François Nicolas Voirin: The style and substance of a pivotal bow maker

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Matt Wehling on Voirin’s artistic and technical advances, which were implemented by most all French makers and paved the way for makers such as Lamy, Sartory and E.A. Ouchard

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François Nicolas Voirin was a pivotal maker in bow history. By changing the shape of the camber and taper of the bow he changed how bows played and sounded. He also gave birth to a new bow aesthetic, and upped the game regarding the precision, craftsmanship and consistency of production. Many of his innovations dominated the way bows looked and felt for three quarters of a century, while others are still with us today. Let’s first look at some of the aesthetic changes he made to bows…

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