All Lutherie articles
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NewsObituary: violin maker Michael Jaumann (1966–2025)
The president of the Association of German Violin and Bow Makers was 59 years old
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FocusWhy do some 18th-century French violins have an ebony border round the edges?
Inspired by a c.1760 Chappuy instrument, violinist and cellist Michel Lorge considers the reasons for an unusual stylistic quirk of 18th-century violin making
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Premium ❘ FeatureRudolf Neudörfer: guardian of a lineage
The German bow maker Rudolf Neudörfer celebrates his 90th birthday next month. Gennady Filimonov looks back at his life and career, exploring the Neudörfer dynasty of makers and examining his bows
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Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Andreas Hampel and Susanne Riebesehl’s Hamburg workshop
The two luthiers present their German workshop
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Final scroll refinement
Some notes on finishing off one of the trickiest parts of the making process
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: How to make a lighter viola
For some violists, playing on a lighter instrument is their holy grail. Laurent Zakowsky describes his methods to accomplish this, from thinning the back to changing the chinrest
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1695 viola by Christian Reichelt
Klaus Martius and Enrico Weller examine the Bohemian maker’s instrument
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Blogs‘A Strad can throw you off’: Frank Peter Zimmermann on his instruments and bows
Our April 2026 cover star discusses the tools of his trade
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Premium ❘ FeatureInveterate innovator: Louis Noebe
Despite success in his own time, and a penchant for experimentation, German maker Louis Noebe is an almost forgotten figure in lutherie history. Clifford Hall examines his life and achievements
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Premium ❘ FeatureUS school repair shops: close to home
In US public school music programmes, broken instruments can harm students’ learning and create stress for teachers. Rita Fernandes discovers the schools that are tackling the problem head on by offering free repairs via in-house repair shops
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Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Nurgül Çomak’s Istanbul workshop
The Turkish maker presents her workshop in the cosmopolitan city
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Smoke treatment in Stradivari's instruments
Did Stradivari apply a smoke treatment to his tonewood before starting an instrument? Joseph Nagyvary argues that he did, and examines how the process could benefit luthiers today
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn a spirit of collaboration: Brandenburg experiments
Makers at the annual Brandenburg violin making workshop joined forces on a two-year project to build and test two identical violins, one of which was made with treated wood. The results were intriguing. Adam Winskill reports on the methodology and findings
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Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Even split, even grain
A simple method for joining plates with even grain orientation
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NewsAustralian Chamber Orchestra acquires 1610 Maggini viola
The instrument will be played by ACO principal viola Stefanie Farrands
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Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A c.1880–90 viola by Enrico Marchetti
Sean Bishop examines the late-nineteenth-century instrument
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Focus‘Struck by the instrument’s unique voice’: playing the Pressenda double bass
Davide Botto, who acquired the Pressenda bass in 2017, describes the tone quality of the instrument
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FocusWhat violin does Nemanja Radulović play?
Luthier Francesco Coquoz shares thoughts on Radulović’s violin
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking history: Pressenda double bass
Until now, it was believed that the Turin-based luthier Giovanni Francesco Pressenda had never made a double bass. Tsutomu Miyasaka reveals how an instrument was recently identified that rewrote the story
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Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: an expert team varnishes a copy of the ‘Farina’ Montagnana cello
Mark Schnurr looks back at the process of varnishing a copy of the 1730 ‘Farina’ Montagnana cello at the 2024 Oberlin Violin Making Workshop
