Purchase
Commissioning an instrument is a great way of getting the perfect instrument for you. It’s often an exciting and rewarding process to commission and be the first person to own an instrument. The process is normally very straightforward.
First steps If you haven’t yet seen or played one of my instruments, I can usually arrange this for you.
What do you want? We discuss what you’re looking for in an instrument. This means I can be sure that I’m the right person to make it for you.
Confirming your place You pay me a deposit, which confirms the commission.
Trying your instrument When the instrument is ready, we arrange a convenient time for you to collect it. You then have two weeks to play it before confirming that you’d like it. During that time, we can adjust the instrument together to make it suit your playing style as perfectly as possible.
Deciding to buy it You pay me the balance and the ownership passes to you. I issue you with a formal certificate for the instrument, with photographs and measurements. This proves its authenticity and helps it to be identified if it was stolen.
If you decide the instrument isn’t right for you, you simply return it to me. You can choose to stay on my waiting list, and you will have first refusal on the next suitable instrument. Otherwise I will return your deposit to you either when the instrument has been sold or after six months, whichever is the earlier.
If you have specific requirements for an instrument that would make it hard to sell to another player, I may need a firm commitment to buy in advance. I would agree this with you before starting work.
“I commissioned Gideon and Mira in the spring of 2014 to make a copy of the beautiful Michel’Angelo Bergonzi I have the privilege of playing on. Meticulously crafted with exceptional varnishing, the copy is a spitting image of the original. Tonally, I am extremely pleased with the result. Fantastic projection with many different layers of colour and clarity.”
Andrew Wan – concertmaster of Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, member of New Orford Quartett