All Making articles
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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 ❘ FocusTrade secrets: bending the slope on a viola da gamba back
Care and accuracy are both essential for this delicate part of the making process. By Gabriela Guadalajara, luthier based in New York, NY, US
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Premium ❘ FeatureUniversal Harmony: the ‘Four Circles’ system of violin making
Luthiers over the past three centuries have used a vast number of patterns for their instruments – but the basic geometric principles remain constant across them all. Kevin Kelly explains his ‘Four Circles’ system for instrument design, adaptable to violins, violas and cellos
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Premium ❘ FocusTrade secrets: a method for cooking oil varnish by Nicolas Gilles
A technique that relies on the senses and helps you get the right varnish for your needs, by Nicolas Gilles, luthier in Villeneuvette, France
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Premium ❘ FeatureStradivari’s corners: Music of the spheres
The publication of high-accuracy violin photography has opened up new possibilities for researching Cremonese masterpieces up close and en masse. Philip Ihle examines Antonio Stradivari’s purfling corners across 136 examples and reveals their relationship with the luthier’s forms
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Premium ❘ FeatureSeeing red
Madder root has been used since ancient times to provide a deep red pigment – but the process of making it remains mysterious. For the past three years Hugh Withycombe and Guy Harrison have tested different methods to get the recipe just right – and can now reveal their findings
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Premium ❘ FeatureShould violin makers embrace cutting edge computer analysis?
Violin maker Sam Zygmuntowicz explores how high-tech ways of analysing violins and their sound could help makers and even influence the future forms of instruments
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BlogsViola 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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Focus9 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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ArticleGallery: 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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GalleryNew 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
