Don Rickert Musical Instruments(tm)

YouTube Video Showing Rickert Adventurer II Travel Fiddle Being Played

This site is no longer being maintained. Relevant posts have been moved to the new site www.AdventurousMuse.com, which is associated with our new, expanded and just plain better online musical instrument store www.AdventurousMuseStore.com.

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The video on YouTube of violin/fiddle prodigy Edward Charity playing Scottish fiddle material on his new Adventurer II demonstrates its beauty and power. You can also see what it looks like with the optional shoulder rest adapter.

The Adventurer II replaces the now-discontinued Adventurer II pochette, incorporating improvement suggestions by users of the Adventurer II.

The Adventurer II Travel Violin is available from www.AdventurousMuseStore.com. 

Adventurer II, Don Rickert, Edward Charity, Scottish, travel violin, video, YouTube, shoulder, rest, adapter

If you need to know why you need one of the Don Rickert Adventurer II Travel Violins NOW

This site is no longer being maintained. Relevant posts have been moved to the new site www.AdventurousMuse.com, which is associated with our new, expanded and just plain better online musical instrument store www.AdventurousMuseStore.com.

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Do yourself and us a favor of watching a new video on YouTube of violin/fiddle prodigy Edward Charity playing Scottish fiddle material on his new Adventurer II. Our favorite parts of Edward's stunning performance are listed in a previous post on this site.

Don Rickert, Adventurer II, travel violins, Edward Charity, YouTube, video, Scottish

Scottish Society of Louisiana Hielands - Edward Charity Performs Scots and Irish on a Pochette

This site is no longer being maintained. Relevant posts have been moved to the new site www.AdventurousMuse.com, which is associated with our new, expanded and just plain better online musical instrument store www.AdventurousMuseStore.com.

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At the recent Scottish Society of Louisiana Hielands gathering, Edward Charity, an extraordinary young violinist and fiddler, performed (on a Rickert Adventurer II Travel Violin) a fine selection of traditional and contemporary Scots and Irish tunes.

This was the annual Tartan Festival organised for the Scottish Society of the Louisiana Hielands by Mike Petree and the Society's President, Shiela Hoh. The Festival is hosted at the aptly named, Scotland Farm, of Dr Cameron - NOT from Tannochbrae! Besides Edward the kilted throng was entertained by NeedFire from Dallas, and SmithField Fair from Baton Rouge.

Edward's performance on the 3 inch wide pochette was captured on video and MUST be seen on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQQajICQ2ms)

Our favorite segments on the video (the number references are the minutes/seconds into the video):

1:52 - Soldier's Joy
2:37 - Edward describing the instrument and how much he loves it
3:00 - Strathspey (composed by Alasdair Fraser, we think) solo
5:09 - Some really great tunes
6:45 - Strathspey (the Fraser tune mentioned above) with accompaniment by what we think is a baritone concertina or a really small melodian...very cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQQajICQ2ms

Scottish Society, Louisiana Hielands, Edward Charity, fiddle, violin, strathspey, don rickert, pochette, adventerer, minden, cameron, shiela, hoh, alasdair fraser, mike petree, Tannochbrae, Needfire

How Good Can a Reproduction of a 250 Year Old Pochette Sound?

You be the Judge...Darci Jones playing Tobin's Jig on a Rickert & Ringholz Neil Gow Pochette destined for Japan.

Darci Jones, Japan, Neil Gow, Pochette, Rickert & Ringholz, Tobin's Jig

Who are you people?

The Fiddle and Bow Store is owned by Don Rickert, Ph.D., IDSA, Guild of American Luthiers. Dr. Rickert is a Professional Member of the Industrial Designers Society of America and teaches part-time in the Industrial Design Program at Georgia Tech. Jonathon Rickert is a student at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC and manages our fiddlers' convention logistics during the summers. We used to work closely with another product design firm in Atlanta, Thing Farm, who did most of our laser cutting work for us. David Ringholz, IDSA, also a member of the GA Tech Industrial Design Facutly was an owner of the now (unfortunately) defunct Thing Farm. Can you guess where the "Ringholz" in our name came from?

