Righele Rino Luthier

I have been taking my violins to Rino for over 15 years now and his work is superior to any other luthier in Vancouver. Stick with the best: Rino. He is honest and fair. There have been many times that I requested extra work done on my violin (or new strings, new bow hair etc...) and he'd assure me that there was no need at that time. If anyone thinks he has an ego"

I’n so glad to meet Mr. Righele with my 5 years son. He’s so passionate, let me son to try every violin and bow, he is truly craftsman to help my son find the perfect violin. Very appreciate!

Mr. Rino is a very passionate gentleman about his business! He is full of knowledge and great customer service . My son and I were very pleased.

That guy just broke my violin into three pieces because he thought that my violin was not good enough and was willing to charge for repairing it. Unfortunately I wasn't familiar with his reputation and left him my violin for cosmetic repair. After I had paid him 150 dollars for a small maintenance, instead he cracked my violin right in front of me. I think it would be difficult to find anybody so unprofessional and rude. I would not recommend him even to my worst enemy. He could destroy your violin in seconds and never would feel sorry for that. Please, avoid his infernal service at any cost.

I'm very happy to find the Italian violin maker in Vancouver. He has fixed couple of my vintage violins and bows in recent years with super qualify work.

Many years ago, Rino & I were in a violin orchestra called: The Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Douglas Stewart. My French violin from 1898 was in need of repair due to aging and thinning wood. The bass bar, internal wooden reinforcements & inlays were hand carved and fitted by Rino. I’m very happy with how it looks but most importantly, how it sounds. Thank you Rino. You are the best luthier.

I would like to thank Mr. Righele for the wonderful, unforgettable experience today. My 11 year old son has been playing on rented violins for years and it was finally time to invest in an instrument of his own. Rino let him try every violin, every bow and every combination thereof. My son immediately fell in love with the sound of one, and we then spent time choosing the right bow, case and roisin. Rino was so kind and patient - but also funny and passionate about the violin. He has promised a money back guarantee and has asked us to come back in the weeks and months ahead to have the instrument “smoothed out”? (I’m not a musician; forgive me). It is a treasure to be able to meet a craftsman, and I’m so grateful that my son had this experience. Grazie Rino!

I visited Rino last October to ask him to set up my first violin, which I had found on Craigslist. The bridge and soundpost of the violin bore his name and initials respectively, as well as the year: '97. He charged me very little, on third of what I was quoted at Long and McQuade.It is my impression that Rino is supremely passionate about his work. His level of intensity is rare among Vancouverites, and I suspect that the negative reviews here are the result of presonality clashes rather than any defect in Rino's craftsmanship. Though I have not had much work done by him, I would sooner trust my violin to his passionate hands than to a milder corporate technician.

Rino is very personable and an expert at his craft. I found him years ago after purchasing my 1941 Kay bass. It was set up for Rockabilly style playing with very high action so I had him go through it and restore things back to original since I wanted to use it for Jazz. He supplied and fit a new bridge and sound-post, re-bushed the peg hole to replace the wooden cane leg with a proper peg which he also supplied, raised the belly, filed the fingerboard and finally, installed a new set of Spirocore strings. I brought it to my upright bass teacher at the time who sits as first chair bass with a Canadian symphony orchestra and he thought it played extremely well. Rino performed all of this work in September of 1995 and the bass is still a dream to play. Thanks again Rino; I appreciate the excellent work and hope you are doing well. Grazie tanto.

Reno is a highly experienced Italian Violin and Cello and bow maker. He has a great feel for wood and the technical aspects that results in admirable sound and emotion. He has undertaken countless great restoration projects.