For the Sound and Feel of a bow by a dead Frenchmen, at the price of a living American.

Steven Beckley is a maker of violin bows and bows for stringed instruments. He has been a bow maker since 1981 and has been a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers since 1989. His bows are being used by musicians around the world.

Steven Beckley has chosen the French bows from the first half of the 1800's for his inspiration. Makers such as Tourte, Peccette, and Pajoet being among the names that he has studied and been greatly inspired by. Along with the profile of the head and the sculpting of the frog, it is also the sound that these bows bring out of an instrument, that calls him. Through the careful selection of wood, to the detailed attention to graduations and cambering, he gives the bow a sensitivity on the strings that allows the player to achieve subtleties of tone, that many players find missing with the heavier stiffer “work horse” bows of the 20th century. While some of his clients are gifted students, up grading to a top quality hand made bow, many others are professionals that have, or have had, fine examples of old French bows and understand the subtle tonal qualities that these bows allow, and find these same qualities in the bows of Steven Beckley. Take the challenge and try the bows of Steven Beckley, side by side with the bows of the great makers of the 19th century, and judge for yourself.

Silver and ebony mounted pernambuco violin bows begin at $5200.00.
Silver and ebony mounted pernambuco cello bows begin at $5600.00.
Gold mounted bows start at $6500.00.

Bows with frogs made of non-endangered, exotic material like mastodon are also available.

Take a look into the Gallery of Violin Bows to see pictures of some of the violin, viola & cello bows that he has made.

There is a short biography on this site.

If you are interested in purchasing a violin bow made by Mr. Beckley, please see the page with instruction on how to arrange a trial of these bows so you can see for yourself how they play.

There is also a page of links to other pages that have to do with violins, bowmaking, and musical instruments.

Find out more about violin bow making here. (Steven Beckley, as seen on TV!)

I do not use Elephant Ivory, Tortoise Shell or any other materials that are outlawed or derived from endangered species in the making of my bows.

You can E-mail Mr Beckley at
or call 707-937-2023