Lutherie – Page 31
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FocusVarious viola variables: weight, shape and sound
In the September 2021 issue, William Castle examines how weight, shape and sound is affected in violas of various sizes
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NewsInaugural Brandenburg Violin Making Workshop 2021
Watch exclusive footage of the week-long workshop in August, the first of its kind in Europe
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FocusGut reaction: the worst job in history?
How to make gut strings the 18th-century way. From February 2011
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Premium ❘ FeatureGut strings: A strong stomach for strings
As gut becomes increasingly popular among players, Jenny Nex uncovers documents revealing the pioneers of the string making trade of 18th-century London, and the secrets behind the messy job of processing intestines. From February 2011
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Premium ❘ FeatureAntiquing: The art of deception?
Making a new instrument look old is a painstaking craft that requires skill, patience and imagination. But why do luthiers spend their time creating an unreal effect? Peter Somerford speaks to both advocates and critics of the process
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Premium ❘ FeatureViola sizes: Size does matter
Viola players everywhere know the difficulty in finding the perfect instrument – but how many realise the differences that size, shape and weight can make to playability and tone? William Castle gives a step-by-step guide to finding the one that’s right for you
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Premium ❘ FeatureViolin making and AI: Intelligent design
The science of violin acoustics has encompassed 3D scanning, CNC technology and good old-fashioned tap tones – so why not AI software? Sebastian Gonzalez presents the results of a project that could help predict an instrument’s tone qualities even before it’s made
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Premium ❘ ArticleAuction Report: September 2021
The June auctions in the UK capital brought together a number of interesting bows and instruments, with signs that the market is on the up and up, writes Kevin MacDonald
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1911 violin by Anatoly Leman
Yuri Pochekin details an instrument by one of the most important figures in Russian violin making history
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Varnish crackle effects
An easy approach to varnish crackle and faux crackle techniques that could be applied to restoration and antiquing
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ReviewBook review: Feine und bedeutende Streichinstrumente
Benjamin Hebbert reviews an anthology of instruments by German violin dealer Rudolf Eckstein, witht text in German and English
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FocusA weighty argument: wood density in violins
John Waddle, Steve Rossow and Steve Sirr discuss how wood density can vastly affect the acoustic properties of violins
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FocusCT scanning and the ‘Betts’ Stradivari
John Waddle shows how CT scanning technology is used to examine the structure and wood density of the ‘Betts’ Stradivari
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Premium ❘ FocusThe geometry of violin outlines: Proportional representation
In this article from March 1990, Leslie Wyatt offers a rational and coherent geometrical method for the construction of an inner form outline and for sizing and positioning the f-holes, to break free from the traditional slavish reproduction of classical instruments
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Premium ❘ FeatureClimate conundrum: Does wood from the ‘Little Ice Age’ account for the brilliance of Stradivari’s violins?
Did Stradivari have superior wood because of exceptionally low temperatures during his lifetime? In this article from April 2014, John Waddle, Steve Rossow and Steve Sirr investigate the idea using CT scans of Cremonese instruments
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Premium ❘ FeatureThe ‘Betts’ Stradivari: The progress of progress
A century after The Strad published its first article on the Stradivari ‘Betts’ violin, maker John Waddle asks what the magazine’s descriptions of the instrument reveal about lutherie expertise, and explains his latest high-tech analyses of the instrument. Taken from the May 2010 issue
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FocusFreehand carving: identifying historical violins from Markneukirchen
In this extract, Enrico Weller and William Wisehart analyse trademark features of violins from the southern Saxony instrument-making town
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FocusCutting corner blocks: inside the Markneukirchen violin factory
Our August 2021 issue features the bow making legacy of the Herrmann family in Markneukirchen. In this extract from April 2011, Arian Sheets describes the rise and fall of factory violin making in the 20th century in the same city
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Premium ❘ FeatureMarkneukirchen: The rise and fall of Germany’s first violin factory
A small German town was the setting for an early experiment in violin mass-production. But outside economic forces threatened it from the very start. Arian Sheets traces its history, in this article from the April 2011 issue of The Strad
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FocusMarkneukirchen merging: linking the Herrmann and Knopf bow making families
In this extract from the August 2021 issue, Gennady Filimonov introduces the Herrmann family of bow makers and their close connections with their contemporaries the Knopfs
