All Lutherie articles
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Focus’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
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Premium ❘ ArticleAnalysis February 2026: A decision on the fate of pernambuco
With the recent decision to keep pernambuco wood on CITES Appendix II, but with added restrictions, what are the implications for bow makers, dealers, auction houses and musicians?
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn the layers of light: the ground coat
What is the ground coat – and more importantly, what is it for? Pierre Flavetta examines the properties and visual effects of this mysterious pre-varnish instrument coating
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NewsWinners announced at Philharmonie de Paris 2026 viola making competition
Andreas Hampel took the top prize in the French capital, with Piotr Pielaszek, Marcus Klimke and Jonathan Magerl also picking up awards
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Premium ❘ FeatureSeven, they are seven: Nicolò Amati cello 1642
One of only seven known cellos by Nicolò Amati, this 1642 example is in an excellent state of preservation. Alberto Giordano examines its history and provenance, while Barthélemy Garnier discovers what its condition can tell us about the old Cremonese working methods, and Francesco Piasentini discusses CT-scanning the cello
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Focus‘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
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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
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Premium ❘ FeatureDiscovering a Stradivari and Guarneri - From the archive: January 1896
John Tiplady Carrodus died in 1895. Violin dealer David Laurie recalls how he discovered a Stradivari and Guarneri that he sold to the renowned violinist
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Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Jordan Lambert’s Tahiti workshop
The luthier presents his shop in ’Ātihā, Mo’orea
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Premium ❘ FocusAuction Report January 2026: Lights in the darkness
A brace of Gaglianos and a cavalcade of Sartory bows were among the highlights of London’s October sales, as Kevin MacDonald reports
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Extending the reach of metal F-clamps
Making wooden jaws for a lighter, safer long-reach clamping alternative
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Focus‘The closest thing to the human voice’: violinist Stella Chen on her Strads
Our January 2026 cover star discusses the Stradivari violins she has played throughout her career
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: 1821 violin by Carl Nicolaus Sawicki
Wolfhart Schuster examines an instrument by the Polish maker
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: How to make a big-sounding viola for smaller players
Maj-Lisa Herzberg presents her innovative solution to the question of how to build a big-sounding viola for a small person
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Blogs‘Create what you are called to create’: catching up with Anne Harris and Amanda Ewing on their commissioned collaboration
The Strad catches up with Anne Harris and Amanda Ewing on their player/luthier collaboration that resulted in the first instrument commission between two African American women
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NewsObituary: violin maker Andrew Fairfax (1953–2025)
John Dilworth pays tribute to the British luthier, restorer and expert, who died on 9 December
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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
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NewsJapanese lutherie students to honour violin maker and mentor
Shinichi Izutsu, who enters his tenth decade next year, has run his own workshop since 1956
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: how to care for your bow hair
Musicians might not realise how important the quality and condition of their bow hair can be. Canisa Sie gives a guide to caring for this vital part of a string player’s arsenal
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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
