Tertis pattern violas in 4 sizes: 15, 15.5, 16 and 16.5 inch at Don Rickert Musician Shop

D. Rickert Musical Instruments now offersTertis pattern violas in 4 sizes: 15”, 15.5”, 16” and 16.5”. Available at the Don Rickert Musician Shop.

These instruments are partially completed by the Dan Sun Workshops. Dan Sun is a highly celebrated German-trained Chinese luthier.  Instruments are supplied to D. Rickert Musical Instruments, top off and “in the white”. High quality European spruce and select European maple are used to make the instruments.

Tertis violas, which cost a fraction of ours, can easily be found on eBay in the $750 range (with shipping and Customs fees). $750 is a LOT of money for a Chinese viola and they are, in fact, pretty good; however, these similar looking instruments are NOT the same instruments that we sell. The ones from D. Rickert Musical Instruments cost much more, and are worth it!

The Tertis pattern violas we sell are completed by our skilled hands, using our vast lutherie experience in the construction and setup of unique (i.e. non-standard) instruments such as the Tertis wide-body violas. All work is done at D. Rickert Musial Instruments’ main lutherie in Hiawassee, GA, USA.

Completion of the Tertis violas includes meticulous graduation adjustments and plate tuning ,as well as hand varnishing using our newly adopted “modern” old-school Italian oil varnishing methods.  See:Non-Toxic Zero VOC Old-School Varnishing Used by D. Rickert Musical Instruments .

The varnishing alone is a one to two week process culminating in the same hand-rubbed, sound enhancing physical beauty an instrument varnished in the 1700s. We do not generally employ any “antiquing” or faux distressing. We prefer our instruments to look the way they looked when they were new.  Now, old style Italian varnishing is a hand-rubbed (literally, with specially-gloved hands) process producing colors that are not as homogenous as sprayed on varnish. This handcrafted look created by old style varnishing methods could be called “antique”. We just call it classically beautiful!

The finished product is quite suitable for players who suffer from MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities) or those who have developed allergies to modern varnish, or, more likely, allergies to the highly toxic varnishes used on the majority of 19th Century and early 20th Century instruments.

About Our Tertis Models

Lionel Tertis is regarded by many as the greatest viola player of the 20th century. Tertis preferred a large viola in order to get an especially rich tone from his instrument. Tertis created a viola pattern that would provide the tonal advantages as a large 17 inch plus viola from a 16” viola, which is today regarded as a full size viola. Tertis violas are wider than violas of the same body lenths. On average, a Tertis a has:

• An upper bout that is 6% wider
• A middle bout that is 21% wider
• A lower bout that is 4.5% wider

Each of our Tertis Model Violas fills one or more special needs.

Our Tertis Violas come in 4 sizes: 15”, 15.5”, 16” and 16.5”

The Tertis 15” and 15.5” Violas

These instruments, both considered small violas, are ideal for two very different uses.

• First, as a viola for a violist with physical constraints due to stature, injuries or illness

The Tertis 15” and 15.5” Violas are ideal for a violist seeking a sound approaching that of a full-size (16”), but is constrained by either:

• Arms too short for a full-size viola
• Arthritic fingers could really use the fatter viola neck with wider spacing between notes
• Limited arm extension due to injury or disability (e.g. arthritis, lymphedema, carpel tunnel syndrome)
• Note: the choice between the 15” or 15.5” Tertis Viola depends on the degree of limitation in left arm reach.

See the article: Measurements for Determining Correct Violin/Fiddle or Viola Size

• Second, as a fiddle for a fiddler with long arms and large hands
  • We supply a special set of long-scale fiddle strings for this instrument configuration. A small viola (15” or 15.5”) strung, tuned and played like a fiddle has a very powerful, loud and dark sound. Such instruments are very cool!

Key instrument Measurements

The Tertis 16” and 16.5” Violas

A 16” inch viola is considered full-size. If you are interested in the 16.5, check the chart for minimum player arm extension. This is not something you want to “cheat” on, as you will pay immediately with the 4th finger intonation and pay later with physical problems associated with playing an instrument that is too large.

The Tertis 16” and 16.5” have one purpose: allowing a large adult the ability to play a ergonomically correct-sized viola that sound like a ridiculously huge 17” or even larger-bodied viola, which are only playable by a small percent of the population…generally, quite large men with a really long reach.