Technical – Page 16
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Video
An afternoon with Carlos Arcieri
Luthier Carlos Arcieri is seen in his workshop in this short film by Emilio Seri made in 2018. Arcieri worked Wurlitzer’s in New York under Simone Sacconi and alongside René Morel, John Roskoski, Dario D’Attili, Luiz Bellini, William Salchow, Mario D’Alessandro and Vahakn Nigogosian until the shop closed in 1974. ...
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Premium ❘ Feature
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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Video
Closer to Nature – a documentary about violin maker Dmitry Badiarov
The Russian violin-maker Dmitry Badiarov (based in the Netherlands) developed his love for carving wood after deciding to build his first sailing ship, aged 5. Since then his love for making violins has co-existed with his passion for sailing and the sea. In this film, which was presented at a ...
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Blogs
Viola Rush: a 3-day collaborative instrument project
Earlier this year, Antoine Gourdon put together a team of four luthiers to make a small viola in three days during the Viola 2019 conference in Paris. Here he introduces the project, shares photos and more
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Premium ❘ Feature
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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Premium ❘ Feature
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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Premium ❘ Feature
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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Focus
9 views on antiquing a modern violin
Tips and opinions from The Strad's archive on capturing a classic look in new instruments – or not
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Video
PBS NewsHour segment on Italian spruce tonewood forests
Severe storms last year tore down vast swathes of spruce forest in the Italian Alps, including in the Fiemme valley where conditions favour growth suitable for tonewood. As The Strad has reported, efforts have been ongoing to process trees suitable for tonewood before they begin to deteriorate.
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Premium ❘ Feature
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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Premium ❘ Feature
My Space: Charlélie Dauriat
A glimpse into the workshop of the luthier based in the Château de Gourville, France
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Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Making a mould and rib structure for a copy of an old instrument
A method that compensates for the differences in outline of the front and back plates
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Article
Gallery: A violin made out of shredded money
‘The Value of a Violin’ is on exhibition at the Design Museum Ghent during the Queen Elisabeth competition
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Gallery
New violin design to be demonstrated in Lisbon on 11 April
The ‘Santa Cecilia’ violin is being unveiled at the Symposium of the ICTM Study Group on Musical Instruments
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Debate
What do the new UK ivory regulations mean for bows?
A new UK requirement to register all ivory-tipped bows will affect music shops, auction houses and the musicians themselves. Peter Somerford examines what the implications are for the industry
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Focus
The Cello Maker: Robin Aitchison
The Academy of Ancient Music has produced this film exploring the craft of cello maker Robin Aitchison, focusing on his copies of instruments by Stradivari, Montagnana and Guadagnini. The film is the first in a series called Breaking Down Baroque to be released by the Academy of Ancient Music and ...
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News
Stradivari's forests: ongoing effort to salvage tonewood trees felled by storms
A factory in the Fiemme valley is asking luthiers and the public to buy IOUs so it can quadruple its processing capacity before the wood deteriorates
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Video
Making fine violins out of fungus-treated wood
In this video we hear from the researcher Francis Schwarze, who, together with a Swiss violin maker has treated wood used for instrument making with Physisporinus vitreus, a white-rot fungus that attacks and destroys certain structures in spruce, in order to build violins that sound as fine as antique masterpieces.
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Focus
Is it a real Stradivarius? How to check the authenticity and value of a violin
A reader has inherited an old Italian violin, in this case a Landolfi. In fact, finding a violin in a grandparent’s attic is some people’s first introduction to the stringed-instrument world. What’s the next step regarding authentication?
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Video
In the workshop with luthier Noémie Viaud
Violin maker Noémie Viaud in her workshop in Denmark, filmed by Nikolaj Lund. Viaud is featured in the Strad’s February 2019 ‘My Space’ column, discussing her workshop and career to date: ‘I’ve been based in Denmark for the past twelve years. I’m originally from France and learnt violin making at ...