Musical Instruments - All Resources

ALL RESOURCES

This page shows all resources in the database alpha by title.

120 Years of Electronic Music; Online history museum. Keywords: museums collections electronic

1833 Shop/Guitarmaker's Connection; Martin Guitar accessories, kits, strings, luthier supplies. Keywords: supplies guitar string kits making

A.C.E. Guitars; Makers of acoustic classical electric guitars in New Hampshire Keywords: makers guitar acoustic electric

Acoustical Society of America; An association devoted to the various studies of acoustics, including musical acoustics, physics, phsiology, noise, et al. Keywords: sigs making

African Music Museum; An online virtual museum sponsored in part by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The English version is a bit rough, but the exhibits are very nice. There are visual indexes by country and instrument type. Keywords: museums ethnic strings percussion Africa

Akai; Keywords: manufacturers electronic keyboard

Albert and Mueller Handcrafted Guitars and Mandolins; (Germany) Makers of acoustic guitars (classical and steel) and mandolins (flatback, beetleback, bouzouki, semi-acoustic, and a lute-like "baroque" mandolin) Keywords: maker guitar mandolin bouzouki

Alesis; Keywords: manufacturers electronic keyboard

Allparts; Major wholesale distributors of guitar and bass parts. Keywords: dealer supplies parts guitar

Alvarez Guitars; Manufacturer/distributors of Alvarez and Yairi acoustic guitars Keywords: manufacturer guitar

American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers; Founded in 1980 to provide the musical community with a standard of work and expertise upon which it could depend. Now numbering over one hundred of the finest makers, dealers, and restorers in the United States and Canada, the Federation has strict requirements for membership. Aside from submitting an example of his or her work for review, a prospective member must have at least nine years of experience in the profession -- including six years of formal apprenticeship and training in all aspects of the making, repair, and restoration of fine instruments and bows. Keywords: sigs makers collecting violin bow appraisers

American Fretted Musical Instrument Makers; A barebones list of over 1800 maker names and labels with locations and dates of activity. Covers pre-Civil War to WWII. Keywords: guitar reference banjo mandolin fretted

American Gamelan Institute; Keywords: sigs percussion gamelan ethnic

American Guild of Organists; Publishes the American Organist magazine, provides education, professional development, employment listings and other resources for organists. Keywords: sigs organ learning keyboard

American Harp Society; Keywords: sigs string harp

American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works; Professional organization for conservators (people with specialized skills who can restore and/or preserve objects). Resources for finding a professional conservator. Keywords: collecting conservators museums

American Musical Instrument Society; An international organization to promote better understanding of all aspects of the history, design, construction, restoration, and usage of musical instruments in all cultures and from all periods. Keywords: sigs learning

American Recorder Society; Promotes community music ensembles, professional training, education, certification of recorder teachers. Keywords: sigs recorder wind early

America's Shrine to Music Museum; (South Dakota) Collection includes more than 10,000 American, European, and non-Western instruments from all cultures and historical periods. An unlikely location for one of the foremost musical instrument collections in the world. The website contains extensive descriptions of the collections, many images, and offers technical drawings of some objects. Keywords: museums collections

Antique Sound Workshop, Ltd.; (Massachusetts USA) Dealer in historical instruments of all kinds. Keywords: dealers early string wind percussion

Apollo's Axes (Florida, USA); Dealers in ethnic instruments from around the world. Keywords: dealer ethnic

Appraisers Association of America; Searchable database of appraisers including musical instruments. Keywords: collecting appraisers

Azola Basses; Acoustic, semi-acoustic and solid body electric basses. Keywords: bass electric makers string

Bagwhistle; How to make a bagpipe out of PVC pennywhistles. Keywords: making bagpipe wind learning

Barbera Transducer Systems; Manufacturer of pickup systems for violin family instruments. Keywords: manufacturers pickups string supplies electronic violin

Barcus-Berry; Manufacturer of pickups for all instruments. Keywords: manufacturers pickups supplies electronic

Bartolini Pickups; Maker of pickups for guitar and bass. Keywords: manufacturer pickups guitar bass electronic

Bate Collection of Musical Instruments; (Oxford, UK) A collection of European orchestral woodwinds and brasses, as well as early keyboards. Website includes a checklist of instruments and selected images. Keywords: museums collections

Bausatz-Zentrale; (Tuebingen, Germany) Historical musical instruments and kits from around the world. Keywords: making kits early ethnic dealers

Baxter's Database of Violin & Bow Makers; CD-ROM database of over 18,000 violin and bow makers from the 12th century to the present day, extracted from standard reference books, catalogs and other sources. See our review at: http://www.oriscus.com/mi/archive/Rev-BaxtersArchive.htm Keywords: reference strings violin

Black Diamond Strings; Manufacturer of strings for fretted instruments and violins. Keywords: strings manufacturer guitar supplies

Black Mountain Instruments; Manufacturer of mountain dulcimers, including electrics, kits. Keywords: manufacturers string appalachian dulcimer kits making

Bluebook of Pianos; A broadly informative sights with details on piano identification, construction, values, and other related topics. Covers only pianos made in recent years (since 1960). They also offer online piano appraisals for $25. Keywords: reference piano appraisers

