Classic Bows Violin Shop

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We offer Old World Style for the 21st Century. The violin business is built on family, all the way back to the Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari families. Here at Classic Bows Violin Shop, we are a family business and we deal with many companies that are also family businesses. On our travels to Europe we visit with the French, Italian, English and German shops that have inspired us to carry on their Old World traditions. Gregory Gohde has been a musician for forty years, having played in numerous bands and orchestras. His ancestors were in the music business in Southern Italy, repairing and selling mandolins in the late 1800's.
Greg began his career in bowmaking in 1980, learning from various craftsmen in his hometown of Chicago. In 1982 he traveled to England where he worked for the firm J.S. Rameau Bowmakers. The bows he crafted were exported all over the world. After returning to Chicago in 1985, he worked for various violin shops and continued to make bows, exporting some, and selling others to local musicians. He also studied the French method of bow making with William Salchow, dean of American bow making. Greg is proud to say that he has nine bows in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Relocating to San Diego in 1989, and seeing a need for his services in town, he decided to open Classic Bows Violin Shop in 1990. Greg had grown the business so successfully that by 1999 he could no longer handle it all on his own. Luckily his wife, Lois Bach, decided that she was ready for a new start after a 25 year career in television, and was pleased to join her husband in running the family business. Her addition of the Gift Boutique
added another dimension to the shop and delighted the customers with a chance to buy a gift for a friend or to treat themselves to something special while visiting the shop.

Greg says: "Together we work well as a team, catering to our customers and always making sure that we enjoy what we are doing which we have practiced since our first day together."

Having a Web site is a big step for us because most of our business has come from word-of-mouth. Rarely do we advertise apart from the telephone book. Personal recommendation has been our greatest source of business since we first set up shop in San Diego in 1989. Our customers are impressed by our wide selection of instruments, bows, cases, strings, accessories, and gift items. They are encouraged to return to our shop and to spread the good word about our business because of our unique products and our excellent customer service. We have always taken pride in our integrity and the quality of the instruments and products that we sell. We treat our customers with the same respect whether they are students or professionals. We have watched many of our customers grow up over the years, from grade school children first starting out with a violin to high school graduates heading off to prestigious colleges and universities. Some take their love of playing the violin along with them as a continuing hobby while others major in music and go on to be professional musicians. We always enjoy their return visits to our shop with tales about their life adventures. We are amazed with the encounters that happen in Classic Bows and have witnessed many reunions of musicians after decades of being out of contact with each other. In our travels we have participated in so many of those extraordinary experiences that it brings us much satisfaction to carry on that special tradition in our own shop.

AS WE CELEBRATE OUR 20th YEAR SERVING OUR STRING CUSTOMERS IN METROPOLITAN SAN DIEGO, WE THANK YOU FOR HELPING US WIN AGAIN IN 2010!
We are pleased to win the 10NEWS A-List contest for 2010 as the Best Musical Instrument Store in the San Diego area. This is the fourth year in a row that we have won as the best Violin Shop. Thank you to all of our valued customers for their votes and wonderful comments about our business. Please copy and paste the link below into your browser to read the comments.
http://kgtv.cityvoter.com/classic-bows-violin-shop/biz/36763

We are centrally located in the city of San Diego, convenient to downtown and just south of Mission Valley on Adams Avenue, in the original Antique Row. Our neighbors are folks who not only sell antiques but used books, old phonograph records, and antique paper products. There are also some fabulous restaurants within walking distance of our shop. Plan to spend some extra time exploring all the wonderful businesses along Adams Avenue during your visit. The Taste of Adams as well as the musical events, Roots Fest on Adams and Adams Avenue Street Fair, take place right here in our neighborhood. Check our Newsletter often for updates on events and additions to our inventory.