All Lutherie articles – Page 47
-
FocusThe 'Four Circles' system of violin making
Luthier Kevin Kelly explains his ‘Four Circles’ system for instrument design, adaptable to violins, violas and cellos
-
FocusPlane and simple: steel bow planes
Taking inspiration from the design of traditional French bow-making tools, these bow planes are constructed from machine-tooled steel that has been ground and flash-chromed for additional durability. The blades are custom-made by Hock tools and are also available separately. Triangle Strings bow plane from $160, blade only ...
-
VideoLuca Ruggiero: Spreading varnish with the fingers
The Italian luthier demonstrates his personal technique for applying varnish on a finished instrument
-
FocusIn focus: the 1706 'Brott-Turner/Schumacher' Tecchler cello
Tom Wilder examines an instrument in an excellent state of preservation by the foremost maker of the Roman school. From the September 2014 issue of The Strad
-
FocusBlank canvas: unvarnished 5-string instruments
These unvarnished five-string violins and violas are built by a Chinese maker using flamed maple and seasoned spruce. They feature extra-wide necks, extended pegboxes and adjusted bass-bars, and most have one-piece backs. Both designs are based on Stradivari models and include ebony fingerboards, nuts and saddles. While ...
-
NewsSaving Stradivari's forests: effort to harvest precious tonewoods felled in storms
A factory in the Fiemme valley has launched a crowdfunding effort to enable it to quadruple its processing capacity before the wood deteriorates
-
FocusIn focus: 1850 violin by Giuseppe Rocca
John Dilworth examines a violin from the height of Rocca’s powers, after he left the Pressenda workshop to strike out on his own. From the January 2011 issue of The Strad
-
FocusMaster stroke: Schilbach varnishing brush
The tapered and split synthetic fibres of this brush are designed to absorb a large volume of oil or spirit varnish, to enable its controlled and uniform application. It has an untreated hornbeam wood handle and solvent-resistant plastic ferrule, eliminating the risk of staining to the varnish ...
-
FocusAll kitted out: violin accessory set
Manufactured in India to Italian designs, these accessory sets comprise four heart-shaped pegs, a decorative end-button, a Guarneri-style chinrest with Hill-style clamps and a Hill-style tailpiece. They are available in ebony and rosewood with a black trim to the tailpiece and black pin collars and pegs, and in boxwood trimmed ...
-
FocusFirmly fastened: the Schilbach Kevlar tailgut
Using military-grade materials to improve set-up stability Kevlar is familiar to most people as a material used inside bulletproof vests. According to German manufacturer Schilbach, however, this strength also makes Kevlar a useful component in the tailgut that fastens an instrument’s tailpiece to the button at the ...
-
FocusA cut above: Lee Valley stainless steel pocket plane
To celebrate its 40th anniversary, Canadian woodworking firm Lee Valley has produced a limited-edition version of its pocket plane in corrosion-resistant stainless steel and with a nickel-plated lever cap. The plane measures approximately 115mm by 30mm and weighs 285g; its blade measures 22mm across and is set ...
-
FocusIn focus: 1764 violin by Giovanni Battista Gabrielli
In this article from the February 2009 issue, Gabriele Rossi Rognoni examines an instrument by probably the most prominent Florentine maker, about whom very little information survives. Photographs by Marco Rabatti, Serge Domingie
-
VideoThe 'Four Circles' approach to violin making
In the January 2019 issue of The Strad, luthier Kevin Kelly describes his geometrical method for violin design. This video is intended to provide a visual accompaniment to the article. ’In the past, there must have been a system of design that makers could easily understand and follow, with ...
-
VideoPhotographing a Stradivarius
In this video from 2013, still life photographer Søren Jonesen photographs the 1714 ‘Yoldi-Moldenhauer’ Stradivari. The photoshoot was organised by Danish high-end digital photography company Phase One working with Andy Lim of Darling Publications, which printed a monograph featuring the photos and history of the instrument. The concept was to ...
-
VideoDie Seele der Geige: documentary featuring Frank Peter Zimmermann and luthier Martin Schleske
[n.b. no English subtitles. As broadcast on Arte.tv, the film is in German, or click the gear icon to change to French.] This documentary, a coproduction by EuroArts and BR (Bavarian Broadcasting), follows violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann in 2016 as he reunites with the ‘Lady Inchiquin’ Stradivari, after a period ...
-
VideoHow many luthiers does it take to make two violins in a week?
This video follows the week-long process of making two new violins for the Royal Northern College of Music instrument collection during its Strings Festival in March 2018. Luthiers Kai-Thomas Roth, William Castle, Marc Soubeyran and Tibor Szemmelveisz collaborated on building two violins between 2 and 8 March, one based on ...
-
Focus4 tips on using antiquing methods to give an instrument a warm look
John Simmers shares his wisdom on finding a balance between antiquing and not antiquing
-
VideoDavid Leonard Wiedmer and Léa Trombert in comic promo
Léa Trombert and David Leonard Wiedmer, who share a workshop in Lyon, France, star in what starts looking like a standard promotional video. David Leonard Wiedmer won a number of medals at the 2018 VSA Competition, including Gold for violin, Gold for cello (in collaboration with Damien Gest) and Silver ...
-
NewsVSA honours instrument and bow makers in biennial competition
Violin Society of America convention in Cleveland reveals winners in violin, viola, cello, bass, quartet and bow categories
-
FocusIn focus: violin by Vincenzo Postiglione, 1891
Sean Bishop examines a violin by the most prolific and finest Neapolitan makers of the second half of the 19th century. From the January 2008 issue. Photographs by Richard Valencia [click ‘+’ to zoom]