Bob's Ukelin Home; A great resource with everything you ever wanted to know about this common American patent bowed zither. Keywords: string bowed zither ukelin

Boosey & Hawkes; Manufacturer and distributor of high quality musical instruments and accessories, including Besson brass, Buffet woodwinds and Höfner guitars and basses. Keywords: manufacturers guitar winds

Bow and Bowed Stringed Instrument Makers Lists and other Resources for Makers and Musicians; From luthier David T. Van Zandt. Keywords: violin making dealers makers reference

Brass Players Museum; (Springfield, MA, USA) Over 90 historical brass instruments. Players are invited to play some of the instruments. Keywords: museums collections brass

Brass Resources; A portal to a good number of web resources relating to brasses, including many serial number lists and other historical information. Keywords: brass collecting reference

British Harpsichord Society; An open membership organization for anyone with an interest in harpsichords. Site includes a number of useful educational resources about harpsichord mechanics and history. Keywords: keyboard harpsichord

Brook Mays; Large dealers of all conventional instruments. Keywords: dealers

Budapest Music History Museum; (Hungary) Permanent exhibitions: - Hungarian musical instrument manufacturing in 18th - 20th century - Musical life in 18th - 20th century - Hungarian folk instruments Keywords: museums ethnic hungary

Building Musical Instruments; Collection of links about building flutes, guitars, keyboard instruments, percussion instruments, violins, world instruments. From WannaLearn.com. Keywords: making learning reference

Burnt Earth Ceramic Musical Instruments; Ceramic Musical Instruments by Barry Hall. Drums, flutes, horns, didjeridus, strings and unusual hybrid instruments Keywords: makers experimental ceramic didjeridu drum flute

Butterfield's (Chicago); Auction house sometimes has instruments for sale. Keywords: collecting auction appraisal

C. F. Martin Co.; Manufacturers of acoustic guitars, mandolins, ukuleles. Keywords: manufacturers guitar mandolin acoustic

Catgut Acoustical Society; Organization for technical acoustical research into instruments of the violin family. Keywords: sigs violin acoustics string

Chord-Zither and Ukelin Homepage; An illustrated reference index of modern zithers and zither hybrids by Garry Harrison. Keywords: zither ukelin marx

Chris B's Music; A comprehensive musical instrument dealer - from bagpipes to a huge vairty of electric instruments. Site includes useful tips and references. Keywords: dealers

Christies (London, New York); Auction house sometimes has instruments for sale. Keywords: collecting auction appraisal

Clarinet Pages; An online community of information about woodwinds and French horn. Discussion groups, resources, classified ads, MDID files, etc. Keywords: woodwind clarinet

Classical Net: Instruments & Instrument Makers Sites; Good list of makers for classical and early instruments of all kinds. Keywords: makers reference

Clevinger; Manufacturers of solid body stand up basses and bass pickups. Keywords: manufacturers strings electric bass pickups

Collecting Vintage Musical Instruments; George Gruhn's essay on collecting fretted instruments. Keywords: collecting fretted guitar

Combo Organ Heaven; A pleasantly obsessive site dedicated the the combo organ, those nifty old pre-synth keyboards used in rock and roll bands of the 60's and 70's. Companies like Magnus, Lowry and Farfisa. Great information and lots of images. Keywords: electronic keyboard organs collecting

Compton Organ Specialists (UK); Makers of digital church organs. Keywords: makers organ electronic

Concertina.net; An astoundingly comprehensive resource for all things relating to concertinas. They have advice for identifying, dating and buying instruments, an online forum and much more. Keywords: free reed concertina

Coog Instruments; A California maker of a wide variety of traditional stringed instruments, including guitar, banjo, hurdy-gurdy, aeolian harp, and early European instruments. Keywords: maker guitar banjo hurdy-gurdy aeolian

CoOL - Conservation OnLine; A project of the Preservation Department of Stanford University Libraries, is a full text library of conservation information, covering a wide spectrum of topics of interest to those involved with the conservation of library, archives and museum materials. Includes a searchable database of conservators. Keywords: collecting conservators museums

Corporeal Meadows: The Online Home of Harry Partch; Partch was an important iconoclastic American composer, musical theorist, philosophic instrument builder, raconteur, hobo, artist. His instruments were invented to play his music and to reflect his thinking. His work has passion, humor and style, while adhering strictly to a complex music theory. Keywords: makers experimental percussion string

Damian Dlugolecki; Maker of gut strings Keywords: makers supplies string

Dan Cipriano Instrument Serial Numbers; Serial number lists for many wind manufacturers, including sax, flute, clarinet, trumpet and trombone. Also Guild guitars. Keywords: reference serial wind

David Estrada & Lorena Beverido, violin makers; (Veracruz, Mexico) Makers of fine violins, violas, cellos an double basses, in the Italian tradition Keywords: makers bowed strings

David T. Van Zandt; Violin Maker in Seattle Keywords: makers violin

Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection; (Washington, DC) Library of Congress. Comprised of nearly 1,650 flutes and other instruments. Site includes details and images of 102 of the instruments. Keywords: museums collections flutes

Dennis Havlena; How to build simple and inexpensive musical instruments, and other musical information. Dennis is an amateur experimenter with homemade instruments. He has a whimsical style and inventive mind that makes you want to try one of these projects or create one on your own. Keywords: making learning ethnic experimental

