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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Set the records straight
Acoustic testing can generate a huge amount of data on a single instrument. Rainer Beilharz shows how to record it in a meaningful way for visually oriented people
Premium ❘ FeatureLong read: Salted Soundboards and Sweet Sounds
‘Salt improves the voice of all sorts of instruments,’ wrote scholar Bernard Palissy in 1580, and analysis of several samples of wood has shown that ancient masters did treat wood with substances which were then defined as salts. In our June 1991 issue, Rémy Gug investigated the subject of salt-impregnation ...
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Girolamo Amati II violin 1671: Last but not least
Girolamo Amati II was the final violin maker of the illustrious Amati dynasty – and possibly the most overlooked. Barbara Meyer examines a 1671 violin from his early career and contrasts it with another instrument he made 48 years later
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Trade Secrets: Designing and making a ferrule
This small part of a bow frog can have a huge effect on the bow’s final overall style
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In Focus: A 1762 violin by Gennaro Gagliano
Yuri Pochekin examines the Neopolitan maker’s 18th-century instrument
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François-Nicolas Voirin: The second Tourte
The bows of François-Nicolas Voirin had more influence than those of any other bow maker after F.X. Tourte. In the first of two articles, Matt Wehling explores Voirin’s life and career, and examines why his bows were so successful with players
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My Space: Elisa Scrollavezza & Andrea Zanrè
The Parma-based makers take us on a tour of their workplace
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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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Making Matters: Change and decay?
Matthieu Besseling argues we are currently seeing a ‘second transition period’ in instrument and bow making, analogous to the changes at the end of the 18th century – but are they all to the good?
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In Focus: A 1904 violin by Erminio Montefiori
Alberto Giordano looks at the self-taught Italian luthier’s 20th-century instrument
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Fluorescence: Reflected glories
Viewing instruments in different kinds of light has become standard in documentation and assessment. Leonhard Rank explains how, in addition to ultraviolet light, researchers can now use infrared, and even parts of the visible spectrum, to reveal even more secrets
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Baroque Set-up: In a Land without Rules
With the growth in popularity of historically informed performance, more players are requesting Baroque-style instruments – but the process of converting an instrument is fraught with uncertainty. Sarah Peck presents an overview of the Baroque set-up process, and corrects some common misconceptions along the way
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‘And the thieves got clean away’: From the archive: June 1892
An anonymous article entitled ‘Fiddle Dealers, Beware!’ reveals how two of London’s best-known violin dealers were swindled by a pair of European con artists
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Making Matters: Historically Informed?
Are the gut strings used in HIP really true to those used by 18th- and 19th-century players? Kai Köpp examines the technical reasons why today’s strings might sound quite different from their predecessors
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August Rau: The old-fashioned way
At a time when bow making in Germany was leaning towards industrialisation, August Rau kept up the tradition of independent craftsmanship. Gennady Filimonov tells the story of his long career and examines several examples of his work
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Making Matters: Shaping the head
Violin makers have always been aware of physical issues like repetitive strain injury – but it’s just as important to take care of their mental health and wellbeing. John Beames examines some of the most common problems, and suggests some ways to combat them
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Making Matters: Hidden in plain sight
The Stradivari moulds preserved at Cremona’s Museo del Violino still have secrets to give up. David Beard re-examines all 17 survivors to find how they reveal details from rib heights to the maker’s working method
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Violin making in Seoul: Gangnam style
Over the past decade, a wide community of violin and bow makers has grown up in the Seocho district of Seoul. Luthier Hagit Gili Gluska speaks to colleagues young and old, both local and from overseas, who have made this area their home
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In Focus: A 1911 cello by Guglielmo Secondo Camillo Mandelli
Lionnel Genovart looks at the Italian maker’s instrument
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‘The kind of varnish used is simply a matter of taste’: From the Archive: May 1932
US violin maker Edward Hellier-Collens gives readers of The Strad the benefit of his expertise: good violin tone lies not in the varnish after all, but in the ‘filler’ (ground coat)
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Jacob Stainer’s birth: A question of dates
