DavidS Posted December 29, 2020 Report Share Posted December 29, 2020 Hi Everyone, I am from the Northern Beaches in Sydney, Australia and just finished making my first violin. I am very happy with the result as is my wife who is the violinist in the family. I followed the method from makingtheviolin.com with some input from The Art of Violin Making. Makingtheviolin.com is excellent and it's amazing that it is a free resource. I have to say, I gleaned a lot of information from this forum that made the process so much easier. I do really want to thank everyone for the wealth of generous advice & wisdom that is available here. David Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Brad Dorsey Posted December 29, 2020 Report Share Posted December 29, 2020 Congratulations. How does it sound? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MikeC Posted December 29, 2020 Report Share Posted December 29, 2020 Show us a picture of it! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mysticpaw Posted December 29, 2020 Report Share Posted December 29, 2020 Welcome to Maestronet, David. Since you're in lockdown on the Northern Beaches, perhaps you can start on #2 Would love to see some photos please. Cheers David ( Sutherland Shire ) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavidS Posted December 29, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2020 Here are some pics although I am not altogether happy with varnishing job. It gave me more grief than anything else. As far as sound, it is way better than anything I expected and my wife, Carol who is the violinist is keen to play it in orchestra next year. Compared to our old Strad copy by 'Anton Wolf' that belonged to my grandfather and father it is louder and possibly a little brighter. I can't hear it but carol feels the D & G strings are not quite up to speed. Its only been strung up for 3 weeks. I put on Pirastro Tonica's while setting it up. Will be looking at alternative strings when it's settled in. Hopefully our lockdown will not be long enough to build another one but I am looking for a good drawing of a Guarneri. Thanks Again Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ctanzio Posted December 29, 2020 Report Share Posted December 29, 2020 Nice! Thanks for the pictures. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
______ Posted December 29, 2020 Report Share Posted December 29, 2020 Hi there! Happy for you and congratulations! Have you got any particular violin or year of Guarneri on your mind? I remember Roger Hargrave once mentioned that if one wants to start making del Gesu model he'd advise to use 1734 violon du diable one as a first choice. Although I do not have drawings of that one I do have some photos and data. Pm me if you want. Regards Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavidS Posted December 30, 2020 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 Thanks, I don't think I really want to do a copy of a particular instrument as such. Just the general vibe. I am considering starting with the Kreisler forma by Addie here: Stradivari Forma By Addie - Peter Grankulla - Soloist Violins (thestradsound.com) I think I would redraw it to be symmetric and use basic dimensions from Lord Wilton to inform the process. I suppose some asymmetry would creep into the build anyway. Does that sound like a reasonable plan? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mysticpaw Posted December 30, 2020 Report Share Posted December 30, 2020 Very nice .... great result for #1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavidS Posted January 10 Author Report Share Posted January 10 (edited) Hi Everyone, hoping for some advice on my setup. My violin plays really well with a very good tone. It is loud, bright with nice complex tone but a little bit harsh perhaps. D & G strings are a tiny bit weaker than the E & A. It is difficult to play softly. Sound post is fitted about 3mm behind the bridge and about 0.5mm inside the treble foot. It is a fairly loose fit, easily knocked over when strings are loose. Any suggestions for an improvement? Thanks David Edited January 10 by DavidS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GeorgeH Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 What strings are you using? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavidS Posted January 10 Author Report Share Posted January 10 (edited) Hi George, I have Pirastro Tonica's on it at the moment. We usually prefer Dominants but they were out of stock. I thought we would assess it and decide what's best after settling in. Edited January 10 by DavidS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dominik Tomasek Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 Dear DavidS, what is the fingerboard projection? From one of your photos it seems to me that it is rather low. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bodacious Cowboy Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 On 12/30/2020 at 12:24 AM, DavidS said: Thanks, I don't think I really want to do a copy of a particular instrument as such. Just the general vibe. I am considering starting with the Kreisler forma by Addie here: Stradivari Forma By Addie - Peter Grankulla - Soloist Violins (thestradsound.com) I think I would redraw it to be symmetric and use basic dimensions from Lord Wilton to inform the process. I suppose some asymmetry would creep into the build anyway. Does that sound like a reasonable plan? If you want to make a del Gesu model, I'd suggest the Plowden. There's a very nice Strad poster for this, and lots of great photos available on Jordan Hess's website. https://www.jordanhessviolins.com/plowden Your fiddle looks really nice - but a bit difficult to give meaningful critique without photos in a more "conventional" style. I always check sound post fit and tightness after a new instrument has been strung up for a couple of weeks, and very often find it benefits from adjustment or replacement. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shunyata Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 This is an awesome job for your first go!!! Be proud. Harsh tone may be the result of too much thickness in the plates. I didn't get this worked out until I started weighing plates to better learn what I was aiming for. Pushing the sound post a little east, close to the outside edge of the bridge foot will give a bit more body to the G and D strings, especially if the top is a little thick. Similarly you might want to go a mm south of the top is thicker. The bridge looks too tall in the photo. This can result in unpleasant ringiness in the sound. The G string should be about 5.5mm above the fingerboard end, and the E string about 3.5mm. (I have also seen 6mm and 4mm suggested, but the lower heights work fine if there is a little scoop in the fingerboard, and I prefer the lower action.) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Shunyata Posted January 10 Report Share Posted January 10 I use a scrap of rib wood with graduated markings on it as a feeler guage to exactly measure soundpost location: the north-south and east-west gaps between the sound post and the f hole notch. This way you can know where the post is and how much you are moving it. You can measure another violin to get a good starting point. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavidS Posted January 11 Author Report Share Posted January 11 Thanks everyone for your comments. I'll take them onboard. Fingerboard extension & string height are pretty much standard: 27mm, 5.5mm/3.5mm. I'll tweak the sound post some more. I remember reading somewhere that a slightly longer sound post is often required after settling in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DavidS Posted April 7 Author Report Share Posted April 7 Hi, Just an update, I have finished my second violin. I ended up drawing my own outline; Del Gesu Inspired. I'm very happy with the sound so far but it's only been strung-up for a day. I am not happy with my varnishing though; need to work on that. Here are some pictures: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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