A del Gesu Guarneri as interpreted by Vuillaume was my launching point for this violin. Yes, an idiosyncratic place to begin, but it’s what I had to work with when I made my first two violins some years ago and they came out astonishingly well. The time was ripe to revisit that early success and […]
There is great satisfaction carving crisp shavings with a sharp gouge. Knowing that these cuts fundamentally shape the sounds the finished instrument is capable of producing makes it a task I begin with relish and trepidation. And so it begins. I lay out a map of the rough thickness I’ll initially shoot for then drill
Process: Hollowing the Back Read More »
Perhaps not what you musicians had in mind — but whether it’s making a violin or viola or something a lot more physical, like cutting up a hickory or oak tree for the wood-stove I enjoy working with wood. I cut up windfalls or heavily damaged trees on our property (with lots of help from