Kology Violins: July 2011

7/16/11

Update on the Stroh.

Really coming together now. Soldered the horn to the bottom plate, neck joint is glued and tight, and the hardware is fitted and drilled. There is still a long way to go as far as the resonator goes. May be trying a few methods and going with what works best. As of now I think my cover plate is muffling the resonator. Trying more coil tension?

I got pretty anal about getting the grain count and the overall grade of wood to match the existing neck with the newly carved body. Also when you only have one glue joint that's end grain it's worth the time to make it a suction fit. There will be a button cover to add some extra strength as well as an embedded post.

Up for sale now!

I have three new ones for sale. The first products of my new shop. Right now I'm listing on Craigslist until I find a better solution for web visibility. If you are interested drop me a line.

My favorite one

SOLD

Easy to play

SOLD

For a child ages 8-12

Link To Listing

7/1/11

New Location!!

The green door at the end of the hall.

Yesterday I moved into my new shop. Located in Beverly Massachusetts at the Porter Mill studio building, check them out at http://studiosatportermill.blogspot.com/ here are some pictures from my shop the first day. Shop hours will be posted soon. If anyone wants to visit or set up an appointment drop me a line at akology@gmail.com.

Stroh Violin.

I have been fascinated with these violins for a while. They were designed in the early days of sound recording when fiddles, that are designed to fill a room with sound, where just not focused enough for early microphones. Johannes Stroh remedied this by incorporating the idea of a small resonating membrane that transmits sound into a directional horn. This focused the sound uni-directionally and with greater volume. they are still used in romanian folk music today.
My horn violin is an experiment crossing my limited knowledge of resonator guitars and designs of the Stroh that I have seen. Im using a handmade steel resonator with copper cover plates. instead of an all metal resonating chamber I'm using the wood to "expand" the sound forcing it through to the horn.

Reverse engineering is becoming somewhat of a career for me.

My Philosophy on Fiddles

I believe that the violin is an instrument that stands alone in it's versatility, history, and accessibility. Its application in music is nearly universal.

My Philosophy is that nearly any fiddle can be worth playing. I think that the mystique of the violin can seduce anyone and it is in part this fact that leads many luthiers to utter the phrase: " I could fix it but the repair would cost more than the fiddle is worth." In my opinion this is rarely the case, and a very sad state of affairs. My own Violin that I play joyfully every day had this phrase uttered in reference to it. I shudder to think of other fiddles that sound as sweet as mine ending up in a dumpster or being poorly repaired by an uneducated repair person.

I find value in an instrument through its ease of play, sound output, and to the least extent its prominence. With this idea in mind, I repair and assign a price to these repairs on a basis of the potential of the violin as a tool to make music. That is what I pride myself on and that is the type of musician I truly appreciate.

I love to meet beginners. This is the most difficult time with the violin as it can seem viciously unforgiving at first. Much of this is due to beginners getting their hands on a violin that is terribly set up. The changes in playability that come with a correct and custom set up are unbelievable. Intonation, fingering, bowing, speed, volume control, tuning, and playing comfort can all be tweaked through a correct setup.

Part of this difficulty for fledgling fiddlers can be attributed to using standardized measurements rather than customizing for the individual. It is remarkable how sophisticated a beginning fiddler can actually be. Much of this sophistication is overlooked as it is unknown, untested, and often beginners lack the language to describe what they need or what they naturally require. With this in mind I encourage the beginner to try as many violins as possible! And get a personalized set up!