Lutherie – Page 13
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‘Makers have been working blind’ - Cremonese archings
Gareth Ballard presents a detailed method for analysing the various curves of archings
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Analysing the 'Titian' Stradivari violin, 1715
In our February 2009 issue, Sam Zygmuntowicz examines one of Stradivari's finest golden period instruments, using both traditional and high-tech methods
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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
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‘We’ve actually outgrown the space’ - My Space: James Hanson
Take a look inside the Beautiful Music Violin Shop in Lawrence, Kansas, US
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In Focus: A 1751 G.B. Guadagnini violin
Stewart Pollens examines a violin that was formerly owned by Adolph Brodsky
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Curiouser and curiouser: the 1672 ‘Gustav Mahler’ Stradivari viola
Was the 1672 ‘Mahler’ the first viola ever made by Antonio Stradivari? As Jonathan Marolle explains, this is just one of the unanswerable questions that arise when studying this fascinating instrument
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Trade Secrets: Making a soundpost jig
A useful device to help luthiers cut a soundpost to its correct length, and to make its top and bottom angles
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In Focus: an 1810 violin by Nicolas Lupot
John Dilworth examines an instrument by the French maker
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In Focus: A c.1920 double bass by Cesare Candi
René Zaal examines the 20th-century instrument
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Early Russian bow: From Russia with love
Gennady Filimonov reveals the origins of a bow made entirely from ivory
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More than 18 arm-aching inches: Jacob Stainer’s tenor viola
The only remaining tenor viola made by the Tyrolean maker Jacob Stainer reveals the maker’s painstaking attention to detail and offers tantalising clues about Italian influence on his style, as Darren Freeman explains
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The makers’ instrument: the 1735 ‘Plowden’ violin by Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
The 1735 ‘Plowden’ violin by Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ has been talked about, pored over, and photographed time and time again, but there is still plenty more to discover about this celebrity of the violin world, as Sam Zygmuntowicz reveals in this article from 2011
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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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1726 ‘Saveuse’ Stradivari cello: Small is beautiful
The 1726 ‘Saveuse’ is one of the smallest cellos Antonio Stradivari ever produced. John Dilworth discovers the unique characteristics of this rare model
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‘Timbre and brilliance are not static, but dynamic’ - Making Matters: Sound ideas
Violinists and brothers Arne and Jens Rossbach share their experiments in sound and timbre
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Trade Secrets: Fitting a bridge to a violin belly
A detailed account of a process that revisits a fundamental skill for luthiers
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The most important violin in the world? - The 1716 ‘Messiah’ Stradivari violin
Stradivari’s 1716 ‘Messiah’ violin has beguiled with its pristine condition for 300 years, despite having remained mute for most of that time. John Dilworth examines the mystique surrounding this enigmatic instrument that still refuses to give up its secrets
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CT-Scanning the ‘Messiah’ Stradivari violin
In 2016 the ‘Messiah’ Stradivari was the subject of an extensive CT scanning project. Francesco Piasentini and Gregg Alf examine the resulting data, discovering repair work in the neck, and attempt to determine how it had originally been set
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In Focus: A 1756 baroque cello by Robert Duncan
David Rattray on the Scottish maker’s mid-18th-century baroque cello
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An outstanding piece of work: exploring the 1865 ‘Sheremetev’ Vuillaume cello
The sheer quantity of J.B. Vuillaume’s instruments has led to a certain prejudice against them. But as John Dilworth explains, his finest creations, such as this 1865 ‘Sheremetev’ cello, rank almost as high as those of the Cremonese masters