Posted on July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips An American in Mirecourt An American in Mirecourt Violin Construction as Learned by an Apprentice to René Morizot by Paul Schuback from his 1995 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #63, 2000 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 See also, An American in Mirecourt, Part Two by Paul Schuback When I started out, my idea was to make lutes. I haven’t made one yet, and the more time goes by, the less likely it is that I ever will, but that was my intention — to go to France and study lute making. I found out that lute building was not easy to learn, and violin making was more lucrative, so I decided to become a violin maker. I studied with René Morizot from 1962 to 1965. Between 1900 and the 1960s, to graduate from a violin apprenticeship program like I went through, you had to be able to make a violin in the white (en blanc), including the scroll, in a week. You started Tuesday morning, and by Saturday night, working eight hours a day, you had to have it done. That may seem fast, but it’s really not. Friends of mine, older guys, would actually make two violins a week, not including cutting the scrolls. They’d have a scroll maker cut the scrolls and necks, then they’d set them into their instruments. Cottage-industry people who worked at home could make up to six violins a week, in the white, ready to be varnished. It was piece work, and they were paid by the numbers that they made. If they made the six by Saturday, they’d get their quota. If they made more, they’d get bonuses. They were cheap instruments, but they worked. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by Dale Phillips An American in Mirecourt, Part Two An American in Mirecourt, Part Two Violin Construction as Learned by an Apprentice to René Morizot by Paul Schuback from his 1995 GAL Convention workshop Originally published in American Lutherie #65, 2001 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Six, 2013 See also, An American in Mirecourt by Paul Schuback Roughing Out the Insides of Plates and Cutting f-holes After the outsides of the plates have been carved and scraped to their finished shapes and the purfling has been installed, the next step is to trace the f-holes onto the top. The f-holes will be cut out after the inside of the plate has been roughed out and the plate is thinner, but this is the time when you establish their positions. Measure 19.3MM from the edge of the plate at the neck end to find the bridge position on the centerline, and locate your f-hole template by referencing off of the bridge position and the centerline of the top. You can play with how they are angled to suit your own tastes. Trace the f-holes onto the top, and check to make sure that they end up an equal distance from the edges by measuring with a divider. The French always carve little hollows where the lower wings of the f-holes will go so that those areas will be recessed on the finished top. So after you have traced the f-holes, you gouge, plane, and scrape the wing areas out a little bit. In the process, you will cut away parts of your lines, so you will need to retrace them. Become A Member to Continue Reading This Article This article is part of the Articles Online featured on our website for Guild members. To view this and other web articles, join the Guild of American Luthiers. Members also receive 3 annual issues of American Lutherie and get discounts on products. For details, visit the membership page. MEMBERS: login for access or contact us to setup your account.
Posted on September 22, 2021May 6, 2025 by Dale Phillips The Paul Schuback Story The Paul Schuback Story from his 1986 GAL Convention lecture Originally published in American Lutherie #9, 1987 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume One, 2000 Paul Schuback was born in Barbados in the West Indies in 1946 and moved to the United States at the age of nine months. Through his experiences and training, he lived in thirty-three different homes before the age of twenty. His interest in musical instruments began when he was quite young, when he took up the violin at the age of seven. At the age of nine he began playing the cello, joining a youth symphony orchestra in Utah at the age of fifteen. Then, before graduating high school, he began his career as a luthier with a three-year apprenticeship to master Rene Morizot, in Mirecourt, France. Following this, he specialized in violin making in Mittenwald, Germany. He then became a graduate in bow making at the Morizot Freres again in Mirecourt, France. He continued his studies by researching historical instruments in France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy. From 1968 to 1971 he worked as journeyman in the Peter Paul Prier violin shop in Salt Lake City, Utah, before moving to Portland, Oregon, where he established his own workshop and where he resides today. 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.
