Specialized Strings

Musical Instrument Sales, Repair Service, & Rentals

Operating from Cherry Valley, IL

Repairs

I provide professional luthierie services for violin family instruments and their bows.

Typical services include bridges, soundposts, bow rehairs, repairs, and tonal adjustments .

All work is done in my private Cherry Valley workshop; pickup and dropoff services are avialable in surrounding areas by appointment (Rockford, DeKalb, LaSalle-Peru, et cetera).

Sales/Service

I buy and sell used instruments; they are available locally and by mail, with free shipping offered for all instruments and bows.

I also take custom orders for instruments, bows, and accessories.

I have 10 years of experience working with schools and their fleets of instruments; I can help with everything from repairs to rentals and sales.
Contact me to set up a free in-person evaluation of your school's instument fleet.

Rentals

I have a small inventory of instruments available for immediate rental – violins, violas, bows, and classical guitars of all sizes.

For anything I don't have in stock for immediate rental, I will provide an estimated timeline to get it in stock, adjusted, and ready-to-rent.

Working With Me

I focus on using dependable parts and performing careful, high-quality set-up work. This applies to instruments and players at every level. My goal is for the player to be comfortable in how they feel and how they sound.

When we work together, you always know exactly who is working on your instrument. Expectations, pricing, and timelines are communicated clearly, and you can reach me directly throughout the process.

If you have specific parts preferences or setups specs in mind, I will source your preferred materials and install them according to your prefrences. We can do ongoing work with tonal adjustments over time to dial in your souund.

I have lots of experience working with players, teachers, and school programs that need reliable, reasonable, & uncomplicated repair support.

If you’re not sure what your instrument needs, I can assess it and handle the process end-to-end without complication.

Reach me at info@specializedstrings.com

My Credentials as a Luthier

10 Years in Music Retail/Repair in service to schools, private individuals, and businesses.

Diploma - Violin Repair (Minnesota State College - Red Wing Tech)

Cert. Bow Rehairing & Bow Repair (University of New Hampshire)

Suzuki Association of the Americas - Member

Featured Products

These are the products my clients are excited about lately. I keep these in stock regularly and highly reccomend testing them out.

Frirsz Tailpieces

I am highly reccomending these tailpieces, based on my expereince of having installed them on nearly ten violins and violas.

The tailpiece vastly improves the sound of the instrument, and is an excellent upgrade to add during a set-up or tonal adjustment.

Starting at $249 + Labor

Wittner Finetune Pegs

These pegs are internally geared, but keep the appearance of traditional pegs as much as possible.
The pegs are relatively non-invasive to install, and require almost no follow-up maintenence.

So, players can enjoy a musical life ruled by enjoying playing with less time spent interfacing with friction peg tuning.

This is a fantastic upgrade for anyone experiencing mobility issues as well as anyone whose instrument goes through lots of travel/humidity adjustment.

Starting at $110 + Labor

Milo Stamm Bridges

My clients and I are enjoying the Milo Stamm line of violin and viola bridge blanks, and I have started using these in a majority of bridge replacements.

I also use Despiau bridge products frequently, especially for smaller violins and violas.

For total bridge and soundpost replacement, prices generally start at $175, including parts.

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