All Making articles – Page 2
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VideoReplicating a Benoit Joseph Boussu
In this video, violin maker and researcher Geerten Verberkmoes puts the finishing touches to a replica of a violin by Benoit Joseph Boussu, using construction methods most likely employed by the 18th-century French luthier.
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FocusBuilding bridges: a photo essay
Have you ever wondered who makes the world’s stringed instrument bridges, and how? In this gallery, we follow the process from tree trunk to blank bridge
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FocusWhy is the thickness of the front and back of Stradivari's instruments so unpredictable?
Although there is no record of how the Cremonese makers finished their instruments, Dirk Jacob Hamoen argues that the final scraping was done after they had been strung up and played in the white
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FocusFüssen, Germany’s first lutherie capital, began as a hotbed of lute making
Nowadays best known for its neo-Gothic castles, this south German town has possibly the oldest lutherie tradition of any in the country. In this extract from the April 2018 issue of The Strad, Thomas Riedmiller traces its beginnings
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NewsLuthiers sans Frontieres back on the road with Philippines project
UK chapter of charity based at Newark School of Violin Making makes its twelfth overall mission and first visit to Bataan over Easter
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VideoCollaborative violin making - LIVE!
This is a live stream from the Violin Makers project at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK, during its Strings Festival. Luthiers Kai-Thomas Roth, William Castle, Marc Soubeyran and Tibor Szemmelveisz are collaborating on building two violins in seven days (2-8 March) - one is based on ...
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FocusThe mislabelled template which proves Stradivari's role in inventing the modern violin case
For decades, debate has raged over whether instrument cases were ever made in Stradivari’s workshop. Now, a template has come to light that apparently proves that they were, writes Glenn Wood
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FocusTrade Secrets: Christian Bayon’s method for making a bass-bar
The French luthier shares his design for a new type of bass bar which is both a strong support and allows the top plate to vibrate more freely
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FocusFrom the archive: a 1792 viola by Venetian maker Anselmo Bellosio
In this extract from an article in the June 1992 issue of The Strad, John Dilworth takes a look at a small viola by the last of the great Venetian makers
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FocusCT scanning for luthiers: an essential guide
Increasingly, researchers are using technical CT scanners to examine instruments for construction secrets to woodworm and previous repairs. Rudolf Hopfner presents a guide to the technology and the microscopic details it can reveal
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FocusAsk the experts: What should a luthier look for when choosing tonewood?
For a beginner luthier, choosing the perfect spruce and maple for an instrument can be a confusing process. Three experts in wood selection offer some guidelines
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FocusDragonetti’s Gasparo da Salò double bass and its seismic effect on English lutherie
The importance to English bass making of the great Italian double bassist Domenico Dragonetti has been underestimated. Bass makers Thomas Martin, Martin Lawrence and George Martin reveal how the musician and his Gasparo da Salò instrument had a direct influence on London’s luthiers
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GalleryFrom The Strad Calendar 2018: Stradivarius 'Chigiano' cello, 1680
Based in Cremona, the Friends of Stradivari network brings together instruments owned by collectors and stringed-instrument enthusiasts from around the world. The Strad Calendar 2018 celebrates twelve of these treasures, with this cello from the Fondazione Accademia Chigiana collection featuring in December. Text by John Dilworth
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FocusFrom the archive: Rivka Golani talks about her Otto Erdesz viola
These photographs of a cutaway viola by Otto Erdesz appeared in the May 1991 issue of The Strad alongside an interview with Israeli violist Rivka Golani, who still plays the instrument to this day. An extract of the article by Mark Pappenheim is below
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FocusFrom the archive: Yehudi Menuhin discusses his violins, including this Guarneri copy by Glen Collins
These photographs of a 1987 copy of the ‘d’Egville’ Guarneri by Glen Collins appeared in the April 1991 issue alongside an interview feature with Yehudi Menuhin on the occasion of his 75th birthday. The interviewer was Tully Potter – who still works with The Strad as our historical consultant
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FocusLuthiers' favourite gadgets from ancient plant matter to the latest tech
We asked some top makers and restorers to share their favourite labour-saving devices, and got a fascinatingly broad range of responses
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VideoFinding Bespoke: The Violinmaker – A film by Michael Bernard featuring Benning Violins
Filmmaker Michael Bernard’s short film in his ‘Finding Bespoke’ series visits Benning Violins, a four-generation lutherie workshop in Los Angeles. Eric Benning is featured in the December 2017 issue of The Strad’s ‘My Space’ column – to read the full article, download the issue on desktop computer, ...
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FocusHi-res revelations: how CT scanning is revealing the secrets of the old Cremonese makers
In the January 2018 issue of The Strad, Rudolf Hopfner explores the CT scanning of stringed instruments, explaining how the technology works, some of the terms involved, and exactly what kind of revelations can be gleaned from the resulting images. Below, he interprets CT images of instruments by Amati, Stradivari, ...
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FocusCan these new tailpiece designs raise the tonal game of your instrument?
Until recently, the importance of an instrument’s tailpiece was barely realised. Vicky Sharpe talks to some of the craftsmen who have been experimenting with different materials and designs to help maximise an instrument’s sound quality