Douglas Raguse, a string player himself, has been making bows for more than four decades and to date, has made over 1,200 bows. This accumulated knowledge and experience guide Raguse’s hand and heart in making a bow for you. He begins with determining required playing characteristics the bow shall have. Once resolved, these unique qualities can be built into the finished bow through wood selection and subsequent shaping of the wood. Raguse aims to have his bows play as if they are an organic extension of the player’s bow arm with instant, even, and consistent response. His training you ask? Raguse studied violin with George Zazofsky and Louis Krasner at the university level before inaugurated to bow making by noted bow makers Lloyd Liu and William Salchow. He is currently located at his third workshop in Jacksonville, Florida. From 1978 to 1988, he amassed 12 awards for excellence in bow making with a VSA Gold Medal in 1980. Is it possible to love your viola even more with different bow? YES! This may be the bow. The Raguse bow fits naturally into the hand and with a new relaxation that has to be experienced. You get tactile feedback as you play to allow for subtle changes in technique and dynamics—it’s pretty cool. The bow will provide all the good viola stuff we want-power, crystalline clarity, an undercurrent of warmth, excellent balance to play those tricky fast passages, and string crossings will be radiant. Be careful, you may not want to stop playing!