The Violins

I like to make powerful, responsive violins with an emphasis on traditional design and craftsmanship.

I have been fortunate to have a career as a violinist myself and it has helped me refine my work to make beautiful tools for players who demand high performing instruments.

Personally, I enjoy a violin which feels generous and leaps to the player’s needs. It should have the capacity to allow the player to draw from ever increasing depths. At the same time a violin should demand the very best from you and inspire through its appearance and tone. This is what I try to achieve through my making.

A Note on the Aesthetics of Modern Making.

Some of my work is “clean” (no antiquing), which I enjoy as it pushes my workmanship to be the very best it can be. When finished exceptionally well a “clean” violin has a beauty all its own. This is how Antonio Stradivari and Nicolo Amati finished their instruments. A clear canvas for the player to decorate with the inevitable patterns of habit; the wear and knocks that all working instruments develop, even with careful handling. This can be a painful and beautiful process for those of us who love our instruments. It is really through the life of historical instruments that we have cultivated our sense of what is beautiful in a violin.

Often, to the modern eye, a ‘beautiful instrument’ is basically synonymous with a violin having a few centuries of playing under its belt. Because of this taste for old instruments, many players even prefer new violins to have a bit of help in this direction. So I also like to make violins who’s appearance is not marred by first contact with a music stand or the edge of a case and which has a softer character, with tasteful discolouration in certain areas of the varnish.

I am more than happy to discuss and accommodate different preferences if you are looking to commission an instrument. Or you are welcome to visit my workshop in person and try a selection of my finished instruments.

The Workshop

I have been developing a relationship with these beautiful instruments for almost 30 years. First as a violinist working in numerous styles and traditions, I have had the opportunity to acquire a wealth of insight into the requirements of performers and recording musicians. Power, tone, resonance and response must all be balanced, both in the choice of model, materials and setup tailored to each player.

My workshop focuses on traditional techniques which have withstood the test of the centuries. While I try to strike a balance between the old and new in my craft, I feel the efficiency of modern tools often distances me from my materials and interferes with the intimate work which gives my instruments their particular character.

Like all modern makers I benefit from over 400 years of the development of violin makers’ techniques. From the great Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri families in Cremona at the beginning of the 1600s through the 1750s, and all the way to current day makers across Europe and then the rest of the world. Endless evolutions and the inventions of the finest makers of four centuries are a treasure not to be ignored.

There is always a tension between our admiration of the artistry of the old masters and a constant, uncompromising effort to surpass their brilliance. I believe this tension keeps our traditional craft vigorous and very much alive.

Thank you for visiting

If you are interested in my current stock of instruments, or if you would like to discuss a commission, please email me using the contact form at the bottom of this page. I’ll be more than happy to arrange a call or a visit to my workshop.