Work In Progress

After a busy summer with lots of visitors and catching up with odds and ends in the workshop, I'm back properly at the bench with a new viola. This is one of my favourite models; it's small enough to be really comfortable for anyone with problems playing a larger viola, but the sound is still powerful enough for professional use; I've made it more than once for players including a member of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. I've had fun picking out the wood for this viola, and was … [Read more...]

I find that as life goes on it gets more varied and I collect additional interests, sometimes more than I really have time for. Recently I've developed a side interest in restoration, mainly just from my own curiosity, so the last two or three months have been spent on that, including a fantastic course run by the British Violin Making Association at Halsway Manor in Somerset, where I developed my skills with the help of three outstanding tutors. And latterly I was back at Halsway for a course … [Read more...]

It's lovely to be back making a new violin after a prolonged period pursuing other violin making projects.  This one is for an American player; I made them a 14 1/4 inch cornerless viola a few years ago which has worked well. So now a violin is to be added to the collection. Abi wanted a slightly undersized violin so this model fits the bill. Many of the Guarneri del Gesù violins are on the smaller side, with a shorter string length, so they work perfectly for players who like a … [Read more...]