Urban Luthier

I enjoy your varnish making posts. I have one of the veritas guides as well. I mostly use it for awkward blades I cant sharpen freehand. Lee valley just published a page on sharpening (more for hobbyist but still some useful info).

nice work - love the setup

Tasty!

not only the same cello but the same photograph!

As noted above i have the luthier's bench iron and strap. I was able to bend a cello rib set with it. It was a challenge but it does work

Roger argues the same for the rest of baroque setup in his articles published in the Strad a few years back. I haven't read the current Strad letter exchange, but if it is about saddle hight - the argument is the same. Quote from Roger's original article "BAROQUE TAILPIECES varied considerably, from flat inlaid maple to slightly arched solid ebony. However, in most cases the tail gut passed over a bottom nut or saddle that was initially no higher than the belly edge. The gut entered the tailpiece from below, effectively lifting the tailpiece to the height of the modern saddle. Making and mounting a Baroque tailpiece in this way creates a string angle at the bridge that is entirely similar to the modern angle.'"

wow fantastic work!

Love your varnish Guy! looks even more stunning in person!

beautiful!

Chris Schwarz's books on workbenches are a very valuable resource. I wish I had the time and patience to make a first rate workbench. for those who don't and have the fund's the lie Nielsen bench looks stunning.

no burn in on the Messie as far as i can see - I've seen it multiple times

anything wrong with the arching drawings published in Sacconi? I've always used these for reference

really nice - i don't think one could ask for anything better. you've nailed it from a visual perspective in my opinion.

although a bit of effort to install, one of these works really well also

here is my bench - which I build myself. Shop is the old cold cellar in our home ~ 8 x 10. Bench and shop are kind of a work in progress.

wow - this is the coolest small work space i've ever seen!

as above -- the Strad Tenor viola in Florence has an unaltered neck (but with wedge) according to Beare / Pollens etc. Very fine photos in the B&G strad varnish book. I dont know the source of this image but you can clearly see the original nails through the block

he he he.... for sure Rue! Here is a photo of a cellist I took recently when i was in Vienna (Kunsthistorisches Museum). I was looking at the neck angle joint in particular - which appears to show a slight neck angle with the notch just clearing the sound board. Similar to some violin / viola images in the Shapes of the Baroque" catalogue by Monical.

hummm, I rarely get punchy in this forum but many of the observations in this thread can't be backed up with any form of research or scholarship.

Do you think the cardinal who commissioned the work wouldn't have noticed the how the violin was depicted (form and playing posture)? What about the cardinal who purchased the painting afterwards?

What evidence do you have that this is an unrealistic way to play a violin ca 1600 in Rome?

nice work - better than my first for sure!

Great article! Thanks for sharing - Nice to see Guy's work featured

really nice work!

I agree with Davide and David - I looked at the photos taken under UV light of the Strad Messiah and Tuscan tenor in the B&G monograph -- varnish can be seen right up to the edge of the pegbox wall (sharp at the top and slightly softened on the side walls). Looking at photos can be deceiving as one can easily miss-interpret the flair of the side walls of the pegbox wall as a chamfer in a low res image. here are my own photos of the Messiah