We have joined forces in a joint venture with Fiddarci Lutherie, owned by master craftsman and luthier, Shep Jones. Many of our instruments are co-branded with Fiddarci Lutherie...i.e. the label inside the instruments has both of our logos.

You can see some recent videos from our booth at the Tennessee Valley Old Time Fiddlers' Convention 2008, and other interesting stuff such as Dr. Don playing at a Clydesdale (the BIG Budweiser horses) on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/DoctorFiddle).

Here is a montage with some pictures of us (and lots of other people) in action at various festivals, mostly from the 2007 festival season:

bow, Don Rickert, fiddle, Fiddle and Bow Store, Jonathon Rickert, musical instruments, Rickert and Ringholz, Ringholz

New YouTube Clips from Recent Festivals

New YouTube videos at http://www.youtube.com/DoctorFiddle

We only set up shop at two fiddlers' conventions this year, The Hoppin' John Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention in Silk Hope, NC and the Tennessee Valley Old-Time Fiddlers' Convention at Athens State University in Athens, AL. Attendance was up at Hoppin' Johns, but it's only the second year of this great festival and there were only several hundred attendees last year.

Attendance (and people wanting to buy anything except food) seemed much lower than prior years. We suspect that at lot of people did not attend due to fear of not being able to get gas for the return trip...turns out that Alabama did not have the gas shortage suffered by Georgia and parts of North Carolina (where we were coming from).

Did not get ANY video from Hoppin John as we were crazy busy selling and setting up instruments for customers. Sales not so good at Tennessee Valley, but we got some GREAT video, with permission to put onto YouTube, of course. See the new videos at http://www.youtube.com/DoctorFiddle. There are more coming within the next few days

Enjoy!

Comparison of Our Various Pochettes with a Really Good Fiddle

This is our Adventurer Travel Fiddle...it's made to be heard!. See how it stacks up against a really good fiddle based on a Maggini copy and our other pochettes.

Go to the special comparison "Playlist" we put together on YouTube to hear them all.

Pochette comparisons Adventurer Travel Fiddle

Tripping Up the Stairs on Baritone Fiddle and Pochette

Don Rickert of Rickert & Ringholz and Darci Jones of Hooley and Fiddarci Lutherie play a jig on baritone (octave) fiddle and the new Adventurer Travel Fiddle (a pochette). Dr. Rickert never practices and he takes full responsibility for ALL bum notes, weird chords and creative timing. :-)

Link to video on YouTube

Link to www.FiddleandBowStore.com

baritone, Darci Jones, Don Rickert, fiddle, folk, Irish, octave, pochette, Tripping Up the Stairs, violin

Video: Drowsy Maggie on Baritone (Octave) Fiddle and Pochette

Yeah, it may be over-done, but Drowsy Maggie always gets a lot of hits...plus this one has a baritone fiddle playing true second fiddle (not just the tune an octave lower) to a modern pochette, also known as a backpacker fiddle. Don Rickert (of Rickert & Ringholz) and Darci Jones (of Hooley and Fiddarci Lutherie) playing. As with all videos in which Dr. Don appears, all the flat notes, just plain wrong notes and strange chords are his contribution...a side-effect of chronic lack of practice.

The link to this video on YouTube

Link to www.FiddleandBowStore.com

baritone, Darci Jones, Don Rickert, Drowsy Maggie, fiddle, folk, Irish, octave, pochette, violin

Hear a Rickert and Ringholz Octave Violin (Fiddle) in the Hands of an Expert

To own a great octave (baritone) violin or fiddle, you don't have to spend several grand.

Violinists Ben Powell and Duncan Wickel (on Octave Violin, in the red shirt), guitarists Jon Sosin and Adam Tressler, bassist Dan Carpel, and mandolin player Eric Robertson perform acoustic string music. If I am not mistaken, all are from the Berklee College of Music. Even if you don't like Jazz/Bluegrass fusion, give it a listen. In his solos, Duncan Wickle shows what a committed and gifted player can do with a baritone fiddle.

Watch this Performance, which occurred on May 22 at the Kennedy Center.

baritone, Duncan Wickle, fiddle, Kennedy Center, Octave, Rickert, Ringholz, violin