I dropped my student violin off at debeys house this afternoon. After reading reviews and making a stop at an undisclosed luthier that wanted nothing to do with my business, I found myself very comfy in debeys presence. Sure, I showed up with a sub par student violin that had seen better days. Debey was kind enough to have me in his home (which he works from) to asses the damages and repairs. He spotted things and noticed marks that only a seasoned luthier could have noticed. With that said, debey is soft spoken.. But a man with years knowledge. With a few tools and his ingenuity.. He told me everything "wrong" with my violin. He is so well versed in the production of violins and companies that produce them, he was quick to determine what would best suit my violin from strings to my sound pin. When I pick my violin up, we are going to fit a chin, and shoulder rest to fit my needs. Debey is not a salesman, he does not run a money hungry company. He Is simply a luthier and a passion and a place. A good man in my book. I will never ask for advice, or seek out another company (person) to touch my violin in the future. I put my full trust and all of business needs in R.Debeys hands. read more

Excellent luthier work for stringed instrument repair, or bow rehairing. Best prices around. Fast turnaround. read more

R DeBey - Handmade Violins - Musical Instruments & Teachers Near Me - Portland, Oregon

Randy is absolutely brilliant with celli! I live out in Dufur, but travel clear into Portland to take all our celli (I'm "related" to three of them out in my area) to him for all repairs or advice. He's fair, honest, & a great joy to work with. All repairs have come back wonderfully, fast, and thorough. This luthier is a real gem in Portland. He works out of his home. Absolutely support this business! You will LOVE his work & so will your cello. If there were more than five stars I could give, I'd most assuredly give them!! read more

Debey runs his violin making/repair business in his home on the end of 23rd. I came here not knowing what kind of repairs I needed for my bow that had been in storage since 2003. I called and set up on an appointment where he offered to take a look at my violin and bow free of charge. All the other violin shops seemed too pretentious. Schubacks has charged me $50 in the past just shave down my bridge by 3 mm & they made it seem like a HUGE deal to get me to spend the money. Debey examined my bows, violin, clipped off the broken hairs on one bow, and gave me a run down of my bow hair quality, violin storage, and bow bugs (including a small information sheet). When I asked about buying a higher shoulder rest, instead of selling me something (which I would I unknowingly bought!), he asked to look at my should rest, asked me to put it own, adjusted the rest legs, showed me the right way to position the rest and hold the violin, & now it works! He only charged me $5 for quite a bit of advice and kept me away from unnecessary repairs and stuff I didn't need. I really appreciated his honesty! read more

A very knowledgeable, trusted and humble luthier. I will always take my viola to R DeBey.

Great quality work, excellent customer service and very reasonable fee structure. I have taken my own instruments to Randy, as well as my students' instruments, and have been happy with the outcome, every time. I highly recommend his work. Important Tip: Always call and make an appoint, before you go! read more

This guy deserves my review. His jedi mind tricks have compelled me to be a good person and leave others with no doubt that he is as good as it gets. He quoted me on 50 to 75 dollars on a violins bridge fix. When I got there, he examined the instrument like a scientist would, diagnosing what might be right or wrong with it. Compounding agent in tuning pegs, innefficient and possibly damaging tail piece, etcetera etcetera. Each one had a small fee from 5 to 17 dollars. And his initial inspection was free, which seemed to include fixing the bridge as well since there was no mention of it. This guy has a deep care about his instrument. In fact I asked him myself why he left a shop he previously worked at, to which he spoke of the conflicting trouble that the staff had to the fundamental anatomy of the violin. As I see it, the 19th century has had many fields given a scientific one over. I'd say instruments are slightly late to the game based on their tradition and thinking pieces such as wood (for an instruments non vibrating parts like a tail piece) must have magical properties. Although with science, such fields such as whether a part truly distorts the sound can be analyzed across the musical frequencies. This guy is the real deal. He's not fixing it like the fortune teller to make you feel good and get him an extra slice of pizza. I've had enough nightmares from business based luthiers to know that my treatment is from a doctor. My only wish is that he opened on Google reviews too so I could review him there! read more

Dude rules. Best prices, everything you could want from a violin shop, but you arent paying for the brick and mortar or dealing with a bunch of people renting instruments for their ungrateful children. Check out his website, support his business. He set up my viola, and it sounds like a dream. read more

I was sent here on very short notice by my violin teacher when a freak accident caused all the hair on my bow to be pulled out from the frog...not all the way, but enough. She phoned him there on the spot and after my lesson I drove over, on a Saturday no less. He examined by bow, gave me the bad news, and allowed me to look at what he offers for bows and didn't charge me an arm and a leg for a new bow of much better quality than the old. Fair, honest, reasonable prices, and very patient with someone who is very new to the bowed instruments world. The only place I will go now for my violin needs. read more

A very careful and precise violin repairman with a keen eye for detail. His prices are reasonable and the work is outstanding. His warm personality will leave you feeling as if you picked the correct luthier to work on your precious instrument. He gets the highest rating. read more

OK Randy. i need to send you a couple of photos of your violins in action. Sara's violin(Guadaganini copy) occupies first chair second violin, Salem Youth Symphony, Philharmonia. Frances violin(Kriesler 1730 copy) occupies first chair, first violin Salem Youth Symphony, Amadeus. that makes her Concert Master. I have a photo of your Kriesler violin tuning the entire Orchestra. South High Orchestra teacher uses Sara's violin in class because it sounds the best and the Orchestra teacher at Leslie uses Frances violin because it sounds the best. Both girls have first chair first violin in their perspective school orchestra's. For the past two years we travel from Salem to Portland to see Randy because other shops have worked on these violins and they are never quite right. Glad we bought them from you and always glad to travel to Portland for you to look at them thru your magnifying glass goggles. If this sounds like a good review to you, your right! read more