Deutsches Museum; (Munich) Website includes a tour of the various exhibit halls arranged by instrument type. Keywords: museums collections

Dusty Strings; (Seattle, WA) Makers of folk harps and hammered dulcimers. Keywords: makers folk harp hammered dulcimer

Early Instrument Resources; An extensive list of early medieval through baroque) instrument resources including Buying & Making Instruments, and Specific Instrument Resources, from the Medieval Music & Arts Foundation. Keywords: makers reference making early

Earnest Uncommon Musical Instruments; Mandolins, tenor guitars, ukuleles and custom instruments. Keywords: mandolin guitar ukulele experimental fretted

Eastman Guitars; Hand carved archtop guitars made in China in the tradition of violin making. Keywords: strings guitar manufacturer

Eastman Strings; Manufacturers and distributors of better quality Asian and European made violin family instruments. Wholesale only. Ask for local dealers. Keywords: strings manufacturers dealers violin

eBay Listings: Musical Instruments; Odds are remarkably good that someone has what you're looking for. Keywords: reference auction collecting apparaisal

Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments; (Scotland) An excellent site with basic documentation for the entire collection of some 1000 instruments, as well as many image galleries (though mostly in black and white) and demonstrations. Keywords: museums collections

Ekalimba.com; David Bellinger makes solid and hollow body electric kalimbas. Keywords: makers electric kalimba mbira

Elderly Instruments; Sellers of a huge variety of mostly new and used acoustic folk musical instruments, books, videos, supplies. Buy, sell and trade used and vintage instruments. They are also a great resource for general information about instruments. Catalogs available. Keywords: dealers

Elderly Instruments (Michigan, USA); Dealer in acoustic musical instruments, primarily in the American and European folk traditions, but also some unusual items. Also a great resource for hard to find recordings, supplies and books. Keywords: dealer string fretted parts supplies guitar banjo

Elemental Design; Featuring unique, hand-made mallet percussion, including glass and stone marimbas, by Jim Doble. Keywords: makers percussion glass stone xylophone marimba

Encapsulated History of Classic Banjo Manufacturers; A listing, with serial numbers and dates, of the major Golden Age banjo makers' products. Keywords: banjo serial reference

Erhu music by George Gao; George Gao is a master of the Chinese erhu (fiddle). His website includes an instruction CD, Chinese instruments for sale, and accessories. Keywords: dealers ethnic erhu

Eric Leonardson: Sound Thinking

Chicago-based audio artist, educator, performer, composer, sound designer, radio artist, and improvisor. Keywords: makers experimental

Ethnic Musical Instrument Company; Ancient ethnic instruments from India, Africa and the Middle East. Keywords: manufacturers dealers percussion ethnic

Experimental Musical Instruments; My all-time favorite journal of any kind which, naturally, ceased publication in mid-1999. Articles from the deadly serious to the radically weird to the simply hilarious. Fortunately, its fearless editor has reincarnated it on the web, but it is not the vital contributor-driven resource it was in print. All the back issues are still available, plus a few new things. Keywords: sigs experimental making

Famous Guitarmaker Internet World Headquarters; Names and addresses of guitar and violin makers around the world. Lists are a few years old. Keywords: makers violin guitar reference

Fender; Guitars, basses, parts, and accessories. A dealer locator and internal search are also provided. Keywords: manufacturers electric guitars

Finchcocks living Museum of Music; (Kent, UK) Collection comprises historical keyboard instruments, mainly from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and numbers nearly a hundred instruments in all. Early pianos make up the main body, but there is also a number of chamber organs, harpsichords, virginals, spinets and clavichords. Keywords: museums keyboard

Fiske Museum of Musical Instruments; (California) Over 1,400 American, European and ethnic instruments dating from the seventeenth through the twentieth centuries. Minimal website includes a checklist of the collection and some photographs. Keywords: museums collections

Flute and Sax Serial Numbers; Also clarinet numbers. From Dr. Rick's Village Flute and Sax Shop (New York). Keywords: reference serial woodwind manufacturers flute saxophone

Flute Manufacturers Index; An extensive list of manufacturers with links to websites of those that have them. Keywords: reference woodwind flute manufacturers

Flute terms glossary; From Flute World.com. A usefule glossary of terms relative to the flute, with illustrations of the various parts. Keywords: woodwinds reference flute anatomy

Frederick Historic Piano Collection; (Ashburnham, MA) A private collection of 16 historic grand pianos in playable condition, now included in a study center for schlarly research. Keywords: piano keyboard

Fretland - Chris B's Music; (RI - USA) Large dealer in all instruments, especially guitars. Keywords: dealers

Frets Museum; A minimally annotated, but prolific online photo gallery of fine fretted instruments that have passed through the shop of Frank Ford of Gryphon Instruments (California). Also on this site are useful tips for care and maintenance of fretted instruments. Keywords: fret museums guitar mandolin online maintenance repair

Fretted Instrument Guild of America (FIGA); Not much information on this site, but tells how to join/subscribe. Interested in banjoes, guitars, mandolins, etc. Keywords: sigs string fretted guitar mandolin banjo

