Bloomington String Instruments

The violin is a hand-me-down from my daughter to my granddaughter. I wanted it to be at its best before giving it to her. It had been neglected for nearly 30 years, in its case in my closet. I know next to nothing about violins and was almost embarrassed to bring it to a real luthier. But Lucas was encouraging and willing to make the needed repairs. He also suggested more improvements for the future, if my granddaughter sticks with her music. His prices were very reasonable, I thought. He cleaned and repaired the varnish, replaced the chin rest and restrung it. It looks beautiful and I know my granddaughter will be pleased. Thanks, Lucas!

I discovered Lucas while scouring the internet for luthiers in the surrounding Louisville area. There is one in Louisville, but their focus is on servicing school orchestral programs rather than the individual attention and care I felt this violin needed, a mid-19th century Mittenwald violin. I spoke with with Lucas about an extensive rehab in which we talked at length. He's been around for a while and has been trained by some of the best luthiers in the country and I decided then he'd be the one to entrust with this instrument. During the process, he kept me informed of the state of repairs during the rehab with pictures and comments. In my case, I had several deep scratches and developing cracks along with peeling wood around the right lower bout. I also needed a new nut and varnish touch up and a french polish. Good work does not come fast but the end results were amazing. Cracks were repaired, the surface cleaned and deep scratches removed, and the varnish and new shellac on the fiddle looks beautiful. Most importantly, it plays wonderfully and seems to have more power than before. In addition, Lucas rehaired my main Coda Bow with top grade horsehair and it sounds beautiful with bite and tonal core body. For the price charged given increase in tonal quality, I thought was very fair. As he put it, his goal is to make it look like the instrument has never been opened and repaired, and I would concur with that. It was a nice schlep up to Bloomington from Louisville, but was worth it and I'm sure you'll agree if you use his services. I heartily recommend him.

Great place to have your instrument repaired, bow repaired or purchase string accessories. The owner, Luke is very knowledgeable and has a great blend of technical knowledge and artistry.

Mr. Marvell did varnish work on my instrument recently and I am so impressed with the quality. My instrument looks like new and still sounds as amazing as ever. I highly recommend going to Bloomington Strings for any work, as he does exceptional work and is very professional.

Lucas is very knowledgeable, kind, professional and comfortable to talk with. He helped my sick violin sound healthy again. He also gave my advice on my bow and where to take lessons.