Country String Shop Happily Serves the Common Player

Country String Shop Happily Serves the Common Player

by Ed Yashinsky

Somewhere below the slightly stratospheric prices of Mike Sheibley’s and Ed Campbell’s violins, you will find the relatively tranquil world of Bob Kain’s Country String Shop. Like Sheibley and Campbell, Kain has many years of practical training, but he clearly works for a different kind of player.

"My ultimate goal is to find a common meeting place between classically-trained violinists and bluegrass players," says Bob Kain, as he performs minor adjustments to a violin. "Many violin makers cater to the upper price limit of the instrument, but I am more interested in getting students of all musical types involved. They are the future of these instruments."

Located in an old farmhouse in Campbelltown, about five miles east of Hershey on Route 322, Bob Kain spends many of his days like Sheibley and Campbell. The main difference is that Kain devotes about 85 percent of his time to doing repair work. The time he spends building his own instruments is divided among violins, violas, cellos, guitars, and Appalachian dulcimers.

Kain, 47, has been in business for nearly five years. But, the road he took to his current destination contained a few twists and turns. A graduate of Lebanon Valley College, Kain spent several years teaching music at Anville-Cleona High School. After leaving teaching, he worked as a salesman for Cagnoli Music Company in Hershey. At Cagnoli’s, Kain performed minor instrument repairs, while the significant work was sent out to repairman in York. Kain’s skills continued to develop and soon he was driving to York on his day off to learn about instrument repair. "It was a great learning experience, because every instrument required something different," says Kain. "I ended up commuting to York for about sixteen years."

While he continued his work at Cagnoli’s, Kain began to build instruments. He first built an Appalachian dulcimer, a four-stringed instrument similar to a guitar or banjo. He built his first violin in 1987 and ended up trading it for a Ford Bronco for his then 16-year-old son.

When he first opened the Country String Shop, Kain placed an old dulcimer in the front window display. "It was not the prettiest thing in the world, but so many people who came in the shop asked about it, I decided to start making them again," says Kain. "They are relatively inexpensive and pretty easy to play."

About two years ago, Kain began building guitars, again because of customer demand. "People would regularly stop by and asked if I made guitars," remembers Kain. "So one day I called Martin Guitars (of Nazareth, Pennsylvania) and asked them if I could order their components to build guitars. Now, I can order specials woods and styles to fit anyone’s needs."

Kain is looking forward to the day when he can devote more time to creating instruments and sell nothing but his own instruments. "Building instruments is really the fun part of my job," says Kain, "but I am realistic about what pays the bills around here."

So, Kain is content in his own stringed world. He is not battling the upper echelon of violin makers, but he is not starving for attention either. He rents out several rooms in his shop for lessons, helps sponsor a summer bluegrass camp for aspiring players and hopes one day to establish a music conservatory. "My only regret is that I am too busy with my work to see a lot of the great music out there," says Kain.