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Technical
Focus
Small wonders: The soundpost
For John Dilworth, an instrument’s heart and soul lie in one tiny piece of spruce
Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Repairing a broken bow head
A less invasive and more reversible version of a well-known repair method
Focus
Small wonders: The tailgut
How gut, steel, nylon and now parachute cord have brought change to the luthier’s craft
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Photogrammetry to produce casts
Guy Harrison describes the process of using photogrammetry – the extraction of 3D information from photographs – to produce casts of instrument archings
- Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: A 1777 viola by Luigi Marconcini
Jonathan Marolle examines a viola with a personal style
- Focus
Small wonders: The linseed
For John Dilworth, the humble grain’s oil can enrobe a violin’s bare wood and flaunt its rippling curves
- Premium ❘ Feature
Plate archings and tone: Room to breathe
Nigel Harris presents evidence, theoretical and experimental, regarding the ‘breathing action’ of the plates
- Focus
Small Wonders: The top-block
For John Dilworth, a simple piece of willow or spruce can become a sanctum for covert messages
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Restoring the octagon of a violin bow
A repair method that avoids having to rebuild the whole octagon from scratch
- Focus
Small Wonders: In praise of purfling
John Dilworth has a soft spot for the slender ribbons that give the violin a vital part of its personality
- Focus
Small Wonders: The joy of pegs
Fitting a peg is not just a satisfying task, it can also be a sensuous pleasure
- Focus
Small wonders: A hymn to glue
John Dilworth sings the praises of natural adhesive in violin making in this article from February 2013
- Focus
Small Wonders: The corner-block
John Dilworth celebrates the more humble yet essential parts of a violin in the first of a series of articles from 2013
- Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: An 1824 violin by Nicolas Lupot
Richard Ward looks at an instrument made in the last year of the French luthier’s life
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Making purfling with fish glue
A flexible method for luthiers who prefer to make their own purfling rather than buy it ready-made
- Focus
Back in stock at The Strad Shop: The Best of Trade Secrets 1-5
The five volumes comprise articles on all aspects of stringed instrument making and restoration
- Premium ❘ Feature
Under pressure: Dealing with humidity
Jacqueline Vanasse asks players and experts how to deal with the challenges of changing environments
- Premium ❘ Feature
How did Cremonese luthiers use consistent measurements?
Simone Zopf argues that there was in fact a single unit of measurement from which most of the rest can be derived
- Focus
Cremonese measurements: the use of the Roman oncia
Video showing how an instrument outline can be created using just one measurement and a set of concentric circles
- Article
Making Matters: Off-Beat Violins
Luthier Andrew Carruthers demonstrates the sound quality of his ’X’ and ‘O’ violins, the ‘Tabolin’ and the ‘Ripple cello’
- Premium ❘ Feature
Making Matters: A new take on an old classic
To combat the tedium of the Covid-19 lockdowns, Andrea Schudtz embarked on a project to copy a decorated Andrea Amati violin – but with a modern twist
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Cleaning and repairing surfaces before closing an instrument top
An essential procedure for repair work on older instruments
- Premium ❘ Feature
The art of Computer Numerical Control arching
Yann Poulain reveals his method for roughing out the arching of the front and back plates using the technology
- Premium ❘ Feature
Micro-CT scanning the 1727 ‘Benvenuti’ Stradivari violin
Rudolf Hopfner, director of the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments in Vienna, explains the process of scanning an instrument, and what the scans of the ‘Benvenuti’ tell us about its construction in this article from December 2016
- Premium ❘ Feature
Making Matters: Photogrammetry to produce casts
Guy Harrison describes the process of using photogrammetry – the extraction of 3D information from photographs – to produce casts of instrument archings
- Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: A 1777 viola by Luigi Marconcini
Jonathan Marolle examines a viola with a personal style
- Focus
Small wonders: The linseed
For John Dilworth, the humble grain’s oil can enrobe a violin’s bare wood and flaunt its rippling curves
- Premium ❘ Feature
Plate archings and tone: Room to breathe
Nigel Harris presents evidence, theoretical and experimental, regarding the ‘breathing action’ of the plates
- Focus
Small Wonders: The top-block
For John Dilworth, a simple piece of willow or spruce can become a sanctum for covert messages
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Restoring the octagon of a violin bow
A repair method that avoids having to rebuild the whole octagon from scratch
- Focus
Small Wonders: In praise of purfling
John Dilworth has a soft spot for the slender ribbons that give the violin a vital part of its personality
- Focus
Small Wonders: The joy of pegs
Fitting a peg is not just a satisfying task, it can also be a sensuous pleasure
- Focus
Small wonders: A hymn to glue
John Dilworth sings the praises of natural adhesive in violin making in this article from February 2013
- Focus
Small Wonders: The corner-block
John Dilworth celebrates the more humble yet essential parts of a violin in the first of a series of articles from 2013
- Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: An 1824 violin by Nicolas Lupot
Richard Ward looks at an instrument made in the last year of the French luthier’s life
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Making purfling with fish glue
A flexible method for luthiers who prefer to make their own purfling rather than buy it ready-made
- Focus
Back in stock at The Strad Shop: The Best of Trade Secrets 1-5
The five volumes comprise articles on all aspects of stringed instrument making and restoration
- Premium ❘ Feature
Under pressure: Dealing with humidity
Jacqueline Vanasse asks players and experts how to deal with the challenges of changing environments
- Premium ❘ Feature
How did Cremonese luthiers use consistent measurements?
Simone Zopf argues that there was in fact a single unit of measurement from which most of the rest can be derived
- Focus
Cremonese measurements: the use of the Roman oncia
Video showing how an instrument outline can be created using just one measurement and a set of concentric circles
- Article
Making Matters: Off-Beat Violins
Luthier Andrew Carruthers demonstrates the sound quality of his ’X’ and ‘O’ violins, the ‘Tabolin’ and the ‘Ripple cello’
- Premium ❘ Feature
Making Matters: A new take on an old classic
To combat the tedium of the Covid-19 lockdowns, Andrea Schudtz embarked on a project to copy a decorated Andrea Amati violin – but with a modern twist
- Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Cleaning and repairing surfaces before closing an instrument top
An essential procedure for repair work on older instruments
- Premium ❘ Feature
The art of Computer Numerical Control arching
Yann Poulain reveals his method for roughing out the arching of the front and back plates using the technology
- Premium ❘ Feature
Micro-CT scanning the 1727 ‘Benvenuti’ Stradivari violin
Rudolf Hopfner, director of the Collection of Historic Musical Instruments in Vienna, explains the process of scanning an instrument, and what the scans of the ‘Benvenuti’ tell us about its construction in this article from December 2016
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A subscription to The Strad brings you:
- Monthly issue in print and as a digital edition
- Three special supplements and The Strad Directory
- Archive of digital issues from January 2010
- Unlimited access to all premium subscriber online content
- Two detailed instrument posters a year
- Interviews with star string players
- Masterclasses with commentary
- Sheet music annotated by international concert artist
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