Wolf Instruments

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The Plains, VA
Wolf Instruments

Instrument makers in The Plains, VA specializing in early keyboards, violones, and the double bass.

05/29/2026

Tom hard at work… meanwhile, Zippi presents: “Cat-pen” in three acts. 📸🐾

05/27/2026

Wolf Instrument Wednesdays: Celebrating 50 Years!

📆2004

The instrument Tom was working on at the time of his accident was a fortepiano (Schantz) for what was then known as The Shrine to Music Museum in Vermillion, SD. This extraordinary collection of all sorts of musical instruments and related materials, now an international leader, had been a regular client for our restoration and maintenance services since the late ‘80s. It was originally called simply the Shrine to Music by its founder Arnie Larson (a down-to-earth, un-academic band director), who felt that name expressed his feelings for the accumulation he had amassed. His son Andrė, who developed the institution into the powerhouse it is today, acquired the National Music Museum nomenclature.

Although they had been waiting for years by 2001, Andrė sent a wonderful note and continued to be patient. When the piano was finally finished in 2004 we wrote him that our most-delayed instrument in thirty years “will always be a watershed – Before and After the Accident.” It was a psychological barrier as well as a physical one to put behind us.

As an unexpected extension of all the recent European trips, Barbara finished the year with about ten days in Rio de Janeiro! Work, of course… Rosana Lanzelotte, whom she met at the National Music Museum (!), had acquired a piano made by Rod Regier. It needed some work and she wanted to record with it in Sao Paulo. Her house in Rio was about as far up the side of the mountain as possible below the iconic Cristo statue. One could lie in the swimming pool and gaze upwards at the Cristo. But eventually the piano did have to be moved to Sao Paulo and the recording got done.

Meanwhile, harpsichordist Joe Gascho, who came to the shop on an almost weekly basis while getting has Master’s at Peabody, and has continued to have an extended relationship for nearly a quarter century, sent a very low-key email with a big announcement. He and Elena have made a huge difference to the musical scene in Ann Arbor for much of the last two decades.

05/25/2026

✨Bass Feature ✨

Shen SB-150, 2018

Immaculately maintained pre-owned Shen SB-150, set up and ready to go. A hybrid bass with laminated back and ribs. Would be a great fit for advancing students or working players alike. Professionally set up here in the shop for easy response and playability. Pre-owned Shens don't hang around long!

Includes bass bag.

Check it out on our website, link in bio! 🎻

05/22/2026

A busy week in the shop! Alongside the usual rhythm of things, Barbara is finishing a 200,000-mile checkup of a German single harpsichord we made in 1988. Meanwhile, all this rain has Zippi in full on box mode. She’s been spotted in all the usual places you’ve seen before, now joined by the basket under the kitchen table and the Zingerman’s bread box. Although we really enjoyed the gift from one of our clients, Zippi much preferred the box!

05/20/2026

Wolf Instrument Wednesdays: Celebrating 50 Years!

📆2003

Moving into a second year of hand surgeries, and frustrated by the physical difficulty of certain keyboard instrument tasks, Tom decided to make his first modern double bass. A bass required less precision than the keyboards and their actions, so his lack of fine motor skills was less critical. Making a bass allowed him to be productive and creative while learning to re-use his hands, so he went to the scrap box and threw himself into the project during off hours. It was patterned on an instrument by Abraham Prescott that he had once owned, but Tom reduced the size somewhat to make it more playable. It received compliments at the 2003 International Society of Bassists convention and eventually was purchased by Robert Oppelt, principal bass of the National Symphony Orchestra.

The first harpsichord to be delivered after Tom’s accident was a French single that had been in progress for too long by that point. But it was commissioned by a client with the perfect last name for us at the moment: Hope. It received a unique decorative treatment, so it was presented in a well-known regional art show in The Plains. A reduced version of an information sheet from the show gives details about its appearance. Everyone’s spirits were boosted when it received the Best in Show award.

Looking ahead, we took deposits for new keyboard instruments and continued work on several already in progress, including the first Cristofori reproduction. The Hope harpsichord may have gone out the door, but hope still percolated in the shop.

05/18/2026

✨Bass Feature ✨

Georg. A Willer, Berlin, 2024

We're happy to have another Georg A. Willer bass, freshly set up and ready for a new home!

Busetto lower corners with unique violin-style upper corners. Upgraded Rubner Rustic Series tuners and strung with Thomastik PI (Peter Infeld) bass strings. Brand new and professionally set up in shop. Includes bass bag.

Now has a C-Extension!

Check it out on our website, link in bio! 🎻

05/15/2026

We’re slowly but surely getting the website updated, but the showroom is full! We’ve got a great selection of new basses across a wide range of price points, with 3–4 more being photographed and added over the next few days. Check them out on our website — link in bio!

We also got the top joined for the next Maggini model bass, using wood from a top that came to us years ago from

The fox family that returns to the rear of the property every year is back again, and the cubs have already become a major source of entertainment whenever they wander up by the house.

And of course, Zippi is hard at work managing the office and making sure Tom responds to all the emails promptly!!!

05/13/2026

Wolf Instrument Wednesdays: Celebrating 50 Years!

📆2002

Response to the Smithsonian’s letter establishing a fellowship to support us the first year after Tom’s accident was generous and touching. We sent letters to everyone who contributed, marking the new year with an update on where things stood. At that point we didn’t know there would be another half dozen surgeries, each two-part treatment for ruptured tendons taking up the better part of a year. Clearly we needed more help in the shop again, so a talented young woodworker joined us in January. In addition to Tom’s efforts with the Cristofori material, instruments in progress continued toward completion. Clients on the waiting list were informed that their deposits would be refunded if they didn’t want to wait longer for delivery, but they all stayed with us. And in mid-summer Tom began his self re-invention with a trip to Italy.

A couple of friends who used their discretionary income as professional bassists to acquire a collection of noteworthy instruments realized they would have to sell some if they wanted to buy more. They needed help with this, Tom had some free time and experience in the instrument marketplace, so they entered an informal partnership. On a few days’ notice, Tom was asked to meet Paul in Florence to advise what they should purchase from a private collection. A couple of these basses appear on their first price list, and Tom began creating specification sheets for everything in the collection.

By late August, Tom was back in the hospital for the second phase of the first tendon reattachment surgery. As he emerged from the wooze of drugs on the day after the operation, Barbara arrived with a surprise gift: a photo taken several months earlier showing us with Sheba trotting down a country road - on the cover of Middleburg Life! The monthly magazine was the primary local publication read by everyone in the area. After this astonishing occurrence registered with him, Tom mumbled, “Sometimes the highs and lows in life come very close together.” Our motto for the beginning of the 21st century.

05/11/2026

✨Bass Feature ✨

Björn Stoll, Bosa Model, 2012

Outfitted with ebony paddle Rubner tuners and strung with D’Addario Zyex strings, offering a balanced sound suited for both arco and pizzicato playing. Sloping shoulders make the upper register easily accessible and comfortable. A great choice for players covering both worlds — equally at home in the section or on the bandstand.

Includes bass bag.

Check it out on our website, link in bio! 🎻

05/08/2026

A couple of EUBs getting some love this week. Tom's been hard at work on his next sycamore Maggini bass, prepping for the neck to go it! Tongues for harpsichord jacks being punched. A great shot of an evening in the back yard... meanwhile Zippi is enjoying the front!

Address

6562 Main Street
The Plains, VA
20198

Telephone

+15402535430

Website

http://wolfinstruments.com/

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