Friends of Musical Instruments - Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Through lectures, demonstrations, and concerts, members learn about various aspects of instruments from around the world and throughout history. Programs based on the Museum's extensive collections Keywords: museums collecting sigs

Galpin Society for the Study of Musical Instruments; A long established British scholarly organization. Publishes an annual Journal and sponsors occasional international conferences and symposia. Keywords: sigs

Gemeentemuseum; (The Hague) Site shows a few instruments, including a Ruckers harpsichord. Keywords: museums collections

Gibson; Manufacturers of guitars, banjos, mandolins, dobros and other musical hardware. Keywords: manufacturers guitar banjo mandolin electric

Gila Mountain Dulcimers; Makers of handcrafted mountain dulcimers with a southwest flair. Links, festivals, an online store, artists, performers, free lessons, clubs, music, etc. Keywords: strings, makers, dulcimers, mountain dulcimers, Appalachian dulcimers

Gliga Violins USA; Specializing in fine Romanian Violins/Fiddles, Violas, Cellos, Double-Basses and accessories, available in different quality levels, and from child to adult sizes. Keywords: dealers manufacturers violin

Glinka State Central Museum of Musical Culture; (Moscow) Keywords: museums collections

Guide to Dating Bach Trombones - Serial Numbers; Serial numbers for Selmer Bach trombones from 1933 to 1994. Keywords: reference serial brass trombone

Guild Guitars; Manufacturer of acoustic and electric guitars and basses. Keywords: manufacturers guitar bass electric acoustic

Guitar Foundation of America; Keywords: sigs guitar fretted string

Guitar Plans by Roy Courtnall Summerfield; (UK) Plans, books and other tools for making classical guitars and violins. Keywords: making guitar violin

Guitar Serial Numbers; A select database of serial number dates for many popular makers. From No Excuses Guides. Keywords: guitar identification serial numbers

Guitar-Zither Clearinghouse; Kelly Williams has assembled some good essential information about concert zithers and several of their manufactured variations by Marx, Oscar Schmidt and others. Keywords: string zither

Harmony Central; A massive information resource for popular music instruments and equipment. Especially useful is the huge database of user reviews of guitars and other instruments, both modern and vintage. Keywords: reference guitars keyboards dealers manufacturers

Harp Depot; (IN) Dealers in harmonicas, including Hohner, Lee Oskar and others. They also sell Hohner accordions and melodicas. Keywords: dealers free reed harmonicas accordions

Harp Page; Keywords: sigs string harp

Harpsichord Clearing House; (Boston area, USA) Resource for all early keyboard needs be it harpsichord, virginal, spinet, clavichord, fortepiano or continuo organ. Keywords: makers dealers keyboard early harpsichord organ piano

Heartland Harps; (Woodville, WI) Makers of folk harps Keywords: makers folk harp

Helix Musical Instruments; Dealers in instruments hand made in Australia and imported from around the world. Keywords: dealer ethnic

Heritage Preservation; An organization with programs and publications that provide advice and guidance on the proper care and maintenance of historic and artistic objects. Keywords: collecting conservation museums

Historic Brass Society; Keywords: sigs wind brass early

Historical Harp Society; Keywords: sigs string harp early

Holton Instrument Serial Numbers; Serial numbers for dating instruments from 1901 to 1979. Keywords: brass makers reference serial

Horniman Museum; (London, UK) The Museum has placed essential information about its collection online while the facility is being renovated. Keywords: museums collections

House of Musical traditions; Dealers in a large variety of musical instruments from around the world. They have aan instrument appraisal service and are very helpful about answering unusual questions. Mail order available. Located in Washington DC area. Keywords: Dealers ethnic

Hubbard Harpshichords; (Sudbury, MA) Instruments and kits by an established and reputable workshop. Keywords: makers dealers keyboard early harpsichord clavichord

In Harmony with Education; From the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), classroom projects in which student can make their own interesting musical instruments and thereby learn about culture, math and science. Keywords: making ethnic education

Instrument Encyclopedia; Using as its core the instruments in the Stearns Collection at the University of Michigan, this is a useful, though not comprehensive, resource. Can be browsed by instrument type or by geography. Keywords: museums collections reference

Instrument Workshop; Mail order business to serve the needs of owners and builders of early keyboard instruments. Keywords: dealers supplies keyboard early harpsichord

International Committee of Musical Instrument Museums and Collections(CIMCIM); A UNESCO organization of professional museum curators and conservators of musical instruments. Their website includes lists of instrument collections around the world and of technical drawings available from museums. Keywords: sigs museums collections collecting

International Directory of Musical Instrument Collections; This comprehensive directory is jointly provided by CIMCIM and the American Musical Instrument Society. Newly expanded and updated (November 2002). Keywords: reference museums collections

International Double Reed Society; Keywords: sigs wind reed

International Native American Flute Association; A support association for the preservation and advancement of the Native American flute. Includes a convention, listings of instructors and flute circles, and other useful information. Keywords: woodwinds ethnic sigs

International Recorder Page; Keywords: sigs wind recorder early

International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen; Keywords: sigs string harp making

Internet Bandsman's Everything Within (IBEW); Truly everything for the brass band afficionado. A compendium of internet resources. The lists are short on description, but make up for it in quantity and quality of links. Keywords: brass band reference

