All Technical articles – Page 7
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FocusOvercoming our addiction to tropical hardwoods: the latest alternatives
As ebony and rosewood become endangered, the likes of spruce, maple and boxwood are being scientifically modified to offer luthiers alternatives. Tom Stewart explores the brave new world of sustainable fittings
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Carving a ‘Hill-style’ saddle
Care and accuracy are needed to make a two-piece ebony saddle – in this case for cello
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Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Rainer W. Leonhardt
A Mittenwald luthier with an almost 100-year family tradition
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FeatureAsk the Experts: how to correct a violin bridge position
Three top luthiers answers a reader's query on preserving the correct instrument geometry after changing strings, in this feature from 2014
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FocusWhat to do if your violin pegs keep slipping or sticking
Korinthia Klein presents a simple player’s guide to violin maintenance, without encroaching on luthiers’ territory
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Making a Parisian-eye ring
A step-by-step guide to this intricate part of bow repair
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NewsInaugural Philharmonie de Paris lutherie competition names winners
A total of 89 cellos were submitted for the competition, to celebrate excellence in the field and promote emerging talent
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: A tool to measure string tension
How luthiers can create a device to find the optimum tension of a string – and a few good reasons to use it
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VideoThe violin made from indigenous African tonewoods
Listen to the violin made from Knysna Blackwood and Hardpear
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Making purfling
A guide for luthiers who prefer to create their own strips to use in their instruments, rather than buy them ready-made
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Premium ❘ FeatureWood treatment: The magic touch
New research has revealed how Stradivari, Amati and Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ all used tonewood that had been heavily treated with chemicals prior to carving. Wenjie Cai and Hwan-Ching Tai explain the study’s findings, and suggest it could indicate that the Cremonese makers were influenced by the contemporary alchemical beliefs
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Making an invisible neck graft
A procedure that takes a little longer than the standard method, but results in an almost undetectable fitting
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Premium ❘ FeatureSound Sculptor: Sam Zygmuntowicz
Ten years on from Strad3D, project co-developer Sam Zygmuntowicz talks to Chloe Cutts about the impact of the groundbreaking study of violin form and function within the context of the story of American lutherie and his own journey as a maker and researcher. From January 2017
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Making a custom cutter for a Parisian-eye ring
A necessary piece of equipment to tackle an uncommon problem in bow repair
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Fifth harmonies
If 5ths are driving you nuts, it may be to do with your violin nut. Itzel Ávila explains how luthiers can help by customising the piece at the top of the fingerboard to the player’s hand
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Premium ❘ FeatureStradivari varnish: Scarlet fever
How did Antonio Stradivari achieve the special deep red varnish colour that makes his later instruments so attractive? Joe Robson believes he has discovered both the composition and method for making it – and cracked one of the most enduring mysteries of the master maker. From the September 2018 issue
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Premium ❘ FeatureCremonese varnish: Shining example
A close look into the history and chemistry of varnish making can shed new light on the mysteries of classic Cremonese varnish, as Joe Robson explains, in this lutherie feature from November 2007
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Premium ❘ FeatureRecipe for success: Stradivari’s varnish
The search for Stradivari’s varnish formula has continued since the 18th century, but there have been few scientific analyses of the varnish itself. Stewart Pollens reveals the results of his recent study of the varnish on five of Stradivari’s instruments, in this feature from May 2009
