My journey began at a young age. I always had a desire to make sense of how this wooden object could be made to sing with voice like no other instrument.

It is not terribly difficult to make a fiddle. However, to make a  violin with which the player can have a rapport requires the maker to infuse it with emotional energy and great violins cannot be mass produced. The present renaissance in the world of violinmaking is not only in the large scale production of good student violins (as was the case in the years of the industrial revolution) but also in  the elevation of the level of the best fiddles .

Have you been searching for a violin with an enchanting sound, perhaps finding that few had this quality you had hoped to find? The violins that have been the choice of soloists, primarily those of Stradivari and Guarneri have been such because of certain physical qualities many of the works of both makers shared. Particularly, the arching, sound hole position and body form shaped their tone and projection. These characteristics, the Cremonese construction methods of the time and of course, the wood, came together to leave us with a handful of fiddles that sing to the back of concert halls.  There is no question that many of these instruments sounded great as they have been the choice of all the great virtuosi. However, it is arguable that some of the violins made by the great masters are becoming tired from hundreds of years of service as well as many repairs.  There are a limited and diminishing number of truly great old fiddles available.

My pursuit is in the making of violins that are second to none, new or old in beauty, tonal quality and power. If you are a violinist searching for your ideal sound, join me on the journey and let me hear about what you are looking for. Your ideal sound is not unattainable, we can find it together.

Joel A. Shewchuk