Posted on January 13, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Violin Q & A: Cost of Opening a Violin Shop Violin Q & A: Cost of Opening a Violin Shop by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #10, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 My wife and I are thoroughly fascinated with the violin; we both play professionally in the local orchestra. We have enjoyed all of your repair articles and look forward to meeting you. We have often considered opening our own violin shop but have no idea how costly and, furthermore, how profitable such a venture could be. We wouldn’t want to offer the most expensive instruments, but would like to have a better-than-ordinary inventory. Can you give us a rough estimate of what it might cost us? Portland, Oregon, needs another violin shop like Hawaii needs another volcano! It seems the Northwest has become an attractive setting for violin shops, and, although competition can help stimulate business, oversaturation of any market can cause all participants to suffer. Your best bet is to find a location where there are no violin shops at all, but where there are people who are interested in playing the violin. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on January 13, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Violin Q & A: Violin by John Ericson Violin Q & A: Violin by John Ericson by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #10, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 We have an old violin that just came into our shop. It is handmade and has a label that states it was made by John Ericson, Hammond, Indiana, in 1929. We cannot find this maker’s name listed in any of our reference books. We have Henley’s & Woodcock’s. Since you live in the Midwest, do you know of such a maker? Thomas Wenberg’s book, entitled The Violin Makers of the United States, lists the aforementioned maker on page 93. He was born in 1893 in Sweden, and trained with Walter Goss in Boston. Over 400 instruments bear his label. A dealer in New York told me that he recently sold a viola made by Mr. Ericson for $9,500. He died in 1975. Also, I knew Mr. Ericson personally. The instrument should be branded “ERICSON” on the back of the scroll.
Posted on January 13, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Violin Q & A: Limits of Regraduation Violin Q & A: Limits of Regraduation by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #10, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 I recently regraduated the top, back, and sides of a violin. I took the top down to 2.5MM in the center, the upper and lower bouts down to 2.2MM, and the ribs down to .9MM. I refit a new bassbar and put the instrument back together. The instrument sounds so much better after this tonal adjustment, but I have to keep fitting a new soundpost every month or so. I have noticed a slight bulge in the soundpost area of the top. My question to you is, should I remove the top and put in a soundpost patch, or treat the underside of the table with potassium silicate to stiffen up the wood? What you did to the violin in question is not considered by most makers and repairpersons to be a “tonal adjustment.” What you have done is to prepare the instrument for an early grave. Nothing you do now is going to save it. Forgive me for coming down so hard on you, but regraduating an instrument to such radical proportions leaves the instrument, in my opinion, unplayable, unrepairable, and worthless. I hope that the violin we are speaking of does not belong to a customer of yours. I suggest to anyone reading this to remember that, when repairing an instrument, keep in mind the factor of irreversability in your work. Wood does not grow back once it is carved away!
Posted on January 13, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Violin Q & A: Color of Potassium Silicate Violin Q & A: Color of Potassium Silicate by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 On my first three violins, I used a gamboge solution to seal the instruments before I varnished them. This left a warm yellowish ground for me to work with. On my latest instrument, I used potassium silicate, like Sacconi mentions in his book, The “Secrets” of Stradivari. The back and ribs turned a beautiful cinnamon brown, but the top has a tinge of green in it. What, if anything, can I do to avoid this in the future? I experienced this green tinge once myself. Now before I mix my potassium silicate with water, I put a tea bag in warm water and let it sit for a few minutes. Then I remove the tea bag and combine the two liquids, mixing well and applying it to the instrument while the solution is still warm. Try this the next time.
Posted on January 13, 2010February 6, 2024 by Dale Phillips Violin Q & A: Violin Polish Recipe Violin Q & A: Violin Polish Recipe by George Manno Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 No matter what I use to polish a violin, it never seems to clean it completely. Do you have any suggestions? I have never found a product that cleans as well as polishes, although many manufacturers claim that their product will do both. Taking into consideration the instrument’s age, type of varnish, and how dirty it is, there are a number of cleaning products that you can use. Example: a French violin, ca. 1875, covered with a thin spirit varnish, with enough caked-on rosin so that ridges have formed on either side of the fingerboard. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of our premium web content offered to Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 4 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. If you are already a member, login for access or contact us to setup your account.
