12,001 – $20,000
          • $20,001 – $40,000
          • $40,001 – $60,000
          • $60,001 – $100,000
          • Over $100,001
          • Small Violas
        • CELLOS

          • Up to $2,000
          • $2,001 – $3,500
          • $3,501 – $5,000
          • $5,001 – $8,000
          • $8,001 – $12,000
          • $12,001 – $25,000
          • $25,001 – $50,000
          • $50,001 – $100,000
          • Over $100,001
          • Small Cellos
  • Bows
        • Bow Collection

        • Violin Bows

          • Up to $300
          • $301 – $600
          • $601 – $1,000
          • $1,001 – $1,500
          • $1,501 – $2,500
          • $2,501 – $5,000
          • $5,001 – $10,000
          • $10,001 – $20,000
          • Over $20,001
          • Small Violin Bows
        • Viola Bows

          • Up to $300
          • $301 – $600
          • $601 – $1000
          • $1,001 – $1,500
          • $1,501 – $2,500
          • $2,501 – $5,000
          • $5,001 – $10,000
          • $10,001 – $20,000
          • Over $20,001
          • Small Viola Bows
        • Cello Bows

          • Up to $300
          • $301 – $600
          • $601 – $1,000
          • $1,001 – $1,500
          • $1,501 – $2,500
          • $2,501 – $5,000
          • $5,001 – $10,000
          • $10,001 – $20,000
          • Over $20,001
          • Small Cello Bows
  • Workshop
        • Under the long-time expertise and leadership of Workshop Manager Douglas Lay, the Givens Violins Workshop is staffed by a team of professionally trained violin makers and a full-time Bow Specialist. Our mission is to assist players in obtaining the best sound and response from their instruments and their bows. We encourage you to call us at (612) 375 -0708 or e-mail us at workshop@givensviolins.com to discuss any questions you may have and to make an appointment. The workshop provides estimates of work needed and maintains a weekly schedule, upholding a reputation for careful, thorough, and high-quality restorations.

        • About The Team

          Meet Doug Lay, Workshop Manager

          Meet Kim Spagnola, Bow Restorer

        • WorkShop

          About the Workshop

          Instrument & Bow Checkups

  • Early Instruments & Bows
        • Early Instrument Inventory

          Early Violins

          Early Violas

          Early Cellos 

        • Dipper Restorations

          Dipper Restorations Website

        • DIPPER STAFF

          Meet The Team

        • BAROQUE BOWS

          Baroque Violin Bows

          Baroque Viola Bows

          Baroque Cello Bows

        • CLASSICAL BOWS

          Classical Violin Bows

          Classical Viola Bows

          Classical Cello Bows

        • POPULAR DIPPER RESTORATIONS BLOGS

          Andrew Dipper Early Bow Models

          Andrew Dipper Early Instrument Restorations

          Getting Started in Early Music

          Historical Instruments & Bows

          Historical Maker Profiles

          “Dear Mr. Puppy” Column

  • Products
        • We carry a wide variety of accessories including strings, mutes, shoulder rests, chin rests, metronomes, music stands, and more. Our string prices are the lowest on the market. Accessories are easily shipped upon request. To make a purchase, please contact us today or stop by our shop, 10am – 5pm, Tuesday – Saturday.

        • Cases

          Books

          Featured Accessories

  • Services
        • As a full-service string shop, Givens Violins offers a wide range of services to our clients through every step of the instrument selection process and throughout your playing career.
        • Trial-Program
          Trade-In Policy
          Financing
          Teacher Gift Card Program

        • Appraisals & Consignment
          Shipping
          Warranty
          Return Policy

  • About Us
        • Claire Givens at her first Minneapolis shop, 1978.

           

        • Claire Givens founded Claire Givens Violins in Minneapolis, MN in 1977. For more than 40 years, Claire Givens has focused on serving the full range of specialized needs of string players, from the aspiring young musician to the internationally renowned professional by offering the finest instruments and bows, restoration service, and expertise. Today, Givens Violins enjoys a national reputation for excellence, with one of the largest and best trained workshops in the country and the largest inventory of instruments and bows between Chicago and Los Angeles.
           

        • Meet The Staff
        • Testimonials
        • Community Support
  • Resources
        • Resources

          Instrument Insurance

          Industry Links 

          The Anatomy of a Violin

          The Anatomy of a Bow

          String Instrument Maintenance Guide

          La Voce Newsletter Archives (1997-2009)

        • GIVENS VIOLINS BLOG 

          Advice for New Players, Parents and Students

          Instrument Care & Keeping

          Spotlights on Important Current & Historical Makers

          Interviews with Staff & Professional Musicians

          Humor & History

  • Contact Us

More results...

Andrew Dipper’s Restoration Work

Violin Bow: Early Baroque by A Dipper w/ Ratchet Mechanism

Violin Bow: Early Baroque by A Dipper w/ Ratchet Mechanism

Violin Bow: Early Baroque by A Dipper w/ Ratchet Mechanism This bow represents the sequel to the “clip-in-frog” early bow. The ratchet with its hoop allows the tension of the bow hair to be finely adjusted as the weather becomes more humid, and also prevents the bow frog from coming out or being lost if [...]

