Rino Righele Violin Maker

Réponse d'entreprise 31 mai 2016

I am sorry if you think that my no-nonsense, straight talk is rude. I tried to explain to you that the sound distortions you heard were because of your violin's soundpost, which in my opinion needs adjusting. To prove my point, I allowed you to try many bows and when you were unsatisfied I truly believed that you understood the point I was trying to make, but I guess not. I offered to lend you a very good violin while I make the suggested soundpost adjustment. I always strive to give my customers value and this is why I told you that you will have a difficult time selecting the best bow for your violin when the soundpost is in need of an adjustment. It's a shame that we had a communication failure (perhaps it's my very thick Italian accent!) As for my qualifications, I have been a luthier for over 40 years. I have won dozens of awards and I graduated from the Technical Institute of Don Bosco in Verona, Italy.

Réponse d'entreprise 14 juin 2016

Normally I would not respond to ridiculous reviews but I can no longer ignore this person's blatant lies and half-truths. The claim that I sold his "Nurnberger" bow for $600 without his consent is FALSE as the owner asked me to sell this bow. The bow is a factory made copy, a real Nurnberger bow is stamped with the first and last name, is made of faultless Pernambuco wood and sells for several thousand dollars and the $600 he received was a very good price. The Mittenwald violin 1890 (not 1800 as written in the review) was factory made, had no label and in very poor condition. I suggested it be taken apart since there was extensive worm hole damage on the ribs and the lining was so badly damaged that the only way to properly repair it would be to take the violin apart. As I told him, in my over 40 year experience, worm holes on the ribs is a very strong indication that there is extensive worm hole damage on the belly as it is a softer wood. It’s thicker as well so the damage takes longer to show on the outside. He declined and wanted cosmetic changes, and wanted to spend very little. The violin remained in the shop, untouched for over a month as I was reluctant to do the work without taking the instrument apart, until I received his go-ahead to do the repair of the lining, the peg box re-bushing, wood-worm filling and fitting the tailpiece. The peg box arrived into my shop with the chip, I did NOT chip the peg box. He asked me to fit his Bois d'Harmonie Pernambucco tailpiece on to the violin and in order to do so a slight carve on the underneath of the piece was necessary to fit the E fine tuner of his steel string. The neck was NOT a baroque neck, it was a modern, standard neck that needed the slightest adjustment to be playable. In order to respect his wishes, I did not take apart his violin and I did an excellent job with the limitations imposed on a very difficult and damaged instrument. In his review he claims that he arrived and the violin was"dismantled" when really just the strings and tailpiece were off. I hardly call that dismantled and I was certainly not rough handling the instrument. When he picked up the instrument he did not complain, in fact he seemed very satisfied that is why I was shocked when he began calling me, yelling about the very repairs he asked for. Yes, I did hang up on him, after listening to his ridiculous claims, false and changing stories I couldn't take the verbal abuse anymore. I tried to help this poor, damaged violin and I did so much work for very little money. I have been making and repairing violins for over 40 years and I guess you can't please everyone.