Internet Cello Society; A great site -- a support group for the cello obsessed. Keywords: sigs cello string

Intuitive Instruments for Improvisers; The author of these pages (Monxmood) advocates whole-tone instruments as a way of thinking outside the scale. His history of scales is among the most lucid and concise I've seen anywhere. Included are a number of virtual instruments that provide compelling arguments for his case. Keywords: makers experimental virtual

Jan Hermans Historical Woodwinds; (Belgium) Maker of renaissance and baroque recorders and baroque flutes. Keywords: recorder maker

Jenny Wiley Dulcimers and Kits; Handmade Appalachian dulcimers and kits made of native hardwoods in the mountains of northeastern Kentucky. Keywords: strings Appalachian dulcimer

JHS - John Hornby Skewes & Co. Ltd.; (UK) Wholesale distribuor of music merchandise, including their own JHS, Vintage and Hornby labels as well as other known manufacturers. Keywords: dealers distributors

Jordan Electric Violins; (California) Also cellos. Keywords: makers violin cello electric

Judicael Strings; (Yorkshire, UK) Maker, repairer and dealer in violins, electric violins and guitars. Keywords: makers violin electric guitar

JustStrings.com; Instrument strings. As the name implies, they sell strings for many standard and unusual ethnic instruments. Need strings for your charango? Keywords: making dealers string supplies

King Brown Hand Crafts; Australian maker of violins, bluegrass mandolins, guitars, electric violins. Keywords: makers violin mandolin guitar electric

Koto no Koto - Supplies; A list of companies that sell kotos and koto supplies. Some import for sale in the USA, and others sell from Japan. Keywords: dealers ethnic

Kovel's Antiques Price Guide; Provides sample prices for a number of musical instruments. Quotes are 3-5 years old but can provide a ballpark idea. Keywords: collecting appraisal

Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien - Collection of Ancient Musical Instruments; (Austria) An important collection of renaissance era instruments, many originally belonging to the Hapsburgs. Keywords: museums collections

Kurzweil Music Systems; Electronic musical instruments by one of the more innovative and visionary companies, now owned by Young Chang. Keywords: manufacturers keyboard electronic

L.R. Baggs Co.; Manufacturer of pickups for guitar, double bass, cello and others. Keywords: manufacturers pickups string supplies electronic

Large Hot Pipe Organ; The Large Hot Pipe Organ is the world's only MIDI controlled, propane powered explosion organ. Keywords: makers experimental electronic keyboard organ

Lark in the Morning; Dealers in a large variety of musical instruments from around the world. They have aan instrument appraisal service and are very helpful about answering unusual questions. Catalog available. Located in California. Keywords: dealers ethnic

Leblanc Online; Woodwind instruments (Kenosha, WI) Keywords: manufacturers wind woodwind

Library of Congress: The Collections of Musical Instruments; (Washington, DC) Site provides only a general description of the collections. Collection includes a number of fine Cremonese instruments of the violin family, some early strings, a large collection of flutes and woodwinds (see Dayton C. Miller Flute Collection http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/dcmhtml/dmhome.html), and a small collection of Thai instruments. Keywords: museums collections strings flutes winds

Lute Society of America; Keywords: sigs lute fretted string early

Lute Society of Germany; Keywords: sigs lute fretted string early

Luthiers and Violin Making Information; List from the Internet Cello Society. Keywords: makers making violin cello

Maestronet String Instrument Dealers; Lists dealers and makers of violin family instruments from around the world. Keywords: makers dealers violin

Makers of Finely Crafted Flutes; A list of 100+ fine flute makers from around the world. From Larry Krantz. Keywords: reference serial woodwind makers flute

Maloney's Antiques & Collectibles Resource Directory: Music; Auction houses, appraisers, associations, etc. Keywords: collecting, auction, appraisal

Mandolin Brothers, Ltd.; (Staten Island, NY) Large dealers and appraisers of fretted instruments. Keywords: mandolin guitar dealrers appraisers

Mathers Museum; (Bloomington, IN, USA) Collection of over 1,800 ethnomusicology items is one of the largest such collections in the country, and includes materials from all continents. Keywords: museums ethnic

Mechanical Music Digest; Moderated forum about musical instruments that play themselves. Published daily on the Internet and distributed primarily by e-mail. Keywords: collecting mechanical

Medieval and Renaissance Instruments; Musica Antiqua's illustrated guide: pictures, descriptions, and history. Keywords: reference medieval renaissance european

Metropolitan Museum of Art - The Collection: Musical Instruments; (New York) Department of Musical Instruments holds approximately five thousand examples from six continents and the Pacific Islands, dating from about 300 B.C. to the present. Categories that are particularly well represented include European and American keyboards, wind instruments from the late seventeenth through the nineteenth century, and instruments of all sorts from non-Western societies. The website includes details of 50 objects in the collection. Keywords: museums collections

Michel Waisvisz; Makes gestural virtual reality controllers for electronic music making. Keywords: makers electronic experimental

Mid East Manufacturing; Manufacturers and importers of exotic musical instruments. Their cast ceramic doumbeks are best known. They also supply harps, sitars and other Indian ethnic instruments, Scottish bagpipes, African style percussion and many other items. Most instruments are factory made in Pakistan and China and are not first quality, but some, are perfectly usable. Keywords: dealers manufacturers ethnic bagpipes drums percussion

