Potter Violins

Potter Violins Potter Violins is the largest purveyor of exceptional bowed string instruments in the mid-Atlantic region.

Potter Violins is a full service shop dedicated to teachers, students, and players of all levels. We stock an abundant selection of excellent instruments, bows and cases to fit every budget and playing level. A generous purchase allowance and financing is available along with our rental program and our expertly trained resident luthiers can help you maintain your instruments in peak condition. As your bowed string instrument specialists, we are invested in your success!

10/01/2026

Most string students go their entire music education without ever touching their own tuning pegs.

Which makes sense. Strings are expensive, they break easily, and replacements mean more shop time. So 60% of string teachers tell their students: don't touch the pegs.

Practical? Sure. But it means we're training musicians to depend on someone else for something that's core to owning their instrument.

Wesley Hamilton (Peabody Institute, creator of the Practice Peg) broke this down at our tuning workshop with Robyn Sullivan, and it's a mindset shift worth considering: give your students agency over their instrument from the start.

Summer wrapped up with one of our favorite days of the year: our end of summer party! So much joy in one room, from new...
09/25/2026

Summer wrapped up with one of our favorite days of the year: our end of summer party! So much joy in one room, from newest beginners to longtime students and many of the amazing DC-area teachers.

Thank you to everyone who came out and celebrated with us. We can't wait to see what fall brings for all of you 🎻🎶

Subscribe to our newsletter to know about upcoming community events: bit.ly/SubscribeToPotterViolinsNewsletter

09/22/2026

Meet the newest bow in our collection: A violin bow by Eugène Sartory, made around 1915 in France.

This was a defining era for Sartory. His signature style had fully come into its own by this point, shaped by his early work alongside Alfred Lamy and Charles Peccatte, but distinctly his. You can see it in the taller head and the refined proportions that define his mature output.

What sets Sartory apart isn't just history, it's consistency. His bows are known for a rare combination of strength and sensitivity, giving players the control to do things other bows simply can't handle as gracefully, especially off-the-string technique.

Available to try by appointment at our Takoma Park location. Call 301-652-7070 to schedule.

It's a big weekend at Potter Violins! 🎻🔧 Saturday, September 19 from 11:30am-12:30pm | FREE Workshop: String Instrument ...
09/18/2026

It's a big weekend at Potter Violins! 🎻

🔧 Saturday, September 19 from 11:30am-12:30pm | FREE Workshop: String Instrument Tuning and Maintenance

Learn to tune and care for your instrument like a pro with Robyn Sullivan and Wesley Hamilton (creator of the Practice Peg).

Reserve your spot: https://bit.ly/TuningandMaintenanceWorkshop_September2026

🍦 Saturday, September 19 from 4-6pm | End of Summer Party and Play-In

Come celebrate the end of summer with a Suzuki play-in and ice cream! Everyone who participates in the play-in and/ or has completed their 50 days of summer practice chart gets FREE ice cream.

Let us know you'll be there: bit.ly/2026EndOfSummerPartyRSVP

📅 Sunday, September 20 | 5-7pm 🎤 Lecture Series: Beyond the Practice Room with Dr. Ana Abrantes

Cellist and Sphinx Organization Director of Education Ana Abrantes joins us to talk building a life in music, and introduces her Araucária Framework for students, families, and educators alike.

Join us: https://bit.ly/BeyondThePracticeRoom_DrAnaAbrantes
✨ Pay what you can. All proceeds benefit Sphinx Organization.

Repair spotlight: a soundpost patch and button patch, from crack to concert-ready.Back in 2022, our luthier Robyn worked...
09/15/2026

Repair spotlight: a soundpost patch and button patch, from crack to concert-ready.

Back in 2022, our luthier Robyn worked on a violin with a large soundpost crack on the back plate. The soundpost sits right in this area and puts real pressure on the wood, so for the violin to speak properly again, the repair has to be just as strong as the original structure. That's why this large oval patch is maple: matching the density and strength of the back plate itself.

It's worth being honest about something here too: a crack like this can devalue a violin by as much as 50%. But value isn't the only thing that matters. If a musician loves their instrument and wants to keep playing it, this kind of repair lets them do exactly that.

The same violin also needed a button patch. The button might be small, but it's structural, it's what secures and supports the neck. Left unreinforced, a crack in this area can slowly let the neck work its way out of the body over time. Patching it keeps the neck secure and the instrument fully playable.

This is the kind of careful, considered work our team does every day: not just fixing what's broken, but preserving an instrument's ability to be played and loved for years to come.

Questions about a repair on your own instrument? Send us a message, we're happy to talk through it.

09/08/2026

We describe Potter Violins as an educational institution with a retail component, and we mean it. Before anything else, our job is to help musicians understand their instruments, their bows, and how both shape their growth.

Music can feel overwhelming when you're starting out or leveling up. Our goal is to replace that uncertainty with knowledge, so you feel confident moving from one stage to the next. The sales and service side of what we do only works because the trust and education come first.

That's the foundation we've built on for 30 years, and it's still the first thing we think about with every musician who walks through our doors.

Plain black case? We don't know her.Talk about main character energy: bold colors, combo locks for on-the-go security, a...
09/04/2026

Plain black case? We don't know her.

Talk about main character energy: bold colors, combo locks for on-the-go security, and feather-light carbon fiber that protects your instrument like it's precious cargo (because it is).

Oh, and these Canary cases are less than half the price of the big-name alternatives. So really, the only hard part is picking a favorite.

Swipe through and tell us which one's calling your name.

09/01/2026

Two violins. Two completely different varnish techniques.

Elizabeth came to this project as a fine artist first, and that perspective informed everything about how she approached the varnish. Here she breaks down what it actually felt like to work with both techniques, layer by layer.

10 coats of spirit varnish. A week between each coat of oil. And somehow, the two violins still ended up looking like a pair of siblings.

Address

7711 Eastern Avenue
Takoma Park, MD
20912

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+13016527070

Website

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