modern violin maker
These days, much of my work is made to commission, and I also sometimes have instruments available from stock, as well as occasionally earlier ones on resale or instruments by other makers that I have worked on. Find out more about current work at work in progress.
I can send violins and violas by courier company either in the UK or abroad.
Please contact me if you’re interested in a resale instrument or rental; there may be something coming available soon.
My instruments at the moment are mostly made to commission, though from time to time I offer earlier instruments for resale. If you’d like to know if anything suitable is coming up, please get in touch.
Violin by Peter Croll
Peter Croll was a student at Newark School of Violin Making in the 1970s, in the year above me. He had a slightly nomadic life, mixing violin making with folk music and travel, working in Germany and here in the UK, and our paths crossed from time to time. He died in 2024 leaving a number of beautifully made instruments unfinished in his workshop. By coincidence, his daughter lives round the corner from my mother, so I had the opportunity to buy some of this lovely work to set up and sell on.
This violin was made around 2007. Peter was very interested in designing instruments from geometrical principles as we understand was done by the classical masters. This I think is a design he evolved himself; it’s slightly narrow in the upper bouts making it a really comfortable instrument to play. Another of Peter’s particular interests was varnish, and this has a beautiful rich deep red finish. It has a lovely warm and rich sound. I’ve set it up and brought it back to good playing condition. It’s available for rental at £50 per month or for sale outright at £5000.
16 inch viola by Peter Croll
Peter Croll was a student at Newark School of Violin Making in the 1970s, in the year above me. He had a slightly nomadic life, mixing violin making with folk music and travel, working in Germany and here in the UK, and our paths crossed from time to time. He died in 2024 leaving a number of beautifully made instruments unfinished in his workshop. By coincidence, his daughter lives round the corner from my mother, so I had the opportunity to buy some of this lovely work to set up and sell on.
This viola was the nicest of all the instruments. It was the only one that remained unvarnished; it would be unsurprising had he hesitated, wanting to do this beautiful work justice. However, instruments are made to be played so I put scruples aside and after a lot of thought, set to. Having been left around for nearly 20 years, the original whiteness of the wood had already oxidised to a soft gold, which was an excellent start for the subsequent wood colouring and varnishing. I used a transparent golden oil varnish that I made earlier this year, which really lets this beautiful wood sing through.
The viola sounds lovely; it has a rich, warm C string and a powerful A. The length of back is 16 inches (40.7cm), with a string length of 37cm. It’s available for sale at £8000. Please contact me if you’d like to try it.
If you are interested in the possibility of hiring an instrument and don’t see what you want below, please do contact me, as it’s possible that a suitable instrument may come up in the near future as hire periods come to an end. Rental instruments are usually also available for sale; if you are interested, please contact me for details.
For details of how the rental scheme works, visit this page of my site.
Peter Croll violin
See above; available for rental at £50 per month.
In the Spring of 2025, the unwelcome news broke that the courses at Newark School of Violin Making … Read More...
