Lutherie – Page 22
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The Jewel of Taiwan: The Strad Calendar 2020
The Chimei Museum in Taiwan houses the largest collection of stringed instruments in the world.The Strad Calendar 2020 marks 30 years since its founding, as Dai-Ting Chung and Andrew Guan highlight some of the remarkable treasures within its walls
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Should violin makers embrace cutting edge computer analysis?
Violin maker Sam Zygmuntowicz explores how high-tech ways of analysing violins and their sound could help makers and even influence the future forms of instruments
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In focus: a c.1930 violin by Ignacio Fleta
Jordi Pinto examines an instrument by the important Spanish maker
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Trade Secrets: Making a Tourte-style eye
How to use gold, tortoiseshell and abalone in copies of works by the ‘father of the modern bow’
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Making Matters: Keep the wolf from the door
Joseph Curtin describes a quick and simple method for violinists to eliminate a wolf tone on their instrument, along with the science behind it
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Stringed instrument myths exposed
Have you heard the one about checking an instrument crack by spitting on it? What about washing your bow hair in hot soapy water? We separate fact from crackpot theory
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Ask the Experts: how to guarantee a violin's resaleability
Strad readers submit their problems and queries about string playing, teaching or making to a panel of experts
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Stradivarius at work in his studio by Edgar Bundy
2014 marked the 100th anniversary of the exhibition of British artist Edgar Bundy’s portrait of Stradivarius at work in his studio at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. Although there is some doubt as to the authenticity of the 1893 painting – as no definitive record of the luthier’s appearance exists ...
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House surveys are standard practice, so why not instrument surveys?
Roger Hargrave argues that buyers should insist that dealers provide full condition reports
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Ask the Experts: purchasing the right Baroque bow
A trio of Baroque bow makers give their thoughts on what to look for when making the leap into historically informed playing
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In focus: a 1782 cello by William Forster II
Bradley Strauchen-Scherer examines an instrument from Britain’s foremost dynasty of violin and cello makers
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Trade Secrets: Regluing split corner-blocks
A reliable method for rejoining blocks split for a restoration, particularly useful for cello repairs
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Making Matters: Baroque to the future
Luthier Mathijs Heyligers has recently completed a project to give the same Baroque set-up to a chamber orchestra’s entire string section. What happened – and how did it change the sound?
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A measured approach
Although the many varied methods of stringed instrument making have been analysed countless times, the actual production process has hardly been questioned in its 450-year history. Luan Amorim and Amanda Schwegler use techniques taken from engineering to survey the time and cost factors – and come up with some unusual ...
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Forms of mystery
Andrea Zanrè and Philip Ihle conclude their examination of Stradivari’s moulds, with the aid of micro-CT imaging by Rudolf Hopfner, by exploring whether the Cremonese master may have used more than the twelve forms that survive in the Museo del Violino
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Inside information
Very often neglected, the chamfers of a bow head can give intimate clues as to a maker’s working style and personal characteristics. Anton Lu and Dai-Ting Chung compare and contrast bows from the Baroque era to the present day
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Making Matters: The fine-tuned universe
The harmonic properties of a string’s afterlength have been examined in the past – but what about the ‘before-length’, from the peg to the top nut? André Theunis and Gunnar Gidion find some surprising results in their investigations.
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My Space: Charlélie Dauriat
A glimpse into the workshop of the luthier based in the Château de Gourville, France
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In focus: c.1870 viola by Carl Mettus Weis
Jens Stenz examines a c.1870 viola by the Danish maker