All Lutherie articles – Page 2
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Premium ❘ FeatureMysteries of the soul: soundpost acoustics
Often called the violin’s ‘soul’, the soundpost is possibly the least understood part of the instrument. Joseph Curtin details a series of experiments that shed light on the acoustic role of this tiny piece of wood
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Making cochineal-coloured lakes
A guide to creating a rich, warm red pigment for varnish preparation
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NewsTruls Mørk loaned ‘Iwasaki’ Stradivari cello
The Norwegian cellist will give his first performance on the 1727 instrument in Norway on 21 May
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FocusMichael Rabin’s violins and bows
The great violinist Michael Rabin would have been 90 years old this May. Here, Jonathan Woolf details his instruments and bows
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: A history of the ‘Il Cremonese’ Stradivari violin’s case
For more than half a century, one of the finest violin cases ever made has lain undisturbed in Cremona. Dimitri Musafia examines the history of the case built to house the 1715 ‘Il Cremonese’ Stradivari
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Premium ❘ FeatureResurrection symphony: an 18th-century composite cello
The careful restoration of a composite cello identified merely as ‘possibly Italian’ proved a journey of discovery for Sally Gosling and the family team at Chapel Violins, UK
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Camouflaging a patch using a veneer
An innovative and intricate method for a taxing problem in restoration
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Premium ❘ FeatureSgarabotto and Ornati: lives in fragments
When Giuseppe Ornati and Pietro Sgarabotto donated the contents of their workshops to the Cremona School of Violin Making, they ensured an enduring legacy. Luca Baratto and Matteo Giovanetti tell the story and examine some of the treasures
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Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Koichi Furukawa’s Osaka workshop
The maker presents his shop located in Japan’s second largest city
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NewsWorld record smashed: ‘Macdonald’ Stradivari viola sells for millions
The instrument has been bought for a price exceeding the amount paid for the ‘Baron Knoop’ Stradivari violin in 2025
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NewsThe Strad at akustika Nuremberg 2026 - thank you!
It was wonderful to meet so many of our readers and followers during the annual trade fair in Nuremberg, Germany. Take a look at a few photos from the weekend
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1925 violin by Carlo Carletti
Leonardo Cella examines the early 20th-century instrument
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NewsBosnia’s first exhibition of stringed instruments announced
The event on 12 September will feature instruments by 18 luthiers, as well as a symposium and concert
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NewsNew York exhibition to explore relationship between instruments and the body
Titled ‘Musical Bodies’, the event will showcase more than 130 exhibits including several stringed instruments
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NewsObituary: violin maker Michael Jaumann (1966–2025)
The president of the Association of German Violin and Bow Makers was 59 years old
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FocusWhy do some 18th-century French violins have an ebony border round the edges?
Inspired by a c.1760 Chappuy instrument, violinist and cellist Michel Lorge considers the reasons for an unusual stylistic quirk of 18th-century violin making
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Premium ❘ FeatureRudolf Neudörfer: guardian of a lineage
The German bow maker Rudolf Neudörfer celebrates his 90th birthday next month. Gennady Filimonov looks back at his life and career, exploring the Neudörfer dynasty of makers and examining his bows
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Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Andreas Hampel and Susanne Riebesehl’s Hamburg workshop
The two luthiers present their German workshop
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Final scroll refinement
Some notes on finishing off one of the trickiest parts of the making process
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: How to make a lighter viola
For some violists, playing on a lighter instrument is their holy grail. Laurent Zakowsky describes his methods to accomplish this, from thinning the back to changing the chinrest
