Lutherie – Page 27
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BlogsLooking after your instrument: a guide to cleaning and polishing
Luthier Nurgul Comak offers a guide on instilling good cleaning habits and techniques to ensure the health and longevity of your stringed instrument
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Premium ❘ FeatureLong read: Salted Soundboards and Sweet Sounds
‘Salt improves the voice of all sorts of instruments,’ wrote scholar Bernard Palissy in 1580, and analysis of several samples of wood has shown that ancient masters did treat wood with substances which were then defined as salts. In our June 1991 issue, Rémy Gug investigated the subject of salt-impregnation ...
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BlogsLooking after your instrument: an introduction to soundposts
What is a soundpost? What does it do? Luthier Cecilia González from the Women in Lutherie community illustrates the enormous role of the little cylindrical piece of wood in an aim to demystify the subject for players
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FocusIn focus: the ‘Sachs’ Stradivari violin of c.1666
John Dilworth takes a close look at one of the very earliest violins attributable to Stradivari
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BlogsLooking after your instrument: the secret to bridge placement
Is a reluctance to adjust your own bridge resulting in unnecessary trips to the luthier? Paris Andrew from the Women in Lutherie community explains how it’s done
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GalleryFrom the Archive: a violin by J.B. Guadagnini, Parma 1769
This illustration of a violin by J.B. Guadagnini was published in The Strad, November 1938. The following text is extracted from the article accompanying the photographs
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GalleryFrom the Archive: a violin by J.B. Guadagnini, Turin, 1780, the ‘Louis Spohr’
This illustration of the ‘Louis Spohr’ Guadagnini was published in The Strad, March 1962. The following text is extracted from the article accompanying the photographs: The J.B. Guadagnini illustrated is one of the finest specimens of this maker’s Turin works in existence. Like the best Guadagnini violins of the Turin ...
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Designing and making a ferrule
This small part of a bow frog can have a huge effect on the bow’s final overall style
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Change and decay?
Matthieu Besseling argues we are currently seeing a ‘second transition period’ in instrument and bow making, analogous to the changes at the end of the 18th century – but are they all to the good?
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NewsAustralian Chamber Orchestra acquires ‘ex-Dollfus’ Stradivari violin
The 1732 instrument will be played by ACO principal violin Helena Rathbone
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News1714 ‘da Vinci, ex-Seidel’ Stradivari violin sells for $15.34m
The sale of the violin heard on the soundtrack to The Wizard of Oz constitutes the second-highest amount ever paid for a Stradivari violin at auction
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GalleryPhoto gallery: Daniela Gaidano’s Violoncello da Spalla
Italian luthier Daniela Gaidano offers an introduction to her ‘shoulder cello’, pictures of the construction process, as well as a video of the instrument in action
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NewsFirst ‘del Gesù’ violin auctioned in a decade fetches £3.5 million
The 1736 Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin was sold on Friday 3 June by Aguttes auction house in France
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NewsUK ivory ban comes into force
As of 6 June, anything made of or containing ivory must be registered before a sale in Britain
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1904 violin by Erminio Montefiori
Alberto Giordano looks at the self-taught Italian luthier’s 20th-century instrument
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NewsStradivari’s c.1679 ‘Hellier’ violin to be sold at auction
The inlaid instrument will go under the hammer at Christie’s London on 7 July 2022
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Premium ❘ FeatureFluorescence: Reflected glories
Viewing instruments in different kinds of light has become standard in documentation and assessment. Leonhard Rank explains how, in addition to ultraviolet light, researchers can now use infrared, and even parts of the visible spectrum, to reveal even more secrets
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Premium ❘ FeatureBaroque Set-up: In a Land without Rules
With the growth in popularity of historically informed performance, more players are requesting Baroque-style instruments – but the process of converting an instrument is fraught with uncertainty. Sarah Peck presents an overview of the Baroque set-up process, and corrects some common misconceptions along the way
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Premium ❘ Feature‘And the thieves got clean away’: From the archive: June 1892
An anonymous article entitled ‘Fiddle Dealers, Beware!’ reveals how two of London’s best-known violin dealers were swindled by a pair of European con artists
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Historically Informed?
Are the gut strings used in HIP really true to those used by 18th- and 19th-century players? Kai Köpp examines the technical reasons why today’s strings might sound quite different from their predecessors
