The Stars

[AMORI]

For the most part, you guys at Maestronet seem pretty competent and clued up but I have been wondering who are the makers who "service" the violins of the real big stars (Vengerov etc.)? Does anyone know?

[Michael Darnton]

John Becker at Bein and Fushi is one of the best restorers around today, and works on some of their violins, as well as those of some collectors.

[Jeffrey Holmes]

While there are some exceptions (I think Vengerov may be one), in many cases, it's the same shops that sell this level of instrument who perform maintenance on a regular basis. The players tend to have relationships there... and the level of workmanship is (or should be) on the level of what the shop is selling. For example: John Becker, at Bein & Fushi has already been mentioned. Rene Morel services a number of soloists. Beare's shop in London has a relationship with a number of top players.

[Japes]

Do freelance restorers of note exist? Someone who might pack up and head over to Europe for a few months to tackle a specific job?

[Craig Tucker]

"For the most part, you guys at Maestronet seem pretty competent and clued up but I have been wondering who are the makers who "service" the violins of the real big stars (Vengerov etc.)? Does anyone know?"

What a great question. One I have wondered about myself. I would wonder, though, if the very best repairmen were mostly not "makers" at all.

There seems to be a pretty distinct distance between making and repairing skills.

I don't really know the answer to this question either - I'm asking...

[Steve R.]

The guy my teacher referred me to seems to be handling a number of six-figure plus $$ violins. He seems to split his time between L.A., N.Y. and Italy. He's Boris Sverdlik.

[Japes]

Sounds like fun to me!

[Regis]

Quote: "I would wonder, though, if the very best repairmen were mostly not "makers" at all."

BUT, I would think that if one had any kind of obsession for a carving chisel, they better lean toward making rather than repair

[Ron1]

I'm guessing, but it seems to me that 'making it' as a maker requires many years of almost total committment- passing, for the most part, the repair end of the business. I would think most highly successful repair people are trained & have experience in making, but have chosen to pursue repairing- perhaps because it is a more stable and certain endeavor financially. And then, down the road, they find they have found their niche. Does this make sense?

[Jeffrey Holmes]

Quote:

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I'm guessing, but it seems to me that 'making it' as a maker requires many years of almost total committment- passing, for the most part, the repair end of the business. I would think most highly successful repair people are trained & have experience in making, but have chosen to pursue repairing- perhaps because it is a more stable and certain endeavor financially. And then, down the road, they find they have found their niche. Does this make sense?

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I think I agree with what you're trying to say. Many restorers start out as trained makers (Morel, Moening, Becker, etc.). Some do not (I believe Carlos Archieri was a painter and worked for Wurlitzer to pay his art school tuition, initially).

To make a really good living and establish a fine reputation in restoration, the same commitment is required. The initial motivation can be anything from preference to access to ability to financial, I suppose. I think it varies.

Peter Beare, who could have walked right into a position at the helm of his family's business seems to prefer, primarily, making...

Charles Beare chose expertise over the bench, but he worked at Wurlitzer early on.

I don't recall ever seeing a violin by John Becker (Michael?), so I must assume he prefers to restore.

I think Michael will take making over restoration, right Michael?

Carl Becker used to "escape" to Wisconsin to make.

I don't think Rene Morel has made a fiddle in many decades.

I chose to leave a pretty decent (secure & visible) job in the industry so I could spend more time on the bench (in other words, not a decision based on pure finances, a lifestyle thing). I prefer restoration & repair for the bulk of my day, and I get to work on pretty decent instruments (so it's fun in that way too), but I also still buy/sell/appraise/etc... and make "a little".

A number of restorers still make "a little"... It's fun to apply what's seen and learned in the restoration end. If you were a fly on the wall in my shop, I think you'd hear me complain about not having time to make as much as I want to every now and then, but really the work is balanced the way it is by choice, for the most part.