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Violin Bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, Stradivari Model

Violin Bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, Stradivari Model

Violin Bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, Stradivari Model Two examples of the bows of from the Stradivari period (1680-1740) are known and they both have screw mechanisms for their adjustment, dating them after circa 1710. Andrew Dipper make his Stradivari pattern bows according to the characteristics of the extant examples. The sticks are longer at 68cm [...]

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Violin Bow: Classical, A. Dipper, Dodd model

Violin Bow: Classical, A. Dipper, Dodd model

Violin Bow: Classical, A. Dipper, Dodd model The Dodd family produced some of the finest English bows of the 18th and 19th centuries. The models tend to be influenced by the designs of other bow making schools, in particular the Mannheim school that is associated with the career of the violinist Wilhelm Cramer and other [...]

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Violin bow: Classical, A. Dipper, FX Tourte, Cramer model

Violin bow: Classical, A. Dipper, FX Tourte, Cramer model

Violin bow: Classical, A. Dipper, FX Tourte, Cramer model The Cramer bow is distinctive because of its ‘battle axe’ head profile. It supplanted the Italian model of Tartini, whose design was typified by a somewhat awkward and rather fragile swan head with a long tip. The Cramer bow was designed for volume dynamics and percussive [...]

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Violin Bow: Baroque- Imported- Snakewood

Violin Bow: Baroque- Imported- Snakewood

Violin Bow: Baroque- Imported- Snakewood Dipper Restorations offers entry level violin, viola and cello baroque bows, made to his specifications in China. All bows are hand selected and adjusted by Andrew Dipper. These bows are crafted with first-rate snakewood and are specially selected for good workmanship and materials. These bows can be traded for higher [...]

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Violin Bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, Corette Model

Violin Bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, Corette Model

Violin Bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, Corette Model The Corrette bow: Michel Corrette (b. 1707, d.1795) was a French musician and author of many musical method books. Andrew Dipper’s bows are of the type illustrated by Corrette in his violin tutor. This tutor depicts a bow with a so-called swan head which is an adaptation of [...]

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Violin Bow: Classical, A. Dipper, Paganini Model, inlay

Violin Bow: Classical, A. Dipper, Paganini Model, inlay

Violin Bow: Classical, A. Dipper, Paganini Model, inlay This classical violin bow celebrates the early career of Niccolo Paganini. Andrew Dipper carved it from dark brown snakewood. The frog is in snakewood inlaid with French silver escutcheons on either side, picturing The Papal Order of The Golden Spur, awarded to Mozart in 1770 and Niccolò [...]

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Violin bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, P. Tourte model

Violin bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, P. Tourte model

Violin bow: Baroque, A. Dipper, P. Tourte model Pierre Tourte (b.c.1700, d.1764) was the father of the great Parisian bow maker Francois Tourte (1747-1835). It was Francois who worked assiduously to improve the techniques of bow making and explore the nature of the many rare tropical hardwoods being imported into Paris from the French holdings [...]

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The Pierre Tourte baroque bow by Andrew Dipper

Pierre Tourte was the father of the great Parisian bow maker Francois Tourte (1747-1835). It was Francois who worked assiduously to improve the techniques of bow making and explore the nature of the many rare tropical hardwoods being imported into Paris from the French holdings of the West Indies and South America. We know very […]

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The French Corrette baroque bow by Andrew Dipper

Michel Corrette (10 April 1707 – 21 January 1795) was a French musician and author of many musical method books. the violin, cello, bass, flute, recorder, bassoon, harpsichord, harp, mandolin, and voice. They carried titles such as l’Art de se perfectionner sur le violon (The Art of Achieving Perfection in playing of the Violin), le […]

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FX Tourte, Cramer model by Andrew Dipper

The Cramer bow is distinctive because of its ‘battle axe’ head profile. It came into use in the court orchestras of Mannheim, Munich and Dresden after 1760, where it became synonymous with the dynamic Mannheim style of orchestration and performance. It supplanted the Italian model of Tartini, whose design was typified by a somewhat awkward […]

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Cremaillere Bow by Andrew Dipper

This bow represents the sequel to the “clip-in-frog” early bow. The ratchet with its hoop allows the tension of the bow hair to be finely adjusted as the weather becomes more humid, and also prevents the bow frog from coming out or being lost if the hair becomes too damp. This style of bow was […]

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Early 18th Century Italian Violin Concerto Bow Reproduction

Early 18th Century Italian Violin Concerto Bow Reproduction

Early 18th Century Italian Violin Concerto Bow Reproduction Museum collections offer a good resource for accurate reconstruction of historic bows. This violin bow, which is part of the collections of the National Music Museum (NMM) in Vermillion S.D., was copied for a client in 2008. The museum bow did not have its original clip-in frog [...]

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The Making of a Historically Informed Bow

The Making of a Historically Informed Bow

    Dipper Restorations, being museum restoration specialists, sometimes has the opportunity to work with the collection of the National Music Museum on the campus of The University of South Dakota. One of the benefits of this became apparent in a commission we recently received to build a viola d’amore bow.

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Contact

1201 Marquette Ave. Suite 150
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403
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Phone: 612-375-0708 or
800-279-4323
Fax: 612-375-0096
cgivens@givensviolins.com

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Tuesday – Saturday
10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

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Parking is available at: The Plaza Ramp and the Hilton Hotel Ramp (11th Underground Ramp). Click here for details.

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