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Premium ❘ FeatureBending the rules: arching constructions
How can luthiers create an instrument’s arching from scratch? Sebastian Gonzalez presents a possible solution to an age-old dilemma, using simple formulas and the latest technology
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Extending the reach of metal F-clamps
Making wooden jaws for a lighter, safer long-reach clamping alternative
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Cutting the f-holes
The traditional method adopted by the luthiers of the old Mirecourt school
Premium ❘ FeatureIberian lutherie guilds: Tradition and Innovation
Instrument making in the Iberian peninsula was once tightly controlled by a network of guilds. Pablo Soriano examines regulations and personal documents to reveal the details of luthiers’ working lives
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2026: 2019 Octobass
Standing 11 feet 8 inches tall, the instrument was built by luthier Jean-Jacques Pagès and is now played by Eric Chappell of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2026: 1712 ‘Viotti, Hottinger’ Antonio Stradivari violin
’The noble beauty of its tone seems to us to echo the elevated style of Viotti’s compositions’ said the Hills of this violin
- Premium ❘ Feature
Iberian lutherie guilds: Tradition and Innovation
Instrument making in the Iberian peninsula was once tightly controlled by a network of guilds. Pablo Soriano examines regulations and personal documents to reveal the details of luthiers’ working lives
- Focus
The Strad Calendar 2026: 2019 Octobass
Standing 11 feet 8 inches tall, the instrument was built by luthier Jean-Jacques Pagès and is now played by Eric Chappell of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
- Focus
The Strad Calendar 2026: 1712 ‘Viotti, Hottinger’ Antonio Stradivari violin
’The noble beauty of its tone seems to us to echo the elevated style of Viotti’s compositions’ said the Hills of this violin
- Premium ❘ Feature
Bending the rules: arching constructions
How can luthiers create an instrument’s arching from scratch? Sebastian Gonzalez presents a possible solution to an age-old dilemma, using simple formulas and the latest technology
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Extending the reach of metal F-clamps
Making wooden jaws for a lighter, safer long-reach clamping alternative
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Cutting the f-holes
The traditional method adopted by the luthiers of the old Mirecourt school
’A distinctive golden aura’: cellist Jamie Walton on the 1642 Nicolò Amati cello
Jamie Walton, the current custodian of the Amati cello, reflects on its sound and projection
‘Never will I part with it as long as I live’: Paganini’s quartet of Strads
Tully Potter takes a closer look at the four Stradivari instruments formerly owned by Paganini, and later played by the Paganini Quartet
My Space: Jordan Lambert’s Tahiti workshop
The luthier presents his shop in ’Ātihā, Mo’orea
Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: A c.1690 violin by Giovanni Maria del Bussetto
Aidan Mullerkin examines the elusive maker’s instrument
Premium ❘ Feature
Forms follow function: early Stradivari violin patterns
Unlike his contemporaries, Antonio Stradivari was trying out different violin patterns from the start of his career as a luthier. Philip Ihle examines a number of his early violins to discover how his art evolved
Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Home-made tools for violin making
A range of innovative implements made by hand from carbon steels and high-speed steels
Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: A 1705 violin by Antonio Maria Lavazza
Claudio Amighetti examines an instrument by the little-known maker
Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: An 1895 double bass by Vincenzo Postiglione
Luigi Sisto examines the late 19th-century instrument
Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Custom crack-levelling clamps made with 3D printing
A new way to glue cracks without the aid of a mould
Premium ❘ Feature
A master of his craft: Simone Fernando Sacconi
Born 130 years ago, Simone Fernando Sacconi was a brilliant violin maker and restorer, a respected teacher and, latterly, a celebrated author. Friends, colleagues and former students share their memories with Peter Somerford
Focus
The Strad Calendar 2026: 1767 Nicolò Gagliano cello
Formerly owned by Roger Smith of the Gagliano Trio, this fine example of Gagliano’s work is now played by Thomas Mesa
Focus
The Strad Calendar 2026: 1713 ‘G. Schönau’ Antonio Stradivari violin
This fascinating example of Stradivari’s work is played by Nikki Chooi, the current concertmaster of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Focus
The Strad Calendar 2026: 1741 ‘Bohrer, Baumgartner’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin
Currently played by Kerson Leong, this is an ‘outstanding concert instrument in excellent condition’
Focus
The Strad Calendar 2026: 1699 ‘Dubois’ Antonio Stradivari cello
With a fine red-brown varnish, this cello may have been made with wood from the same tree as the famed ’Cristiani, Stauffer’
Focus
The Strad Calendar 2026: 1773–78 ‘Crafoord’ Guadagnini viola
The back of this viola is made from two pieces of bird’s-eye maple cut on the slab, with a faint figure running more or less horizontally
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