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Lutherie

  • ms1

    Premium ❘ Feature

    My Space: Alan Beavitt’s Scoraig workshop

    4 July 2025

    Take a tour of the maker’s Scottish shop

  • f2

    Premium ❘ Feature

    In Focus: A 1942 violin by Arturo Fracassi

    4 July 2025

    Leonardo Cella examines the mid-century instrument by the Italian maker

  • CB photo

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Charles Beare: 1937–2025

    27 June 2025

    One of the world’s most renowned violin experts died on 26 April this year. Anne Inglis looks back at his life, while friends and colleagues share their memories

  • 1

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: Creating neck graft sockets – part one

    27 June 2025

    The first of two articles on this topic gives a full and thorough account of casting a scroll and pegbox

  • Farina Montagnana

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Power and majesty: Domenico Montagnana ‘Farina’ cello 1730

    20 June 2025

    Made by Domenico Montagnana in 1730, the ‘Farina’ cello is a stunning instrument with a rich, powerful sound. John Waddle and Steve Sirr delve into its history and show how CT scans helped gather measurements for this month’s poster

  • GettyImages-2189079746

    Premium ❘ Feature

    ‘A man of originality, power and striking individuality’ - From the Archive: July 1895

    20 June 2025

    The eminent violin dealer William Ebsworth Hill died on 2 April 1895. William Hardman (‘Lancastrian’) pens a tribute to his friend and colleague

  • 1

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: Sharpening gouges

    17 June 2025

    A practical method for maintaining the sharpness of this essential tool for all makers

  • 5

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: Tips for tricky bow rehairs

    13 June 2025

    Practical techniques to overcome common challenges in bow rehairing

  • The temporary workshop at Manchester Museum cr Charlotte Wellings

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Making Matters: A Manchester project to repair and upcycle instruments

    13 June 2025

    Helen Michetschläger reports on a project to repair old, damaged instruments so they can be used by Manchester schoolchildren, rather than just be thrown away

  • Instrument Innovations (1)

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Patent pending: instrument innovations in the 18th century

    6 June 2025

    The 18th century saw an explosion in creativity from inventors trying to find the ‘next big thing’ in stringed instrument innovation. Rachael Durkin examines some of the artefacts from the dawn of the industrial age

  • ee

    Premium ❘ Feature

    My Space: Bruno Stefanini’s Bologna workshop

    6 June 2025

    The maker presents his workshop in Bologna, where he has worked as a luthier for over 40 years

  • Front full

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    In Focus: An 1859 violin by Gulbrand Enger

    6 June 2025

    Jens Stenz takes a look at the Danish maker’s 19th-century instrument

  • Wide images (9)

    Premium ❘ Article

    Auction Report June 2025: Mysteries, masterpieces and memorabilia

    30 May 2025

    Kevin MacDonald examines an eclectic array of lots at the London spring sales, where some fascinating curiosities found buyers

  • Wide images (4)

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Bottesini’s bass makers: the Rossi family

    23 May 2025

    The development of the double bass in 19th-century Milan owed a lot to the Rossi family. Thomas and George Martin investigate the lives of its members, and the innovations they brought to double bass design

  • 8

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: Replacement of pearl eyes in a bow

    16 May 2025

    Sarah Bystrom shares a method for a common task in bow restoration that respects the intention and style of the maker

  • 2025-01-14 18.05.44

    Premium ❘ Feature

    My Space: Wai Yong Tham’s Singapore workshop

    9 May 2025

    Explore the home workshop near the centre of Singapore

  • all seeing eye

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Making Matters: Masonic symbols on 19th-century French bows

    2 May 2025

    The frogs on 19th-century French bows feature several common motifs that recur in the work of several makers. Michel Samson shows how they correspond to the principles of Freemasonry

  • Front full (1)

    Premium ❘ Feature

    In Focus: A 1753 viola by Carlo Antonio Testore

    25 April 2025

    Sean Bishop takes a look at a relatively rare example of an 18th-century Italian viola

  • Wide images (1)2

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Leading the way: the ‘Baron d’Erlanger’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin 1732

    16 April 2025

    Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ made the 1732 ‘Baron d’Erlanger’ violin near the start of his most productive period. Florian Leonhard explores how it shows the maker’s early style and reveals the history of its most famous owner

  • GettyImages-158730215

    Premium ❘ Feature

    ‘To my surprise I found it to be a splendid Strad’ - From the Archive: April 1925

