The violin of the “Rubato” range
The Strad 2.0 !
This violin is a full-fledged master violin in every way, except two:
– Its price, which isn’t even half of that of other European master violins
– Its construction time, which isn’t even half of that of other European master violins
Both of this is made possible by 21th century construction methods. The magic word is CNC. Whereas the finishing, final thicknessing, varnishing and set-up are all done by hand in the most traditional way, the steps which trasform a rough log of wood into the shape of a violin, are done by CNC.
This is done in a very elegant way: Rather than digitizing, or copying the archings of a reference-model, with the help of my trainee Yohan R., professional CNC-designer, we redesigned a complete 3D-model of the « Medicis » Stradivari, to the smallest detail, including the archings.
The result, finished, varnished with high-quality oil-varnish and set up by hand according to traditional methods, is worth – or rather is – a master-craftsman quality instrument. Even more so with the wood used, cut in the 40th in the Bavarian Alpes, of which I still have enough for a dozen instruments or so.
The only thing which really changes compared to other master-craftsmen built violins is… the price.
That’s just fine, as the aim was to supply excellent quality violins for an affordable price, as every music-student or gifted amateur doesn’t have parents who are dental surgeons or business lawyers…
One big advantage of the manufacturing by CNC-mill on the basis of a 3D design, and with wood from the same stock, is that the instruments are nearly 100% reproducible – not only form an esthetic, but also from a tonal viewpoint.
Please check out the pictures and link to a recording below.
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