I'm rather fond of my entry level Cecilio CVN-300. Letting it age 7 years and then removing the bottom three fine tuners improved it significantly. The next improvement will be refinishing the pegs and peg holes for easier tuning and maybe adjusting the bridge shape. One cool thing about having a cheap violin is that I don't feel guilty doing my own little bit of luthier work on it.
Even if I weren't a violinist, I'd still watch your channel. It's just so incredibly satisfying to watch a true craftsman at work. And you do very fine work, indeed!
i only fuck with fretted stringed instruments that you pick or finger (gross!), but i love people who are passionate about their craft and olaf is top tier
Wow, a very interesting backstory at the very end there; btw, every time I see you with a coffee in your vids, I go to my kitchen, and get myself a cup. Cheers mate, good coffee!
A question I’ve wanted to ask for some time. Re planing the finger board. When new, the finger board height and angle, and bridge height would be to a design by the maker, to give the optimal sound quality, or particular sound qualities. If you plane the finger board, therefore reducing its height, the bridge will have to be reduced in height, and subsequently the break angle of the strings will become less acute. So, will this not alter the sound and the playing feel, and if not actually appreciable, where do you draw the line between planing and replacing the finger board. Maybe you could talk about this in a future video. I don’t want you to eat into your time by answering this comment at length. Would you plane a Stradivarius, if it warranted it?🤔
Great question! Each time I plane the fingerboard I take off about .1mm. that is not enough to significantly reduce the string action and have an effect on the tone. A fingerboard lasts between 20 and 50 years depending on how much the instrument is played, the timber hardness and the perspiration of the player.
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Always precise and educational answers! Maybe what Tab Riff was worrying about, however, was about removing/changing original pieces of a revered antique, if it would change it's quality or value? I owe a perfectly balanced and Ôh so light Hill which left my hand during a rehersal to end up tip first on the flor at the other side of the stage. It nicked the Hill a bit. Very conscienscious repair by a particularly precise bow maker/repairer... but the Hill lost HALF it's value upon my energetic playing that night! Still plays great!
You know you talk about copies of different violins and today violins are made to the same size they were back in the 1600-1700's. People were tiny in those days, anyone over 5' 5" tall were considered tall, just like how we look at basketball players. So a size 4/4 violin would be the equivalent of an average person playing a viola back then. I just received my violin today and when I put it up to my chin, I had to look twice to make sure it was a 4/4 violin. How in the world does anyone play these small instruments. I don't know but is there anything in between a viola and a violin? A 4/6 violin I think would be popular. I'm still learning on how to play it, I'm not giving up because of its size.
It's as if the violonist him/herself is getting serviced! Ô so satisfying to get our instrument back and handling so well. Our own body and soul is playing better; much less physical and mental exhaustion to get the ease of playing, projecting the sweet sound we are used to achieve, and which is unique to us. After all, it has to be fun and satisfying for the instrumentist to play, to start with...and then offer it to the public with a most responsive instrument...
I’m still a beginner violinist, but if I ever go to australia, I’d love to visit you. I’m not an expert on violins at all, but I love your videos, they’re so calming, and your personality is so wholesome :)
Since I'm watching this live, I can't skip to any particular section. I assume this is a German violin? Perhaps Czech? I hope it turns out alright :) Will watch the rest of the video of course. I saw the insert clip of Mintz playing the original Cannone and my goodness.... in comparison to other players... he REALLY does scratch the strings and produce a very squashed sound. If we get *any* quality from that performance then it's from the violin itself in my humble opinion. Interesting to note about Paganini's "loss of a violin to gambling" - I went through the same thing. I'm a regular poker player bad had a particular bad run. I raised with quad Kings (a great hand) using my $2000 violin but lost to a straight flush (which beats my quads)... so I lost my violin that night. Cut to three years later and my poker rival still has my violin and charged me $3000 to get it back, and because it was such a personal violin to me- I bought it back at the stupidly inflated price. Lesson learned! Violin really *are* personal. They *are* your voice. I know it just sounds like a "crappy" $2000 violin but it actually sounded and played much better than a $25k Smilie (Scottish) violin that I considered purchasing. So. There's quite a lot to what the violinist can get out of a particular violin! Great video again Olaf! Out of curiosity: you use pumice (as do I), but have you ever used Viennese Lime powder? It's very useful for polishing! Especially getting rid of stubborn fingerprints on lovely oil varnish! I await your next video!
From a guitarist's point of view, I find it totally fascinating that signature models with fake aging were actually a thing...a couple of hundred years before Gibson & Fender started doing it!
I have to wonder if the person who said not to polish it wasn't actually saying something like, "Don't use furniture polish on it, it'll hurt the varnish, leave it to the experts." That's very different from, "That violin can never be polished," but it might sound that way. People will sometimes try to use spray furniture polish on wooden instruments, unfortunately.
Nice! I have a 'copy' of a 1733 Guarnerius, well it is the outline shape of it but I wanted to make it with my own idea of arching in the back & front. It was my first violin I made. 😊 A nice difference from before & after in sound (I jumped ahead to compare) & it looked a lot better afterwards too. 🙂
Hi Olaf! What are the chances of seeing you do more work on cellos or double bass? I'm sure there are other viewers here who would like to see the bigger boys get some attention! Also, do you ever work on more unusual instruments like viols or is that outside of your expertise?
