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justinkagan1
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Posts: 400
(6/29/01 7:52:54
am)
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Speaking of
violinmakers....Guy Rabut
Cru: Having semi-officially entered the lutherie world with the
onset of my apprenticeship to bowmaker Michael Yeats here in NYC,
just wanted to find some feedback on cellos you might have played by
Guy Rabut, who shares a suite with us on 28 St. He's a wonderful
fellow and an excellent cello maker, a great neighbor who liberally
shares his knowledge, tools, and good cheer. How convenient to be
able to walk next door and try out bows and axes...now having played
on a few Rabuts in his shop, I can officially take my hat off to
him. a few of you must have played his celli during the various
Congressi...but if you're ever in NY, please stop by Suites 1500 and
1501 to see us.
I should be writing a diary of this personal
expedition but there's really never enough time. Suffice it to say
that my inquisitiveness came from the need to find a serious rehair
here in NY, and Michael is arguably the best by far...trouble is
that he never has close to enough time to make bows (a fine maker!)
owing to the regular flow of rehair and repair customers, and wanted
to train someone to do rehairs in order to be able to focus on his
art. Would that rehairing were a simpler thing....minutiae to the
max, making tools specific to all aspects of the trade. Fashioning
plugs for the tip and frog compares favorable to looking for needles
in haystacks and finding honest politicians on the Salt Lake City
Olympic committee. I'm excited about this venture and hope that by
summer's end to reach a level of proficiency worthy of my teacher.
Much group love and well-wishing sorely needed!!
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TerryM
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Posts: 444
(6/29/01 8:35:26
am)
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Re: Speaking of
violinmakers....Guy Rabut
Wishing you well on your bow rehairing venture.
Having done
a few myself, I can attest to the thought, that it is not as
straightforward a task as it may appear. Dare I ask the question,
"How many bow hairs make an ideal number?" Getting the hair tension
right is challenging. I have found one of the real tests is when you
loosen the bow screw, you get a nice flat ribbon of hair with very
few loose strands. Getting those wedges out can be a real challenge
on some bows as well.
Let us know when we can send our bows
in for a real "professional" rehair job with you.
(:>)
Terry
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Paul
Tseng ICS Staff 
Administrator
Posts: 1422
(6/29/01 12:13:29 pm)
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Best
wishes
Justin:
Dude, that's awesome that you are getting in to bow
work! After you're done with your apprenticeship, PLEASE relocate to
San Diego as I still haven't found a good bowmaker that I can trust
my 197x Salchow Bow to.
Speaking of Luthiers, do you know
James McKeane? I used to go to his apartment on W. 102 all the time
for repair work. He's the nicest guy and a fine maker. He let me
play on his First Gofriller pattern cello back in 1983 (Did my first
recital at MSM on it). I played on Carter Brey's cello just before
he acquired it from McKeane around that same time.
We used to
talk shop for hours until he got so busy and moved to 54th
st.
Ah, those were the days!
Paul Tseng
My Website
Free Cello
Music!
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justinkagan1
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Posts: 402
(6/30/01 8:30:01
am)
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Re: Best
wishes
Paul: I met Jim briefly the last time (indeed, the LAST time) I
brought my bow in to Yung Chin for a rehair, a couple of months
ago...they're next door to each other. I was frankly rather
disappointed in Yung's rehair, although he might not have done
it...last week, playing Tosca outdoors, the sound mysteriously
started cutting out in certain spots on the bow, very
disconcerting....hard to blame just the humidity. Lots of rosin
fixed it short term, but the bow had been playing fine 2 days
before, so who knows....when analyzing the rehair later I discovered
a shoddy job, too many crossed hairs, suspicious tip plug, very
mediocre work overall. Well, that's why I'll be doing it myself from
now on. Part of the fun of this work is having access to all sorts
of good stuff flowing in and outr of the shop...a couple of D.
Pecatte's are coming in next week. Saw a certified Tourte fiddle bow
last week which took my breath away, along with a group of 4 bows
being offered by Bein & Fushi which were near indescribablely
not what they were supposed to be, if you know what i mean. Caveat
emptor to the max!