Founded by the late Dr. Guy Grant, this is a vital group of off-center musical experimenters who like to discuss unusual sound sources. Topics are widely varied, from Tuvan throat singing to electronic circuit bending. I love these guys. Keywords: making experimental ethnic sigs

Online String Instrument & Bows Classifieds; New and used luthier-made violins, violas, cellos, basses, bows, and other musical items for sale online. Repair also available. Keywords: dealer bowed string violin viola cello

Online Trombone Journal; Information, resources, forum, etc., for the trombone obsessed. Keywords: brass trombone

Orchestrating a Fair Price: Valuing Used Musical Instruments; A feature article written by librarians with some good common-sense advice and book references. Keywords: collecting appraisal

Orion Blue Book; Fee-based online price guide for musical instruments, vintage guitars, audio equipment, computers, etc. As an affiliate, Oriscus.com receives a portion of your fees. Keywords: reference collecting

Oriscus; The Arts, Technology, Meaning. Internet resources in musical instruments, arts technology and nonprofits technology planning. Keywords: musical instruments arts technology planning

Paul McNulty; An American fortepiano maker working in the Czech Republic. Makes fine historical instruments, many of which are owned by well-known artists and institutions. Keywords: fortepiano maker early piano

Piano Technicians Guild; Technical information for professional piano tuners, restorers and technicians, as well as educational information for the public. Keyboard-related usenet groups can be found on their FAQ page. Keywords: sig piano repair learning keyboard

Pickup the World; Pickups for acoustic, electric, percussive, world instruments Keywords: making dealers supplies electronic pickups

PlayRecord.net; (UK) Online musical instrument dealers, including guitars, some low-end violins, brasses, woodwinds, percuussion, electronics, keyboards, accessories, etc. Keywords: dealers

R.E. Bruné; Maker of classical guitars, lutes and harpsichords. Keywords: makers lute harpsichord guitar

Recommendations for the Conservation of Musical Instruments in Collections; A 1993 annotated bibliography from the International Committee of Musical Instrument Museums and Collections (CIMCIM). Keywords: museums collections conservation

Recorder Makers & Retailers; Nicholas S. Lander's extensive searchable databases of recorder makers and dealers worldwide. Keywords: makers dealers recorder

Richard Waters; Inventor of the Waterphone and other unusual acoustic instruments in stainless steel and bronze or bamboo which utilize water. He has sold his Waterphone business to Joel Shellhase at: http://www.waterphone.com Keywords: makers experimental acoustic

Ringve Museum; (Norway) Around 1800 objects, about 700 are classical European instruments besides European- and non- European traditional instruments (especially Norwegian traditional instruments). Keywords: museums ethnic

Robinson's Harp Shop & Vermont Strings; Robinson's provides plans, strings and parts for harp makers. Vermont Strings is their East Coast affiliate. An excellent source for bulk nylon and phospor bronze strings for various projects. Keywords: making harp parts

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Musem; The Museum augments its own collection of thousands of artifacts with items on loan from artists and collectors from around the world. Keywords: museums

Rodgers' Piano Rebuilding; (North East, PA) An informative site about major piano overhauls. Lots of pictures of rebuiling projects. Keywords: piano repair keyboard

Royal College of Music Museum of Instruments; (London, UK) A collection of 600 instruments from around 1480 to the present day. Five hundred are European keyboard, stringed and wind instruments; 100 are from Africa and Asia. Keywords: museums collections

Royal Northern College of Music Collection of Historic Musical Instruments; (Manchester, UK) Collection comprises some 308 instruments: European wind, strings and keyboard; Non-European wind, strings and percussion. It includes a number of pianos by Broadwood; viols by Barak Norman, De Salo and Collingwood; violins by Stradivarius and Guarnerius together with some wind instruments from the 18th and early 19th centuries. Website includes a catalog (without images). Keywords: museums collections

Russell Collection of Early Keyboard Instruments; (Edinburgh, Scotland) Collection consists of some 47 instruments, dating from the middle of the 16th century to the beginning of the 19th century. Harpsichords, spinets, virginals, and a smaller number of clavichords. Also represented are some important early pianofortes including the earliest extant English grand, together with a number of small pipe organs of the same historical period. Keywords: museums collections

Saint Petersburg Museum of Musical Instruments; (Russia) Collection consists of some 3000 objects. Keywords: museums

Salvation Army Instrument Factory; A short history by Will Scarlett of the company which operated in England from 1889 to 1972. Keywords: brass manufacturers

Sarawak Sape (stringed instrument of Borneo); The Sape or Sapeh is an ornately decorated stringed instrument from Borneo. You can buy direct from the makers. Several models including a hybrid sapeh/ukulele. Keywords: sapeh strings makers ethnic Borneo

Schubert Club Museum; (St. Paul, MN, USA) A collection of more than 100 pianofortes, harpsichords, clavichords and organs, spanning more than 425 years, with a focus on 19th century pianofortes. Also the William and Ida Kugler Collection of Musical Instruments from around the world as well as automatic musical instruments, acoustical phonographs and early radios. Keywords: museums

