New book out: "The Violin Builder"

[Kerry Krishna]

This book was recomended to me by the owner of the large book store were I live downstairs. I just finished reading it, and it only took me two and a half hours. The author follows the building if a violin by one of the top Luthiers in the country that is being built for one of the top players. The player owns a Strad that is quite tempermental (as almost all of the 'Old Guys' fiddles are) and he needs a fiddle that can travel well. I found the book fasinating, and would recomend it to any would be Luthier. I bought 3 more copies after I finished it, and will be giving them to 3 luthiers in Winnipeg on a visit I have planed for next week. If you have ever built any instruments or done any extensive repairs, this book will keep you turning the pages! (no financial intrest here!)...Kerry K

[grandmainger]

Sounds interesting. Can you give us the name of the author, and the ISBN number?

[Philphool]

Is this the right one? Looks good.

The Violin Maker: Finding a Centuries-Old Tradition in a Brooklyn Workshop by John Marchese (Mar 27, 2007)

[Steevarino]

Phil --

I don't know if the book you mentioned was the one Kerry was talking about or not, but I did read the one you listed, and it is a very good read. I am not a vionlin guy (at all) but I saw a lot of parallels between mandolin building and violin building after reading this book. Lots of talk about tone. Lots of talk about tonewoods. Also a lot of interaction and feelings between the builder and the musician. I read this book a couple of years ago, and still think back on it from time to time.

Highly recommended, and as I recall they are almost giving it away at amazon.com, or they were at the time.

Steve Smith
www.CumberlandAcoustic.com
www.RedLineResophonics.com

[wasatch1]

Also from the non-mandolin world there is "Clapton's Guitar" by Allen St. John. The story of Wayne Henderson and the building of two guitars - from the sourcing of rosewood to the whittling of tone bars with a pen knife. Quick read with lots of anecdotes about a world-class builder and pre-war Martin's mixed in.

I can still smell the sawdust.

written in 2005, ISBN - 978-0-7432-6635-2

[Forrest Mandolins]

I read this book about a month ago. I found it at the local library. I ended up reading it in two sessions. I found this to be a well written inspiring book.

[Nelson Peddycoart]

I am reading it now. It is very interesting.

[Kerry Krishna]

Pretty interesting that this thread is opening after all this time. I sure stand by what I said in that this is an incredible read, and almost any Luthier in the country would be interested in it.

[Dale Ludewig]

On a related note, I just watched a DVD called Note By Note. It's about the building of a Steinway. I believe the person responsible for the video was named Giles. It's fascinating. I think my wife and I watched it 3 times before I had to get it back to the library.

[whyner]

...and almost any Luthier in the country would be interested in it...

It is a good book, just finished it. I think this should be required reading for anyone 'working with' a builder to make them the dream instrument. The book was pretty balanced, I thought.

But I came away with a huge appreciation of any luthier that would take orders for custom built mandolins. At least violins are somewhat standard and it seemed Drucker for the most part let Sam do his thing, which I thought was respectful and professional. Mandolins OTOH, with the variety of styles and appointments, and the nitpicking over details, I'm amazed that any builder would take orders. Well at $50K a pop maybe it would make more sense...

Steve bonehead noob
Oregon

[Kerry Krishna]

The most amazing part of the book was when the Luthier phoned to buyer to ask if he wanted the instrument 'relic'd! Buyer said yes (38k violin too!) It's amazing that the big classical violin players are embarrassed to be playing instruments that LOOK brand new. The violin was perfectly varnished and ready to be picked up, then over to the table with all the tools to do the relic-ing. Sandpaper, scrappers, screwdrivers dye , and after 8 hours, the thing looks like it is two hundred years old. Mind you something like this is way easier if you have 200 year old fiddles in front of you to copy. Imagine getting John Monteleone to do this to a brand new archtop guitar, or Dude to do one of his brand new mandolins? But in the violin world, it is always the last question asked before delivery. Amazing. The other amazing part is that any violin player who gets to play this instrument, and knows it is only a month old, would not even think twice about it! The Luthiers call it Ageing though, not relic-ing.

[Paul Kotapish]

The Luthiers call it Ageing though, not relic-ing.

Not all violin makers or violinists love that particular tradition, but it's not uncommon for orchestras and conductors to require vintage--or at least vintage-looking--instruments in the strings section. I know a number of good violin builders--and have interviewed many more--and most are delighted when a patron requests a violin that looks like it just came off the bench and not a bit surprised when a patron wants it to look just like an old Strad or Amati.

There are a number of violin makers pushing the boundaries and challenging the received canon of violin construction and design, but most of them still make their bread and butter building new instruments that look old.

In the mandolin world, I think the predominant term these days is "distressing," which pretty well describes how some folks feel about the process. My instruments take on a slightly vintage look over time, but I'm in no particular hurry. The dings come when they come.