For more information about us, including our online store, the Don Rickert Musician Shop, see Introducing the Don Rickert Musician Shop.
Don Rickert Musical Instruments is a premiere designer and maker of innovative custom and historic musical instruments. Since starting our musical instruments enterprise in 2007, we have dealt primarily in those of the bowed variety (e.g. violins, fiddles and related instruments such as octave fiddles). We have also designed and made a number of fretted instruments along the way: mandolins, parlor guitars, acoustic bass guitars, tenor guitars and the like. We will soon be branching out in a serious way into the world of fretted musical instruments. Look forward to some really interesting mandolins, octave mandolins, mandocellos, parlor guitars, acoustic bass guitars, tenor guitars and the like.
Regular production items are usually available at the Don Rickert Musician Shop. If you
want something that is not there, give us a call....use the Google Call Widget below for a free call.
OR email us (don@donrickertdesign.com)
Our email is don@DonRickertDesign.com and phone number is (404) 828-0136.
Mailing address:
Don Rickert Musical Instruments
726 Hall Creek Road
Hiawassee, GA 30546
See:
Our new online store, the Don Rickert Musician Shop (www.DonRickertMusicianShop.com)
Our companion blog, Don Rickert Musician Shop: Latest News (www.DonRickertMusicianShop.com/blog)
The Facebook page of our owner, Donald Rickert (We still have a large number of photo albums there) (www.facebook.com/donald.rickert1)
Our new company Facebook page, also called D. Rickert Musical Instruments (www.facebook.com/DonRickertMusicianShop)
Our YouTube Channel: www.YouTube.com/DoctorFiddle
>>>>>>> Click here for Our full contact information <<<<<<<<
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D. Rickert Musical Instruments migrated its online store, formerly known as the Adventurous Muse Store, to a new hosting service. Our online store is now called the Don Rickert Musician Shop. We are using this as an opportunity to reorganize and refine our product lines so that we are only selling what people actually buy (i.e. getting rid of the obsolete stuff).
This store migration has proven to be more of an adventure than we would have ever imaging (i.e. a real pain in the back side!). We are happy to say that the new store is up and running and we have had enough purchases to determine that the shopping cart and credit card processing both work and are secure (SSL 128 bit encryption).
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This is the primary website and blog for Don Rickert Musical Instruments
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We are NOT a "Brick-and-Mortar" Retail Establishment Nor a Typical Online Operation (We are Better!)
We are not a “brick-and-mortar” retail establishment; however, many customers do choose to visit our studio and workshop in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains (part of the Appalachians). Being shopkeepers for a corner musical instrument shop would be completely at odds with our multifaceted focus on continuous research & development, innovative instrument design and customization, combined with our creation of meticulously accurate replicas of historically significant fiddles.
The nature of our business demands that sales be conducted primarily online. We have done this for some time. The predecessor to the new Don Rickert Musician Shop was called the “Adventurous Muse Store.” We initially operated under the name “Fiddle and Bow Shop.”
What Makes us Unique?
At first glance, the Don Rickert Musician Shop could look like an online store that sells select good violins primarily in the $800 to $4,000 range, with a pretty good selection of bows and cases. A closer look reveals the following:
- Part of the purchase of a new violin is customer specification of stringing and accessories appropriate for one of a number of historic periods, ranging from contemporary all the way back to the late 1700s. Consultation with us about correct setup for specific genres (orchestral violin, Old-time, Irish, Scottish, Cajun, etc.) is also included with the purchase of one of our instruments. As far as we know, this is completely unique to our company.
- We make and sell one of the largest collections (6 different models) of meticulously authentic Baroque (1690-1770) violins available anywhere.
- We have a large selection (about 50) of high quality true Baroque bows that is second to none.
- We make and sell the finest innovative and ergonomically perfect travel/backpacker violins in the world. Several dozen customers a year opt for one of our travel violins, despite the fact that they cost from 3 to 4 times as much as our apparent competitors.
- We make and sell one of best 5-string violins that money can buy (note: There ARE some very fine 5-string instruments by competitors)
- We make the most advanced and best-sounding octave violins and octave violas (aka “chin cellos”). Dr. Rickert has been researching acoustic octave violins for more than 15 years. He has designed a number of such instruments over the past decade, each new one better than the rest. We sell a lot of these. A number are owned by top recording aritsts.
- As far as we know, we are the only musical instrument company selling over a dozen high-quality replicas of the highly sought Markneukirchen (Saxony, Germany) “factory fiddles” roughly from 1880-1920s. The original “Markies” were, themselves, replicas of historic violins. They have been the favorite instruments for fiddlers, in the U.K,, Ireland, as well as the U.S. for more than a century.
- We are one of the only U.S. based sources of extremely high quality Tertis wide-body violas, in sizes from 15” to 16.5” (note: viola size is designated by the length of the instrument body, from the saddle to the neck joint).
- We actually have a bona fide “Custom Shop”, which has made over the years, custom instruments ranging from pretty normal to outrageously cool, such as the recently completed 10-string 3” wide pochette (pocket violin)…4 playable strings with 6 sympathetic strings running under the fingerboard (similar to the Norwegian Hardanger Fiddle and the Baroque Viola D’Amore).
Don Rickert Musical Instruments maintains an online retail store, the Don Rickert Musician Shop (www.DonRickertMusicianShop.com) and has several companion blogs, the most important being, Don Rickert Musician Shop: Latest News (www.DonRickertMusicianShop.com/blog)
Please note that this site has been around for a good while. While working diligently to clear out the "junk" (old obsolete articles), this is going to take some time. We thank you for your patience during this period and offer a blanket apology for any incorrect links to our old online store.