Scottish Harp Society of America (SHSA); Keywords: sigs string harp ethnic

Selmer (Paris) Sax Serial Numbers; Serial numbers from 1922 to 1992. Keywords: reference serial brass saxophone

Selmer Company; Maker of the Vincent Bach line of brass instruments, including Bach Stradivarius trumpets and trombones. Keywords: manufacturers brass wind

Setar; A nice resource for worldwide information on the Persian setar, a long-neck lute in the tanbur/saz family that is very common throughout the Middle East to Asia. Lots of multimedia clips. Keywords: strings ethnic saz setar tanbur

Shamisen page; Shammy's Page contains most of the useful information about the Japanese long neck lute. The English version is rough, but understandable. He also sells instruments. Keywords: strings ethnic shamisen dealers

Shimamura Instruments - Traditional Japanese instruments; This large dealer of musical instrument is one of the few sources for obtaining Japanese kotos, shamisens and taiko drums. Keywords: ethnic dealers

Sibelius Museum; (Finland) Collection contains over 1000 instruments of which about 300 are on display. Most instruments are European art music instruments, but the collection also includes specimens from all over the world. Keywords: museums collections

Smithsonian FAQs: Musical History - Musical Instruments; Useful information about appraisal, collecting and history of instruments. Keywords: reference museums collecting appraisal

Sneezy.org Serial Numbers; Lists of brass and woodwind serial numbers from Buescher/Bundy, Boosey, Boosey & Hawkes, Conn, Selmer, Buffet, Armstrong, Artley, Jupiter, Pruefer, and Rossi Keywords: reference brass woodwind serial numbers

Society for Self-playing Musical Instruments; Ever since musical instruments were invented, people have attempted to turn them into self-playing instruments. Keywords: collecting mechanical

Sorli Lautenwerke and Harpsichords; The workshop of Steven Sorli, maker of Lautenwerke (gut-strung harpsichords) and other interesting historical hybrid keyboards in Amherst, Massachussetts. Site includes Includes educational information, photos, audio-clips, prices, links and more. Keywords: harpsichord makers historical keyboards

Sotheby's (New York); Auction house sometimes has instruments for sale. Keywords: collecting auction appraisal

Sources for Renaissance Woodwinds; A short list compiled by Grant D. Green Keywords: makers dealers early wind

State Museum of Azerbaijan Musical Culture; Collection numbers about 35 thousand items. They include such traditional Azerbaijani musical instruments as the tar, kamancha, saz, daf, nagara, gosha-nagara, zurna, ney, etc. Keywords: museums ethnic azerbaijan

Staying in Tune: Traditions and Musical Instruments of the Francophonie; From the Virtual Museum Canada. Describes instruments of many French speaking ethnic cultures around the world. Features pictures and audio clips. Keywords: musems ethnic

Stearns Collection of Musical Instruments; (University of Michigan) Collection contains more than 2,000 instruments, and dates back to 1899. The museum website is under development, but see Instrument Encyclopedia http://www.si.umich.edu/chico/instrument/Musical which uses the collection as a dataset. Keywords: museums collections

Steinway & Sons; The great American piano company continues to create masterpieces of the art. Keywords: manufacturers piano keyboard

Stockholm Music Museum; (Stockholm) Collection consists of approximately 6000 musical instruments. Western art music is especially well represented by the museum's instruments during the period 1600-1850. The collection of the 18th century woodwind is renowned in international organological circles. In addition, the museum has what is likely to be the largest number of Swedish folk instruments in the world plus a large number of folk instruments from elsewhere in Europe and outside, primarily from Africa and Asia. Keywords: museums collections

Strings (magazine) Buyers Guide; An extremely useful searchable database of products and services related to bowed string players. Especially useful is the inclusion of appraisers. Keywords: dealers general strings

Sweetwater Music Technology Direct; (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Large dealer of musical instruments and associated equipment (mostly electronics). Keywords: dealers electronic equipment

Tai Hei Shakuhachi; Monty Levinson's informative site all about the Japanese bamboo flute. Keywords: woodwinds ethnic bamboo

Taxonomy of Musical Instruments; A description of musical instrument classification by Sachs-Hornbostel system by Henry Doktorski. Keywords: reference classification

Thanh Cam Musical Instrument Workshop (Vietnam); Makers of traditional Vietnamese instruments, guitars and violins. Keywords: violin makers ethnic

That First Violin; Practical tips for purchasing a new student violin outfit. Includes reviews of several instruments. Keywords: string violin

That First Violin; Article from the Aug/Sep 2001 issue of Strings magazine reviews 18 starter violin outfits under $1500. Keywords: strings violin choosing dealers

The Art of Modern Violin Making - CD ROM Product; A CD ROM showing every detail of making a violin step by step. Geared toward the beginning violin maker. Illustrated with over 1200 images. Keywords: violin making

TheMOMI.org: Museum of Musical Instruments; An online virtual museum of guitars of the 19th and 20th centuries. Keywords: museums guitar strings

ThereminWorld; Everything you ever wanted to know about theremins. Keywords: sigs theremin electronic

Tom Anderson Guitarworks; Small company making electric guitars and pickups. Keywords: makers guitar pickup

Tools and Resources; Software and resource lists for musical instrument makers. From Bart Hopkin's Experimental Musical Instruments. Keywords: making reference software learning

