Wood Choices for Violin Making

Wood Choices for Violin Making
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[@MekwokStudio]

FYR: Many successful instruments - mostly cellos and some violas - have been made with willow, poplar, and fruit tree woods such as Swiss pear and cherry, instead of maple. Both Stradivari and the Castello family made many cellos with a type of willow or poplar, and a very large percentage of Joseph Guarneri filius Andrea cellos are of river willow. So maybe all these are exceptional case or maybe wood choices REALLY is not the most important element on tone?

[@JeanBenoitLesage]

I absolutely love your presentation style and the content is beautiful! This channel is still highly underrated :)

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks! Glad that you like it!

[@ImH3nryy]

Me too

[@Aerodauphin]

I have been a hobby luthier for over 15 years and have made a dozen violins from scratch by hand. Your presentation was still very informative and I hope you can put out a few more videos. Especially one on setup with an emphasis on the bridge. You are a great luthier and I really enjoy watching others practice the skills of a dying craft. Thank you for taking the time to make your videos.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thank you, glad that you like it! Will get into the detail on set up later!

[@MathMith]

Hi Aerodauphin, I just restored my first violin a couple days ago and I enjoyed the processed so much I was considering becoming a hobby luthier myself. Of course, my first concern was how lucrative that could be. So I was wondering if you managed to sell easily those violins of yours and by what means? I heard rumors you need to be in a big metropolis like New York to sell violins, is that true? I know it's kind of personal but every bit of info would help me make the decision! Thanks in advance and good luck for the future.

[@RelaxationMusic1611]

Nowadays you can sell them online)

[@michaelwhisman]

He has read HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXEY.

[@aglooka3622]

Thank you so much for these videos, not only are they a joy to watch because of the beautiful camera work and style but the wealth of knowledge you provide is so comprehensive and excellently delivered!! Can't wait to see the more of your videos and lessons to come!

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks, glad that you like it. New videos are on the way!

[@fishmut]

Thank you so much for your input of knowledge, so much more to violins , violas , chellos etc ,when I hear people say things like your violin is cheap etc , I know they have no idea in what goes into making these amazing musical instruments even if it’s a cheap one or not , the work that goes into to these beautiful instruments should be respected , I know I do.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks, glad that it helps!

[@nosrah9660]

These videos have been immensely useful thank you! Once I get a bunch of time on my hands I’m planning on making a violin using the tools my grandfather left behind and your videos have taught me a bunch of information I otherwise would not have known.

[@MekwokStudio]

Glad that it helps!

[@rakelflowers]

these are so interesting, thank you for making this series!

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks!

[@CooperViolins]

Subscribed! I have just about completed a violin starting with Strad's PG form. All that's left is the varnishing. I look forward to seeing more of your videos but you took my idea, I was thinking of making a video of the whole process of building one. :D

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks!

[@sm9846]

Very informative and useful ! Thank you so much ! From Iran🌹🌺🌼🌿

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks! Glad that it helps!

[@B.McAllister]

I saw No Face and immediately thought, you should totally build Ghibli Studio dioramas! Haha.

[@MekwokStudio]

There is a lot of fun building dioramas!

[@johnsutcliffe3209]

So informative. Thankyou.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thankyou.

[@lionmoss3313]

This is fantastic and super helpful! I would love to also get a guide on varnish and oil since it seems there is a lot to that as well

[@MekwokStudio]

Will work that, thanks for the suggestion

[@jonathanbaker8937]

Great instruction video. This helped me out a lot. Funny hitchhikers joke also

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks. I’m glad that finally someone know about it!!

[@user-tr1mf5qb1i]

I really like Minnesota and Canadan wood.

[@paulm2392]

I had a local utility company drop off a maple log the last time they removed a tree it was a really big silver maple I had milled it up my self and it had some great figure to it. Air dried it over the last 3 years and have made one violin with it that’s currently being varnished hopefully it sounds good cause I have enough of it for 27 others. But I’ve made several fiddles one with poplar back sides and neck and a walnut scroll. Also a cedar top one. They all sound and react a little different. You do great work I’m not so patient with the purfling and edging and use different power tools to aid me speeds up the process and saves my hands and joints keep up the good videos

[@MekwokStudio]

Big log of maple! I can see you a happy man!

[@GamingTechReview]

I sharpen my tools before cutting and it’s much less stress than using power tools. The knifes I have cut maple like butter. It’s always good to have quality knifes that are well sharpened before each use. Life becomes a breeze making a violin like riding a wave.