If the Devil ever offered me a contract for better violin playing skills, I would very seriously consider the offer and spend some time reading the fine print. Not saying Paganini made a deal with the Devil or anything like that, but if it was possible to save a few thousand hours of practice time, I wouldn't automatically reject it on account of it being offered by the Devil.
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker indubitably. There is a neuroscientist who plays cello and has posted a lot of presentations on the topic. I have seen substantial improvements since integrating her suggestions. Edit: her name is Dr. Molly Gebrian.
Those brands on the back of the scrolls are ugly in my opinion. Id rather just have the entire scroll carved out. That is a very nice Guarneri copy, but I personally would not buy it for that reason alone.
As a guitar player and maker I have good idea about the range of design elements, materials and techniques that different builders use to produce their particular instruments...what I don't understand about violin making is: how much variation between builders is there in design. It seems that violins have a much more uniform design across different builders...sound post in same place, bass bar, tops almost the same shape (obviously carved thickness would have a fair range of viable options) , side depth etc...is there really much difference between the design of different builders instrument or is it mainly quality of craftsmanship that seperated them?
Olaf regularly shaves his arm to check if his knife is sharp enough. He's shown it in a previous video. Mentioned how he has a bare patch on his forearm because of it. 😄
i prefere Guarneri because reverberation in bass frequency is better. even if Stradivari are most in regularity . (for all decent violon of 1000 $ and over).. proportions have a big importance ! for viola difference is more significative again
On a number of occasions (including this one) you have sarcastically referred to 'names' in or on violins. At the time they were manufactured there weren't many other options for advertising, so why not? The thing with advertising is that it can go both ways. If your product is good, business may improve. If it turns out to be bad then everyone also knows who's responsible. Don't knock it, after all you also stamp your bridges with your name and not just a symbol.
The real story is that Paganini gambled his Strad away and had no instrument to play on. From someone het got an instrument made by Joseph Guarneri. Since then, Guarneri played only this instrument which belongs now to the community of Genoa.
Actually, there were rockets. Just a few pointers, look up the Chinese (13th century), the Anglo-Mysore wars and the British Congreve rockets of the early nineteenth century.
I love these videos. If you haven’t done this yet, could you make a video about these subtle differences you see (shape of the holes, bod, etc.) I would be really interested in that.
I think whoever told the violinist that the violin couldn’t be polished might have meant that he/she didn’t want to polish it, or didn’t think it *should* be polished. As I understand it, there was a time when even the finest violins were polished out to a perfect shine, as this was in fashion. I read that there’s been a movement in more recent years to accept the blemishes and imperfect textures of a fine violin’s varnish, and work around them, protecting bare spots as carefully as possible. I think it’s an interesting topic with interesting perspectives on both sides. And like most all topics in the realm of violin restoration, there’s a spectrum of what is appropriate, depending on the value of the instrument and the desires of the client. I know a maker who refuses to polish even student violins to a perfect shine, he feels that strongly that it shouldn’t be done. Myself, I don’t take that extreme view, but this could be the sort of person who told your client that it couldn’t be polished. Im curious to know more about your thoughts on the topic!
I got a violin off ebay - it had a lot of repairs, as I took the top plate off and had a look. It sat for years. I finally put it back together and fit it. The label was repaired and someone wrote Stradivarius but it's a Joseph Guarnarius model (copy) (?) well anyways it's my new favorite violin now. It almost plays itself. BUt it has about 50 "repairs" inside, and has a thin top. The top is very flexible. I'm really amazed that it works and even sounds better than my others. It came at a good time as I needed some new inspiration :) - I appreciate you and all who share knowledge.
Gosh, a much fuller sound... I'm a noob to all this. Fascinating vid, Olaf. Quick Q (as you're so busy this year) - Could this be attributed to the number of people taking up string instruments inspired by TwoSet? There are SO many!
Thanks for the video, Olaf! I seem to see two kinds of polishing, one with pumice which removes dirt and polishes in a subtractive process. And one in which you add a minute layer of varnish(?) In an additive process. Like in french polishing. But both are called polishing. Is this correct?
One question: which is more satisfying to service (value to value): violin/viola, cello or double bass, or even bows? And then, carbon or old wood bows?
I have a violin very much like that, bought by my great grandfather. It has a similar stamp on the back of the scroll, so I presume it is an old Lowendall company violin. Unfortunately the fingerboard seems to be a bit off centre. It is playable, but I wonder if the neck has warped, and how best to treat the instrument now? I have another violin that I use as my primary instrument. There are no luthiers in my city. Would need to travel to Ottawa or Toronto.
Gratefulness and meditations are key to happiness in my life as well! It’s heartwarming to see that you take good care of yourself, not only the violins.
Just a personal question. When would you recommend replacing a violin bridge? Can it be done within the same day? Feeling unease about someone possibly having ulterior motives with my violin in terms of the dark secrets of the violin industry. Also, are there any places in London that you'll recommend for this? Thank you.
Replacing the bridge, is only done when it starts to warp, or if you become convinced that the "fit" isn't good (it doesn't really sit properly on the instrument) If money is no object, then the best place is WE Hill& sons in Hampstead, but you can only go to the workshop by appointment. If you just want a pretty decent job, for a reasonable price, go to Portobello Music Shop , at 13 All Saints Road, near Ladbroke Grove tube station.
A lutherie so well organized makes me go weak at the knee! All the possibilities and the life that goes there... yet perhaps a bit of lineliness also; but what art and history! Love this video, paced just right so!
