If Stradivari and Guarneri were to wake up now and go to a violin convention, they'd be pissed! "Man, y'all've had three hundred years and you're still making this ?!!!?!!!? –Danny Ferrington
Danny Ferrington is a guitarmaker to the stars, a tireless experimenter, a gifted technician . His acoustic guitar designs mimic electrics, the electrics look like anything, with inlays of wood or formica, even a phone pole with frets. He has built a guitar from scratch in an hour.
"I thought it was funny... name something that hasn't changed: the fiddle! Before I built my string quartet, I went to UCLA and read everything they had on making violins. During Stradivari's time, nobody played above 4th position! Hardly anybody played above third. It was a great design then, but now people are playing way up the neck all the time. So I just removed the body on that side of the instrument."
The two violins, viola, and cello are close to identical, perfectly scaled, blond and blemishless. They look like sleek vehicles designed to be driven at highly dangerous speeds. Lightweight, too. I examine the smooth spruce of the top. Are these not carved?
"They're arched, bent spruce for the top and maple for the side and back. They're so easy to make...I figured I could produce a nice tone without carving the top.You know, Stradivarius and those guys didn't have resawing ability, the tools weren't so sophisticated so it was easier to carve the tops from a block. With a good bandsaw, you can cut the top thin, arch it and you've got something that's cheap to make, could be mass produced, something that could compete wtih a Stratocaster!...You know, if Strad and those guys woke up today, I bet they'd be over at the guitar booths checking out the carbon fiber composite materials- they'd be so bored with most violin makers! They'd say 'You're doing a good job, but we did it better.'" For the complete story, check Darol's article in the July '96 issue of Strings Magazine!
2...Guy Rabut 1993"Here it is... I hope it was worth the wait.
I look forward to your reaction and comments.
Here are a few answers to commonly asked questions:
Guarneri del Gesu model as starting point.
Real violin varnish with black pigment on a black ground.
23 karat gold leaf,ebony purfling on top.
The same wood, arching, measurements, air volume, thickness etc. as a normal violin.
Yes, it is magic."
Guy Rabut wouldn't take no for an answer! One of the most interesting new thoughts in violin building came to the attention of the TISQ when our friend Mr. Rabut decided to construct his own version of a contemporary violin. The idea of new different instruments to play new and different music goes back through all history and we were thrilled to participate. Darol Anger had a new instrument by Thomas Croen with an added ebony edge in the inner bout that, when bowed, facilitates the sound of jazz brushes. Guy joins the ranks of the wild visionaries of violin luthierie which include Danny Ferrington, Susie Norris and Andre Sakellarides, and Guy ranks with the best of any builders in tone and workmanship. 3... Nicola da Bologna 1928 This violin was made by Nicola Utili, in Bologna, Italy in 1928. He made about 40 of these models, and a few violas and cellos. The workmanship is absolutely first rate, and the instruments sound beautiful. Utili was a maverick, and probably somewhat arrogant. He attended a violin makers' conference in Switzerland in 1923 where he unveiled his new design and proclaimed it the shape of the future, and said everyone should do it his way now. Well, it didn't happen. But he built these and many other "normal" violins too, and they are all wonderfully crafted. This one was found by violin maker Jon Cooper and brought to Mark O'Connor's Fiddle Camp in 1997, where it was bought by Darol.