Triplett Harps; (San Luis Obispo, CA) Makers of folk harps Keywords: makers folk harp

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Provides patent information going back to 1790. Useful for gleaning technical details about musical instrument related processes, materials and devices. Keywords: reference patents

UCLA Dept. of Ethnomusicology; Listing of instruments owned, including a gamelan. Keywords: museums ethnic

UMI; Distributor of the Conn and King brands of brass instruments. Keywords: manufacturers wind brass

United Musical Instruments, USA, Inc.; Maker of Armstrong and Artley flutes, piccolos and clarinets and other woodwinds. Keywords: manufacturers wind flute

Usenet Group: rec.music.makers.builders; Usenet has been around for a long time. Users are largely interested in guitar issues, but will also respond to any subject. In general, the Musicians and Instrument Makers Forum (MIMF)<http://www.mimf.com/> is a more useful place to start. Keywords: sigs making

Vassar College Department of Music; (Poughkeepsie, NY) Collection consists of several historic keyboards, especially square pianos. Also includes a collection of 90, principally stringed, instruments representing the entire historical spectrum from ancient Egypt to the present day. Keywords: museums pianos

Vázquez Collection of Historical String Instruments; (Vienna, Austria)The collection now contains over 100 instruments (viola da gamba, viola d'amore, violin, viola, violoncello, violone, baryton) dating mostly from 1560 to 1780. Keywords: musems collections string

Vincent Bach Trumpet Serial Numbers; Serial numbers from 1926 to 1994. Keywords: reference serial brass trumpet

Vintage Instruments; (Philadelphia) Dealers in vintage guitars, banjos and mandolins, 18th and 19th century woodwinds and brass, fine violins and cellos, and instruments of historical interest. They also offer appraisal services at reasonable cost. Keywords: collecting dealers appraiser

Viola da Gamba Society of America; Keywords: sigs gamba viol string early

Viola Web Site; Keywords: sigs viola string

Violin Making; A nice tour of the process of violin making from luthier Hans Johannsson. Keywords: making makers violin

Violin Price Guide Books; Heart of america Press sells photocopied reprints of Roy Ehrhardt's 3-volume Violin Identification & Price Guide Book. Published in 1974, the prices are serously outdated, but will still give you an idea of whether an instrument may be authentic and/or valuable. Keywords: violin collecting appraisal

Violin Society of America; VSA is a non-profit organization created for the purpose of promoting the art and science of making, repairing and preserving stringed musical instruments and their bows. In addition to a Journal and workshops, VSA also sponsors prestigious international competitions of contemporary violin and bow makers.VSA awards are considered a distinctive measure of a maker's quality. Keywords: violin bow makers sigs

Violin-World (Australia); Violin-World contains an on-line secure shopping centre where you can find anything for stringed instruments; strings, bows, cases, accessories and outfits. Also a virtual violin making school, advice, articles, teacher's directory, free music lessons and classifieds. Keywords: dealers making violin

Virtual Pianoshop; (UK) A very informative piano site that includes an online forum, historical information and a substantial serial number lookup database. Keywords: piano reference serial

Von Huene Workshop; (Brookline, MA) Makers and dealers in early winds, especially quality recorders. Keywords: makers dealers early recorder gamba wind

Wheatstone Concertina Ledgers - Horniman Museum; The great Horniman Museum Library in London has acquired a collection of manufacturer's ledger books from C. Wheatstone & Co., makers of concertinas. Included are sales records from the 1840s to the 1860s, and production records from the 1860s to the 1890s, with some large gaps. The Wheatstone Co. was an important developer of the English concertina. The ledgers have been digitized and placed online for the purposes of scholarly study. Keywords: concertina free reed historical museums collecting

Wiston-Salem Violins(rare string instruments and bows); Keywords: dealer bowed string violin viola cello

World Music Portal: Folk and World Music Instruments; A glossary of international musical instruments. Brief text descriptions of many instruments from throughout the world. A few illustrations and no references. Keywords: reference ethnic

Worldwide Internet Music Resources: Musical Instrument Makers and Dealers, and Instrument Making; An excellent list compiled by Indiana University School of Music. Keywords: makers making dealers reference

Yahoo! Entertainment > Music > Instruments; Menu driven index of MI resources. Keywords: reference search

Yahoo!Recreation>Hobbies>Collecting>Music>Collecting>Mechanical Musical Instruments; Keywords: collecting mechanical

Yale University Collection of Musical Instruments; (New Haven, Connecticut) An excellent website describing an important collection comprising nearly 1000 objects, the majority of which document the Western European and American art music tradition. The collection of early strings and keyboards is especially noteworthy. Keywords: museums collections

Yamaha; (Buena Park, CA) Yamaha has been a leader in the production of both traditional and innovative new (mostly electronic) musical instruments for many years. Keywords: manufacturers keyboard electronic piano wind string

Yuen Li Low's Trombone Page; Lots of good information all about trombones, including discontinued models, current models, photos and links to manufacturers. Keywords: brass reference trombone

Zuckermann Harpsichords International; (Stonington, CT) Instruments and kits by an established and reputable workshop. Keywords: makers dealers keyboard early harpsichord clavichord