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Walter
Lenel
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Posts: 52
(7/2/01 1:40:56
pm)
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From a Guy Rabut
cello owner
I bought one of Guy's cellos in 1996 and have been happily playing
it ever since. It's a Strad model with a willow back and sides, and
is an absolute joy to play. Beautiful, rich sound--very responsive.
And Guy personally, as you said, is one of the nicest guys you will
ever meet. For example, any work he has ever done on my cello has
been free of charge.
Justin, please give my greetings to him.
And congratulations to you on your new adventure in bow work!
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justinkagan1
Registered
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Posts: 404
(7/3/01 8:00:50
am)
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Re: From a Guy
Rabut cello owner
Will do, Walter. Seems that the bulk of clients over there in Guy's
shop are cellists, some with multiple celli, like NYC cellist Julie
Green. I'm enjoying watching the evolution of Jerry Grossman's
cello, which he's making as we speak.
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David
Sanders
Registered User
Posts: 611
(7/3/01 8:57:45 am)
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Where are you on
28th?
My aunt lives on 20th, and I have a cousin who lives on 28th.
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SW
Registered
User
Posts: 72
(7/3/01 9:08:21
am)
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Re: From a Guy
Rabut cello owner
If you don't mind my asking, what is the price range?
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bridge
Registered
User
Posts: 139
(7/3/01 9:37:38
am)
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Re: Where are
you on 28th?
Ah. NYC references. I grew up there. I lived on 159th and
Riverside, Mount Vernon, Hastings, 18th btwn 1st and 2nd and 18th
btwn 7th and 8th, in that order.
But I just couldn't take it
anymore!!
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justinkagan1
Registered
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Posts: 406
(7/4/01 8:09:54
am)
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To David
Sanders
150 W. 28 St, Suite 1500, 212-414-4979. A mere 7 blocks as the crow
flies (in NY a bit cockamamie, owing to the cabbie diversions) from
the 23 St. KK.
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justinkagan1
Registered
User
Posts: 407
(7/4/01 8:11:26
am)
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Re: From a Guy
Rabut cello owner
I believe the strad pattern cellos cost around 28-30K, but Guy has
a few other older cellos around, don't know what they run. Give him
a call!
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sarah
schenkman
Registered
User
Posts: 419
(7/4/01 9:05:03
am)
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Re: Speaking of
violinmakers....Guy Rabut
Hey Justin - good luck with your new endeavors - that's so cool
that you're learning something new.
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Betsy
C 
Registered User
Posts: 371
(7/4/01 5:01:03 pm)
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Best to you,
Justin/Guy Rabut Fan Club
Justin, I do wish you the best in your new endeavor. From all
indications, you have received our group love and well wishes! I am
sure it will be interesting. How neat that you are so close to Guy
Rabut. I have only had the pleasure of meeting him once at the
WCCIII, and he is every bit the gentleman that you (and others) have
said. I have had the pleasure of playing Walter's cello a little bit
(boy, is that a REALLY fun part of a lesson!), and it is not only
beautiful, but as Walter said, a joy to play.
I really love
my cello, but when trying to explain the difference between my cello
and Walter's to my husband, it became interesting, because all in
all they are still both cellos, but it's the difference between a
nice utilitarian Saturn (which I drive and like), and a top of the
line vehicle. There is just no comparison. I am glad Walter has such
a nice cello- he's a good teacher, and an excellent cellist, and he
deserves it. I have NO complaints about my cello, at all. Now, if I
became the recipient of a $30,000 windfall...hmmm...
(Even if
I got a better cello, I'd still keep my current one, because there
is a real sentimental attachment there!)
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Walter
Lenel
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User
Posts: 53
(7/10/01 11:05:29
am)
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Re: From a Guy
Rabut cello owner
Yeah, the last time I asked Guy, he said he was charging $30,000. I
paid $24,000 in 1996.
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