[@liveoak4124]

Thank you!

[@MekwokStudio]

Thank you!

[@JC-td4gg]

As a suggestion, you might try making a violin out of Australian blackwood that is used to make the Maton guitars. It has exceptional tonal qualities.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks! Gonna check that out!

[@JC-td4gg]

Be sure to listen to all Blackwood Maton guitars.@@MekwokStudio

[@murmur3966]

Hello Hello From Canada!!! I am new to your channel, but I wanted to thank you for sharing so much about your craft. I find the sound of chisels and other other tools being used like ASMR so your videos have been very relaxing and somewhat like wood meditation. I was wondering if you have tried any of the west coast cedars, Douglas fir or even Sequoia instead of spruce to try and get different tones? I also have some large Black Locust trees on my property that will need culling soon and I was wondering if you think it would be a nice substitute for maple or poplar? I can't wait to see what comes next and I hope you stay healthy and happy.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks! Different wood different tones, for sure. I heard that west coast cedars are good. And using local woods is always the spirit!

[@robertnicholson7733]

Interesting, can you explain why split timbers are superior to sawn in this application? I am particularly interested in whether this is for seasoning reasons, grain alignment/orientation (split wood obviously splits along the grain in many cases but not all, heavily interlocked grain can be almost impossible to cleanly split and in some cases attempts to split the wood will render the fitch unusable - I use hand saws and scrub planes to get it the best I can) or whether it relates to the final characteristics of the wood. I have not and do not build violins, my interest in musical instruments is confined to the restoration of early 20th century pianos. I found your series of videos by agreeable happenstance. After watching your video, i pulled out my old 1977 reprint of the 1938 edition of the "Stradivari Memorial" which has some information on the Betts, Ward, and Castelbarco Violins, the Cassavetti Viola, and the Castelbarco Violoncello. I assume you have seen this small book, it is a bit of a curiosity in itself, it is somewhat quaint and not necessarily a definitive source of information on the instruments. I might add that all of the above instruments apart from the cello have what would be considered "fancy grade" wood for the neck and scroll. There are some other statements in this book that are interesting, such as; that all his instruments dated earlier than 1684 (with very few exceptions) used 'homegrown' maple of plain appearance, many of the later instruments used imported, highly figured, maple. It does not mention the source of that imported maple. The following quote is also interesting "In selecting his wood, Stradivari generally used maple for the backs, sides, and heads, and a fine quality pine for the bellies. After 1684 he substituted a finer quality of imported maple, together with poplar and sycamore. The imported stock added to the beauty rather than to the quality of the instruments." Make of this what you will. The cello has poplar for the back (one piece, not mirrored), sides, and head, but pine in the belly. From a wood viewpoint, it is a plain-looking instrument with two prominent knots in the back.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thanks for your input! Split wood has no run-out as the split follows the run-out, a “complete” piece usually got a higher rank.

[@robertnicholson7733]

@@MekwokStudio Ahh, I thought that might be the case, so grain orientation. As I said, I use hand saws (various bow saws) and scrub planes to follow the grain in wood, especially in the quarter. Smaller pieces, usually from branches, can sometimes be best characterized as propeller wood. Then again, I live in Australia and the timbers here as different, some extremely hard hardwoods can be quite useful (usually acacia and casuarina families). There are also a small number of useful softwoods, but these are becoming quite scarce. Medium hardwoods have, unfortunately, been over-exploited with no concern for the future, obtaining things like Queensland Maple (not a Maple but Findersia Brayleyana and Flindersia Pimenteliana) and Queensland Walnut (not a walnut but Endiandria Parmerstonii) are almost impossible to source, the same with many kinds of wood that may have applications to musical instruments, a real shame. When I find the time, I will have a look at some of your other videos. From readings many years ago, there are some things I am not sure about such as the thickness of the back in various places so I will have to go back to some of my old references and reorient myself. But keep going, fine workmanship using hand tools is becoming increasingly scarce, most people think I am mad because I forsake power tools and machinery whenever I can, but for me, there is that feel for the work and the outcome that cannot compare.

[@angelicaveitch8526]

I can’t find the walk through on how to do the rip cut for splitting the block to make the back?

[@stephengray1822]

What about the form you used for making the ribs? Did you make that on your own?

[@MekwokStudio]

Yes, I made my own with plywood!

