Craftsmanship

In the world of violin making, very little has changed in the construction of a violin, viola or cello, except for a more in-depth understanding of the acoustics that are involved in the making of a great sounding instrument. The violin is made up of over fifty parts that come together to create the instrument. Some 200 hours of skilled wood working, take the raw pieces of wood and transform them into the instruments that we love so well. The woods chosen for the violin are based on tradition and sound producing qualities. The top is almost always made of spruce, the back, neck and ribs are almost always of maple. You see some variation in cellos, in which sometimes backs are made from poplar and tops sometimes cedar, but for the most part, spruce and maple are the woods of choice. These two woods give the violin, viola or cello their characteristic sound and the way you manipulate the wood, will change the quality and tone of the sound. Hand tools that have been used for hundreds of years are still used today. From the tiny finger plans, to the large gouges, to fine scrapers, the Luthiers art of making string instruments has been painstakingly passed down from generation to generation either through schools or through apprenticeships, so that the time honored tradition of craftsmanship and quality still holds true in today’s instruments as it did in Stradivari’s day.