OUR SHOP

Paul J. Bartel laid the foundation for the Baroque Violin Shop on a kitchen table in Oxford, OH. At this table, he would repair and restore stringed instruments in his time away from his music education studies at Miami University. After graduating in 1972 with his BFA in music education, Paul continued his “luthier” work in the basement of his home in Brookville, IN while also serving as the full-time orchestra director at Finneytown High School in Cincinnati, OH. In 1974 he decided to start a business on the side and the Baroque Violin Shop came into existence.

After seven years of teaching orchestra and running the violin shop on the side, Paul wanted to pursue his hobby and passion full time. Paul saw an opportunity for the violin shop to support students and music teachers in the Cincinnati area. As a teacher, he had seen first-hand how low-quality instruments hampered students and teachers from being their best. He was also aware of how difficult it could be for repairs to be completed quickly and affordably under the constraints of tight budgets. Paul’s solution was that the Baroque Violin Shop would rent/sell only high-quality instruments to students and schools at affordable prices and provide full luthier services to keep them in playing condition.

With the business model decided, Paul resigned his teaching position and moved to Cincinnati full-time. He bought a house for his young family and the upstairs was the living space and the rest of the house was dedicated to the violin shop. The business quickly grew and more space was needed. In 1982 Paul purchased the historic Smith-Jessup house (built in 1805) and spent 6 months restoring the house and converting it into The Baroque Violin Shop house as you know it today. Further growth of the business meant that even more space was needed, two warehouse facilities have been added to the “campus” to help keep things running efficiently. The shop now has one of the largest rental programs in the country with over 7,000 rented instruments annually, and a massive inventory of instruments and bows of all prices/categories for sale.

TOUR THE SHOP

Check out our virtual shop tours below.

STRADIVARIUS

Quite possibly the most unique aspect of the Baroque Violin Shop, and there is a lot to choose from, is the Eckstein Stradivarius. This incredible instrument was crafted by Antonio Stradivarius in 1680.