All lutherie articles
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FocusThe Strad Calendar 2022: Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ cello 1715 ‘ex Navarra’
The Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ must be the most impressive Cremonese cello in terms of maker’s marks
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Cremonese varnish: Shining example
A close look into the history and chemistry of varnish making can shed new light on the mysteries of classic Cremonese varnish, as Joe Robson explains, in this lutherie feature from November 2007
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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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News
Two gold medals awarded at 2021 Cremona Triennale violin making competition
Kazune Nemoto received the top prize in the cello section, while Guido Mariotto won for his double bass
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Gallery
‘Noah’s Violin’ has successful Venice launch
A quartet of musicians from the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory performed Vivaldi on top of the floating instrument
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Optical effects in Lutherie: Reflected Glories
Why do some instruments look completely different in varying kinds of light? In this lutherie feature from August 2013, Michael Molnar explains how an understanding of wood, varnish and their optical interactions can produce magical results
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Video
Violin disaster! Can this violin be fixed?
Watch as luthier Olaf Grawert attempts to repair a violin with extensive bottom block damage
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Focus
Using ‘Digital Amati’ in violin making
In this extract from September 2017, Harry Mairson introduces the ’Digital Amati’ software used in conjunction with Euclidean geometry to design string instruments
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Project Lutherie: Euclidean geometry and digital instrument design
A decade ago, François Denis’s Traité de Lutherie showed how the old Italians used Euclidean geometry to design their instruments. Now a computer program based on these principles allows luthiers to construct and adapt patterns quickly and easily. Its creator, Harry Mairson, explains the genesis of Digital Amati, in this ...
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Imaging technology: Learning the finer points
Researchers have used particle-accelerator technology to unlock a Guadagnini’s tiniest secrets. Trieste-based imaging specialist Franco Zanini explains how, in this lutherie feature from January 2012
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Wood densitometry: Material facts
Were the old Cremonese luthiers really using better woods than those available to other makers in Europe? In this article from January 2013, Terry Borman and Berend Stoel present a study of density that seems to suggest otherwise
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Review
Book review: Feine und bedeutende Streichinstrumente
Benjamin Hebbert reviews an anthology of instruments by German violin dealer Rudolf Eckstein, witht text in German and English
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Focus
A weighty argument: wood density in violins
John Waddle, Steve Rossow and Steve Sirr discuss how wood density can vastly affect the acoustic properties of violins
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Focus
CT scanning and the ‘Betts’ Stradivari
John Waddle shows how CT scanning technology is used to examine the structure and wood density of the ‘Betts’ Stradivari
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Focus
Freehand carving: identifying historical violins from Markneukirchen
In this extract, Enrico Weller and William Wisehart analyse trademark features of violins from the southern Saxony instrument-making town
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News
Violin crafted entirely from wood of indigenous African trees
Scientists at Stellenbosch University in South Africa embraced the project as a way to investigate new potential tonewoods and their acoustic properties
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Focus
Cutting corner blocks: inside the Markneukirchen violin factory
Our August 2021 issue features the bow making legacy of the Herrmann family in Markneukirchen. In this extract from April 2011, Arian Sheets describes the rise and fall of factory violin making in the 20th century in the same city
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Markneukirchen: The rise and fall of Germany’s first violin factory
A small German town was the setting for an early experiment in violin mass-production. But outside economic forces threatened it from the very start. Arian Sheets traces its history, in this article from the April 2011 issue of The Strad
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Video
Testing the waters with ‘Noah’s violin’
Ahead of its official launch on 18 September, the 12-metre long violin by Livio di Marchi enjoyed a test voyage in the Venetian canals
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Focus
Stick your neck out: the pros and cons of adjustable necks
In this extract from the August 2021 issue, Joseph Curtin discusses how he experimented with adjustable necks, progressing from the various changes made in connecting an instrument’s neck to its body since the Baroque era