For centuries, historians have tried to settle on a definitive birthdate for Tyrolean luthier Jacob Stainer. Heinz Noflatscher explains how we now have an upper limit for his birth year – and why researchers were foxed by the elegant handwriting of the master
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Making Matters: In tune with the types
Luthiers often examine a musician’s way of playing before setting to work on their instrument. David Leonard Wiedmer explains why it can be helpful to categorise players into two different ‘types’
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Schroetter and Roth: Two of a kind
With the demand for mass-produced German instruments skyrocketing in the 1920s, enterprising makers sent family members to America to represent them. Clifford Hall explores the careers and legacies of Andrew Schroetter and Heinrich Roth
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Luigi Cavallini: A maker in the rough
Tuscany in the 19th century was home to numerous luthiers, some of whom were carpenters who turned their hands to instrument making. Florian Leonhard examines the career of Luigi Cavallini, a lesser-known self-taught maker whose work, while unusual in parts, displays a surprisingly high level of craftsmanship
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Game, set and match: quartets of instruments
Four instruments from the same tree, varnished from the same pot, played by a single quartet. Is this the way to perfect harmony? Katherine Millett investigates in this article from August 2008
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My Space: Orest Putsentela, Lviv
In March 2018, Orest Pusentela invited us into his workshop in Ukraine’s cultural capital. Now in 2022, he updates The Strad with his current situation in Ukraine
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'You raise me up': Women in Lutherie
An online community founded by and for women in lutherie has grown in leaps and bounds over the past three years. What are the benefits for the female contingent? By Harry White
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Female luthiers: And justice for all?
In light of the #MeToo movement, women from all walks of life have been reporting incidents of sexist behaviour in their workplaces. Is a violin workshop any different? Femke Colborne discusses the question with a range of female luthiers – and gains a grim perspective of the industry
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Early lutherie experience: The journeyman years
The time spent between finishing at violin making school and striking out on your own can be critical to a luthier’s learning experience. Peter Somerford finds out what makers should expect from their first jobs in a workshop – and how they can make the most of their time
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Cremonese violin moulds: The well harmonised mould
The logic governing the structure of Stradivari’s violins remains a mystery. André Theunis and Alexandre Wajnberg take a fresh look at his moulds to find an intriguing system of proportions, utilising the tools and measuring systems of his day
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Copying the ‘Titian’: A study in scarlet
Jesús Alejandro Torres reports on a study by the Violin Making School of Mexico, in which three copies of Stradivari’s ‘Titian’ violin were made using wood of varying densities, to examine their signature modes and player preferences
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The Venetian double bass: Venetian splendour
Many of the great Italian double bass makers lived and worked in the city of Venice. Thomas Martin, George Martin and Martin Lawrence tell the stories of some of the leading names in the trade, with commentary on a number of their instruments
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American Master: William Salchow
With a career spanning six decades, William Salchow has had a huge influence on bow making in America. In this November 2012 interview conducted by former student Sue Lipkins, Salchow talks about everything from Wurlitzer’s and Mirecourt to creating the perfect head
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My Space: Sam Zygmuntowicz
The luthier’s workshop, based in Brooklyn, New York, is spread across two floors, and includes a ‘salon’ where customers can test their instruments. From May 2015
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In Focus: Team Player
Sam Zygmuntowicz examines the large proportions of this 1796 Mantegazza viola, which give it a powerful sound that makes it ideal for string quartets. From December 2003
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Making 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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Recipe for success: Stradivari’s varnish
The search for Stradivari’s varnish formula has continued since the 18th century, but there have been few scientific analyses of the varnish itself. Stewart Pollens reveals the results of his recent study of the varnish on five of Stradivari’s instruments, in this feature from May 2009
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Stradivari’s varnish: a chemical analysis
Jean-PhilIppe Echard and Balthazar Soulier reveal the results of their seven-year research into Stradivari’s varnish, using five of the master’s instruments from Paris’s Musée de la Musique. From April 2010
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The Strad Calendar 2022: Dutch treasures
The Strad Calendar 2022 showcases twelve of the finest instruments belonging to the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation. Head of collection Frits Schutte outlines its work, while Hubert de Launay gives a tour of the riches