    11 April 2025

    In his recently published memoir, the Scottish instrument dealer David Laurie (1833–97) recalls finding a Stradivari cello in the attic of one of his friends, and obtaining it for a song

  • Front full

    Premium ❘ Feature

    In Focus: A 1923 violin by Michael Dötsch

    11 April 2025

    Rainer Michael Cocron examines an early 20th-century instrument by the German maker

  • 20241118_132124

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Dual accomplishments: the makers of Markneukirchen

    11 April 2025

    The workshops of Markneukirchen and its environs made thousands of violins per year – but many were crafted by true artisans. Bruce Babbitt explains how these violins became the basis for a new book and exhibition charting their evolution

  • t5

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade secrets: External crack repair using silk

    4 April 2025

    Sharon Que provides an innovative solution to a common – and tricky – repair problem

  • Main pic

    Premium ❘ Feature

    My Space: Bernhard Ritschard’s Lübeck workshop

    4 April 2025

    Take a look around the northern German shop

  • ESPI SETUP

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Hard and fast rules: tonewood selection

    3 April 2025

    What should luthiers look for when selecting spruce for their next violin top? Jiri Povolny examines the variables and discovers some useful guidelines to take out the guesswork

  • m3

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Making Matters: Making instruments with tulipwood

    28 March 2025

    A case of mistaken identity left luthier Sibylle Ruppert with a batch of untested tulipwood – but a few experiments showed its high potential for instrument making

  • MARCH Grid posts (4)

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Franz Geissenhof: the Viennese Stradivari

    21 March 2025

    Franz Geissenhof’s instruments have always been highly regarded, but how far was he influenced by his Cremonese predecessor? Rudolf Hopfner compares a typical Geissenhof violin with Stradivari’s work to find out

  • T-18 violin pattern front.jpeg

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Violin maker Antonio Bagatella: First among equals

    14 March 2025

    Despite few of his violins surviving today, Antonio Bagatella is important in violin history for writing one of the first treatises on instrument design. Christian Pabst examines his work and shows how his methods stand up to scrutiny

  • 2

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: Varnish retouch

    14 March 2025

    A method for layering pigments and shellac to reproduce the exact colour and thickness of an instrument’s varnish

  • 11

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Making Matters: Using various technologies for restoration

    14 March 2025

    Luthier Giovanni Lazzaro recalls the extensive restoration of an 1876 cello by Raffaele Fiorini which required the use of a number of different technologies

  • Smillie front full

    Premium ❘ Feature

    In Focus: An 1893 violin by Alexander Smillie

    7 March 2025

    David Rattray presents a late 19th-century violin by the Scottish maker

  • 383e2524-a1f7-4ad9-9066-a59bfc0d9336-0

    Premium ❘ Feature

    My Space: Camille Dolibeau’s Amsterdam workshop

    7 March 2025

    The maker presents her workshop in the bustling capital

  • JTubbs shabby photo_enhanced-2

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Bow maker James Tubbs: London Calling

    28 February 2025

    The British bow maker James Tubbs was born 190 years ago this month. John Basford looks back at his life, work and legacy to the bow making community

  • My chisels and gouges ready for the Cryo-treatment (1)

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Making Matters: ‘Cryo-treatment’ of violin wood

    14 February 2025

    What effect would subjecting spruce and maple to ultra-low temperatures have on their sound quality? Oliver Radke presents the results of an informal study into the ‘cryo-treatment’ of violin wood

  • 6

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: The ‘Doratura Cremonese’ ground method

    14 February 2025

    How to make and apply a ground coat with a deep golden yellow colour

  • Cover_CYR6343_VF_sRGB

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Dance of the swans: the bows of Charles Nicolas Bazin

    7 February 2025

    The Tourte-model bows by Charles Nicolas Bazin represent the pinnacle of elegance and refinement in the history of French bow making. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the swan-head model, Richard Morency examines some of the finest examples

  • 20241212_120915

    Premium ❘ Feature

    My Space: Russell Stowe’s Woodbridge workshop

    7 February 2025

    The maker presents his Suffolk atelier

  • Head front

    Premium ❘ Feature

    In Focus: 1877 double bass by Gand & Bernardel

    7 February 2025

    René Zaal examines the Parisian violin making house’s 19th-century bass

  • 1930c Ladislaus Baczynski

    Premium ❘ Feature

    ‘Master of the violin, artist of the soul’: Władysław Baczyński

    24 January 2025

    Władysław Baczyński overcame a life of tragedy to become one of Poland’s most highly regarded 20th-century violin makers. Grzegorz Kaproń tells his story

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