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Premium ❘ FeatureThe makers’ instrument: the 1735 ‘Plowden’ violin by Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
The 1735 ‘Plowden’ violin by Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ has been talked about, pored over, and photographed time and time again, but there is still plenty more to discover about this celebrity of the violin world, as Sam Zygmuntowicz reveals in this article from 2011
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking copies: Sounds like a match?
If someone makes an exact copy of a Stradivari, will it sound like a Stradivari? Sam Zygmuntowicz attempts to answer the question by making duplicates of the ‘Titian’ and ‘Willemotte’ Strads, as well as the ‘Plowden’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
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Early Russian bow: From Russia with love
Gennady Filimonov reveals the origins of a bow made entirely from ivory
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‘Makers have been working blind’ - Cremonese archings
Gareth Ballard presents a detailed method for analysing the various curves
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In Focus: A c.1920 double bass by Cesare Candi
René Zaal examines the 20th-century instrument
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Making Matters: Berlin’s Oberlin
Ian McWilliams explains how he set up a summer violin making workshop near the German capital
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‘We’ve actually outgrown the space’ - My Space: James Hanson
Discover a multistory workshop in Kansas, US
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Trade Secrets: Making a soundpost jig
A useful device to help luthiers cut a soundpost to its correct length, and to make its top and bottom angles
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‘Cut the Stradivari cord’ - Opinion
Luthier Paris Andrew argues that, rather than copying Antonio Stradivari models, makers should study other beautiful instruments that exist
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1726 ‘Saveuse’ Stradivari cello: Small is beautiful
The 1726 ‘Saveuse’ is one of the smallest cellos Antonio Stradivari ever produced. John Dilworth discovers the unique characteristics of this rare model
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‘Timbre and brilliance are not static, but dynamic’ - Making Matters: Sound ideas
Violinists and brothers Arne and Jens Rossbach share their experiments in sound and timbre
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Trade Secrets: Fitting a bridge to a violin belly
A detailed account of a process that revisits a fundamental skill for luthiers
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The most important violin in the world? - The 1716 ‘Messiah’ Stradivari violin
Stradivari’s 1716 ‘Messiah’ violin has beguiled with its pristine condition for 300 years, despite having remained mute for most of that time. John Dilworth examines the mystique surrounding this enigmatic instrument that still refuses to give up its secrets
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CT-Scanning the ‘Messiah’ Stradivari violin
In 2016 the ‘Messiah’ Stradivari was the subject of an extensive CT scanning project. Francesco Piasentini and Gregg Alf examine the resulting data, discovering repair work in the neck, and attempt to determine how it had originally been set
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In Focus: A 1756 baroque cello by Robert Duncan
David Rattray on the Scottish maker’s mid-18th-century baroque cello
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An outstanding piece of work: exploring the 1865 ‘Sheremetev’ Vuillaume cello
The sheer quantity of J.B. Vuillaume’s instruments has led to a certain prejudice against them. But as John Dilworth explains, his finest creations, such as this 1865 ‘Sheremetev’ cello, rank almost as high as those of the Cremonese masters
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‘The great artistry of history’s most important bow maker’ - François Xavier Tourte
Paul Childs compares and contrasts two very late violin bows by François Xavier Tourte
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‘I do pretty much everything in this one room’ - My Space: Steve Burnett
Take a trip into Steve Burnett’s Edinburgh workshop
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The world’s most expensive violin: the 1741 ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
Terry Borman discusses the ribs, purfling and scroll of this unique instrument in our June 2018 issue
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Antonio Stradivari ‘Harrison’ violin 1693: The start of something big
Andrew Dipper shows how the 1693 ‘Harrison’ violin signifies the start of a critical phase in the master luthier’s career
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‘Portions of the book will hardly appear satisfactory’: From the archive: December 1902
The Hills’ book Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work is now seen as a seminal landmark in Stradivari scholarship. The Strad ’s reviewer didn’t view it quite that way.
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1734 Stradivari violin ‘Willemotte’: Late… but worth the wait
Made when Antonio Stradivari was 90 years old, the 1734 ‘Willemotte’ bears all his hallmarks including a deep, complex tone quality
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In Focus: A c.1750 violin by Santo Serafin
Jonathan Marolle investigates the mid-18th-century Italian instrument
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François Nicolas Voirin: The style and substance of a pivotal bow maker
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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21st-century technology in lutherie - Making Matters: Augmented reality
Paul Noulet and Benoit Dupeux on how 21st-century technology can add to the luthier’s arsenal of violin making tools
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Trade Secrets: Making a scroll cast using foam
An efficient method of casting a scroll that eliminates the need for silicone rubber
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‘The scent of fraud hangs about him’ - The Brothers Abell: Secrets and Lies
Follow the lives of two brothers embroiled scandals, lies and violins
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‘There are several spirits that occupy the hotel’ - My Space: Huthmaker Family
The violin-making family takes us on a tour of their Atlanta, GA, workshop
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‘This might be the smallest workshop ever featured in The Strad’ - My Space: Ilja Grawert
A look at the luthier’s travelling workshop near the Australian Whitsunday Islands
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The Viennese double bass: The long pattern
In the 18th and 19th centuries, double basses made in Vienna had distinctive shapes and characteristics that gave them tremendous sound quality.
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Trade Secrets: A ‘plug and plate’ repair for a double bass neck
A detailed alternative method for a difficult neck and pegbox repair
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Trade Secrets: Making a cello and bass mould
A lightweight design for an adaptable method of working
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Making Matters: Artistic licence and the ‘true violin’
Is our understanding of violin history too heavily influenced by the old Italians?
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In Focus: A c.1900 violin by Raffo Cipriani
Ernst Fuchs looks at the Italian maker’s late-period instrument
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Analysis October 2022: ‘Russia has control over the Siberian bow hair and isn’t moving much out’
Everything from Covid-19 to the ongoing situation in Russia has created a perfect storm for suppliers of good violin bow hair
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Trade Secrets: Gluing the C-bouts using a Cremonese mould
An alternative method for this part of the process, which may be more authentic than the standard procedure
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Straight lines within the arches of Stradivaris and Guarneris - Making Matters: Straight talking
Andrew Ryan investigates the presence of regular straight lines within the arches of the top and back in the instruments of Stradivari and Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
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In Focus: the 1696 Stradivari ‘Archinto’ viola
John Dilworth praises the archetypal beauty of Stradivari’s ‘Archinto’ viola, a magical example of form and aesthetic
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International lutherie schools: All round learning
Peter Somerford speaks to teachers from seven violin making schools to find out the options for young aspiring luthiers
