Bows
Jerry White and his brothers all played musical instruments growing up on their family farm in Wisconsin. Their father was a professional musician who played in popular dance bands. Jerry and his wife, Ellen, both became schoolteachers and Jerry continued to play on the side. When he had an...
Sebastian Dirr has relatives that play string instruments professionally, so it was only natural that they welcomed it when Sebastian decided to become a bow maker. After studying musicology, he started an apprenticeship at Paesold in 1988. Sebastian specializes in modern and historic bows. For...
Rudolf Neudörfer, bow maker, grew up in the Czech Republic after 1945 and went to the Violin Making School in Luby, learning the craft of violin making from his teacher Bohumil Pechar and Hans Schmirler. He then worked at the Cremona cooperation for string instruments in town until he escaped...
Klaus Götz’ family comes from Wernitzgrün, a small town not far from Markneukirchen. His grandfather, Conrad August Götz, founded C.A. Götz in 1884 which initially produced tuning pegs and strings. In 1958, Klaus Götz, together with his brother Karlheinz, traveled to the United States to personally...
Richard Grünke of Richard Grünke & Söhne GmbH which is located close to Bubenreuth produces high quality bows. Richard’s sons, Klaus and Thomas, run the business today but their father is still active in the workshop. Richard learned the craft of bow making in Markneukirchen at H.R....
Karlheinz Götz has always been proud of his musical heritage. His grandfather, Conrad August Götz, was the founder of the C.A. Götz Company back in 1884. The company, which was located near Markneukrichen, Germany handcrafted violin parts such as tuning pegs and later the manufacturing of strings....
Walter Paulus is president of Werner Paulus GmbH, which is located not far from the town of Bubenreuth and produces bow parts of the finest quality. Starting in 1920, Walter’s father-in-law, Otto Müller, was supplying bow frogs for bow makers in the region of Schönbach and Markneukirchen. After...
Norbert Stumpf was elected the mayor of Bubenreuth in 2014 and actively promotes the legacy of his town as an important center for stringed instrument production. At the end of World War II, hundreds of families involved in the production of stringed instruments settled in Bubenreuth. Even though...
Greg Gohde's love for violins and bow making began in college and soon became his life's work. He moved to San Diego from Chicago, where he opened a repair shop and crafted handmade bows. His store expanded over time into Classic Bows, a world-renowned location for violin goods and services. The...
Giorgio Giannini proudly recalled the beginning of his family’s involvement in the music industry as part of his interview for the NAMM Oral History collection. Mr. Tranquillo Giannini was a well-respected luthier in Italy who had the vision to set up his work shop in South America. In 1900, he...