MANFIO Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Hi! This is my latest viola, Madalena, 41.8 cms, the instrument pictured in the corner shaping and scroll carving tutorials. The photos are, again, by Andrès Lepage, I told him he would make some money in the VSA Convention, taking pictures of instruments there. The final sound test will be tomorrow on the stage of our State Orchestra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Juan Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Wonderful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcos Schmitz Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Great job Manfio! Congratulations!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzupe Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 superb.... nobody does it better makes me feel sad for the rest nobody does it half as good as you baby your the best! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Rushing Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Manfio, Great job as usual. The slightly rounded corners blend in real well with the rest of the instrument, especially the sides. beautiful name for it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Option1 Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Congratulations Luis! Well done. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Knowlton Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Beautiful work Manfio. I love the color, the rib flame and contrast is awesome. If you don't mind, About how long did it take to create? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McTigue Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Wow, Luis... just breathtaking! That's all I can say. Those photographs really do your work justice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted April 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Thank you all! Chris, I'm making 6 or 7 instruments a year. I've made this one in 2 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mauricio Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Gorgeous, Manfio! I love the corners, too. So, are you convinced a viola need not be 17 inches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted April 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Thank you Mauricio! What about the tournè? I wanted more focus in the sound, so I reduced the archings to 19 milimeters and reduced the rib height a bit too, reduced the scooping a bit and left it with more wood on the back, and it worked. I'll meet the viola naipe in some hours and have their feedback about the sound. There is no huge difference in sound compared to the 17 inches violas, but it's a question of personal taste, this smaller model will find a wider public, I think. I've posted a tutorial about corner shaping, I don't know if you have seen it. Ciao! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.B.Fiddler Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Beautiful work, Manfio! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchViolins Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Manfio, You have an extreme beautiful varnish in combination with well selected wood! Excellent! As far I'm right are the C-and G-strings Evah Pirazzi and the A Corelli Alliance? I couldn't reveal the type of the D-string. It seems that you mix different types? Frits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted April 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Thank you! Frits: I choose the strings in the set up process, depending on the sound. In this case the C and G are Evahs, the D is Chromcor (a rather cheap string, but sounded great with this viola) and the A is a Larsen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krugwaffle Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Beautiful instrument MANFIO! You have the eye for bringing together all the different aspects of fine instrument making into a very balanced and appealing finish. Is this one wearing the neck/scroll we saw you whittling in the forum last month? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DutchViolins Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 quote: Originally posted by: MANFIO Thank you! Frits: I choose the strings in the set up process, depending on the sound. In this case the C and G are Evahs, the D is Chromcor (a rather cheap string, but sounded great with this viola) and the A is a Larsen. How do you make that selection? Of course you'll hear the difference in sound but is there a certain methodology you apply? How do you know you have the best? Thanks, Frits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martina hawe Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Hi Manfio Great viola!!! I specially like the front, the texture is lovely and it looks alive and interesting. How did you tackle the edgework? Fluting to the edge and rounding it off or flute to a scribeline marking the highedge or another option maybe, looks nice and works really well with your purfling too! Please post about your soundcheck, are you going to take a 17 inch viola along for a direct comparison? Could you please install a webcam so that we can listen to your viola testers playing it? Just kidding, would be interesting tough. Your f- holes look quite upright, from previous works I remember you cut them in similar fashion before. Is it for tonal reasons you lay them out this way? Nice work!!! cheers Martina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted April 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Hi krugwaffle! Yes, this is the neck and scroll pictured in that tutorial, also in the corner tutorial. Frits: I start with a standart set of Larsen A and Evahs for the rest. The Larsen A is quite a good string, I think. I used Dominats with a Jargar A on the past but changed to Evahs and a Larsen A because it's a commom choice among professionals with an aggressive approach. I'll change things depending of the the sound (I'm a player also) and on the opinion of players I trust. As a matter of fact I work closely with Andrès Lepage (a professional player who plays one of my violas) in the set up and we also compare the instrument we are working with with other instruments I've made in the past. Comparing is important because you may find that the instrument is sounding good alone but not all that good when compared with another one. When I find the set up is good I take the instrument to the viola naipe of our State Orchestra and have the opinion of the naipe in a stage test. That's what I've just made and the players will change the Chromcor D for a Larsen one, because he told me the bow contact point of the Chromcor was different from that one of the Larsens. I just left this viola there to be played for some time in the orchestra and have more feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.B.Fiddler Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 I, too, really like the clean edgework Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted April 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Hi Martina! Thank you on your kind words! The texture in the front is the result of the use of the scrapers on the spruce, but there is texture also in the rest of the instrument. The oil varnish enhances this feature. The edgwork: I flute to a scribeline marking the highedge, the final result is mostly given by the gouge, but I use also a shaped scraper. Over the purfling mitre I use a much smaller gouge. The upright f holes are a feature of Andrea Guarneri violas and they follow the arching, I try to keep them parallel to the ribs (when viewed from the profile) as suggested by Sacconi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stern Posted April 23, 2008 Report Share Posted April 23, 2008 Luis, Very nice in deed!! Please tell us what the "professional" players think of it when they play it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted April 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Hi Robert! I think they liked it, Andrès kidnaped it for some time... Martina, no recording of the test, but you can listen to Andrès Lepage playing Harold in Italy in one of my 17 inches violas here, with the Cordoba Orchestra: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M_A_T_T Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Very nice. Do you polish out your final coat of varnish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryD Posted April 24, 2008 Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Wow what a beautiful instrument. The varnish and color are very beautiful!! If it saounds as good as it looks it will be outstanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANFIO Posted April 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2008 Thank you! Matt: oil varnish attracts lots of dust, so I use some MICRO MESH 1500 ligthtly, or some tripoli with some oil betwen coats. After the final coat I use some tripoli with violin white polish, but even so a lot of texture in the varnish will remain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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