[@DindyDraw]

Do you know if the maple/spruce is the ONLY combination of woods that works? I was thinking about doing some with nacional woods, and people got REALLY mad at me because of it, and i couldn't find any cientific study about it

[@MekwokStudio]

There are actually some Stradivari and a large number of Del Gesu cello are made of willow and poplar. And if you want to try something new, don’t ask for permission, as some people would get REALLY mad even when the weather changes. :-)

[@azielce]

How did you work with Michael Darnton? Did you study in Chicago?

[@elneneeserio]

How much does all the wood ,materials barnish etc cost ? And how much time would a slow person take to make one or avarage ? And do you sell them ?

[@elneneeserio]

And what would be a high quality wood fo a violin !

[@MekwokStudio]

It depends on how slow your slow means lol. It took me half a year to make my first violin, without varnish, that’s my slowest.

[@stanjohnson591]

Mr. Aerodauphin. I have gotten a supply of aged "birds eye" maple for ribs,neck,back. I have an un-split billet of New Mexico spruce for the top. I've hand-crafted three violins, have 4th ready to be assembled. Have you ever hand-crafted a violin to the assembly point? Would you be interested? My mentor & teacher passed a few years ago, & I am 80. Impressed with you.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thank you.

[@KeithR0000]

Wait which channel is the main channel I’m confused, I love the content just not sure which to follow.

[@MekwokStudio]

Hah thanks for asking, follow this one! I'm fading out the other one.

[@KeithR0000]

Your videos have inspired me a good deal. I want to start practicing but with local tone woods is that reasonable?

[@MekwokStudio]

@@KeithR0000 Yes, local woods are good!

[@perrythacker2292]

I've never made a violin, but I've restored about a hundred or so. In choosing a bridge, I've always found - without exception, I'd say - is that the bridges that are the liveliest when dropped on a wood table give the best results. I always choose those that sound brightest and give the highest pitch. They are the most reactive, the most "nerveux", or nervous, as they say in French. I've always wondered if the same applies to wood for the backs and tops of violins: not just tapping the wood, but dropping it on a wood table and listening to its reactivity, brightness, musical pitch. Does anyone have the answer or notwithstanding, an opinion based on experience? (No internet hearsay, please!!!)

[@MekwokStudio]

I heard that bridges need bright sounds too. And also know some bow makers wave the wood on their hand to feel the vibration. But never looking for a specific tape tone.

[@yadaroni]

This is excellent content. I do disagree with the idea that tap testing tone wood has no value. I agree that most people who do it have no idea what they are listening for and therefore it's useless. Many of the best makers in the world tap test, but they are not looking for what most would assume. They tap every piece of wood and over a VERY LONG TIME, they develop a memory of different materials, what they sounded like raw and what they sounded like in the finished instrument. You can't teach that and if you don't make ALLOT of instruments, it's useless to try and learn, but to say that there is NEVER any value in tap testing is not accurate as an absolute statement.

[@MekwokStudio]

Best makers.. do you mean Stradivari and Del Gesu? How do you know they taped?

[@kickhisassseabass318]

IMO Tap testing is a kind of ritual which only serves to make the builder feel good and look good to customers. Really enjoy these videos 👍

[@josemiguelplanton4613]

Why you use 2 glued parts of wood for the back? Cannot use only one?

[@MekwokStudio]

Do you mean 1 piece back and 2 piece back?

[@josemiguelplanton4613]

@@MekwokStudio I mean only 1 piece for the back.

[@MekwokStudio]

You can use 1 piece of course

[@josemiguelplanton4613]

@@MekwokStudio So, why the luthiers use 2 pieces? Must be a reason. Can you please explain this?

[@MekwokStudio]

In most cases, it’s because 2 pieces is cheaper than 1 piece. But 2 piece back also give a more balance structure.

[@antonmaier2263]

i wanna hear a violin made of mdf

[@MekwokStudio]

Me too, please help making it Hah

[@karzankarem3198]

❤👍✌🙏👌

[@MekwokStudio]

🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@theodendog48]

why does violin wood have to be so expensive???

[@MekwokStudio]

maybe because the amount is limited my friend!!!

[@HieronymusHertogenBosch]

Robot stem

[@katleenbackus4976]

I loved this especially the ending. Need more likes? -> p̷r̷o̷m̷o̷s̷m̷.

[@MekwokStudio]

Thank you