Long-Awaited New Travel Violin From D. Rickert Is Here!

Note: The photos shown here and on the product description page at Don Rickert Musician Shop are of the final prototype, which has is not yet scraped, sanded, varnished or polished. Also, the Wittner tuning pegs have not yet been trimmed. We will replace the photos with ones of a production model in several days.

We have been talking about a new travel violin to supersede the Neil Gow 22XL Travel Violin for several years. It is not that we do not like the Gow Travel Violin. We always felt that we could get a more full-bodied and balanced sound from an instrument of similar size (14” long x 3.25” wide, at the widest point). After many tries, involving countless prototypes, we achieved success. We call the new instrument the “Mountain Lion”.

The new “Mountain Lion Travel Violin”, available now at the Don Rickert Musician Shop (D. Rickert Musical Instruments) bears some resemblance to the Neil Gow 22XL; however, the Mountain Lion has more graceful lines. The Mountain Lion’s internal structure is more different than a conventional violin than anything we have made to date.

Those of you who have followed us over the years know that we are very “close to the vest” about details, as we regard these details as trade secrets. We will tell you that the Mountain Lion has three separate internal chambers, with tuned ports directing air movement from the center chamber to the outer chambers, which function as resonators.

Due to deliberate design features, the resonators do not increase the volume of the instrument, but rather increase the low-mid and low frequency overtones…this translates to a more robust and full-bodied sound. The sound is also amazingly balanced. This means that given the same bowing intensity, the sound resulting from exciting each string is perceived as equal in volume. The science of how sound is perceived by humans is known as psychoacoustics.

Who is the Mountain Lion Travel Violin For?

This instrument is for the serious player (mostly violinists, but many fiddlers as well) who:

• Desires an instrument considerably smaller that our Custom Deep Body Travel Violin-Viola, which is still our best sounding travel violin
• Is willing to pay almost twice the price of our incredible Mountaineer IV for an instrument that is…
  • Aesthetically, more beautiful and refined
  • Has a more balanced and full-bodied sound
  • Fits into the same case as the Mountaineer IV

Some Key Information

• Strings: Infeld-Thomastik Vision Stark
• Tuning Pegs: Wittner FineTune(tm) internally geared planetary pegs

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