SOLD – Gorgeous new ‘Titian’ Stradavarius 1715 model violin – Excellent Tone -SOLD

All our new violins are individually hand crafted using traditional methods and personally hand selected by myself direct from the maker.

This violin is respectfully modelled on the famous 1715 Titian Stradivarius violin – see below for full details of this violin and its history.

This beautifully made violin uses high quality materials with excellent tonal properties. It uses top materials in its construction, with the spruce and maple used in the top and back plates having been air dried for over 12 years. The violin is finished in a nicely antiqued varnish. It has excellent playabilty and the tone is already superb for a new violin, rich and warm. After a few months playing you will have a beautiful sounding instrument with a wonderful appearance that will be both rewarding and pleasurable to play.

Unlike many companies we make no fanciful claims about our violins being ‘professional’ or ‘soloist’ standard – no soloist or professional musician would ever use a violin of this price bracket – that is the simple reality of it. However, we will say that in the under £1000 price bracket we have not found any violins that are better.

The excellent craftsmanship is followed up with careful set up to ensure that this violin is not has a wonderful tone but also the highest order of playability. Unlike many companies, and especially those imported from China, we ship to you with the bridge in place – this ensures that our high quality set up is maintained, so that you can take it straight out of the box, tune it and immediately start enjoying its wonderful ability to make music.

(Many companies ship with the bridge down, which frequently results in the violin arriving with the soundpost having fallen down. Now the two most important elements in the sound quality of a violin are the bridge and the soundpost, which require fine adjustment by an experienced person to get the optimum sound out of your instrument, meaning a trip to your nearest luthier if you are to get the best out of your newly purchased violin. This is why we have taken the time to develop a safe method of shipping our violins that ensure that the careful set up is maintained for when it arrives with you).

What makes our violins different from others in this price range:

• Mature, air dried high quality tonewood used.
• Made by a single craftsman from start to finish, using traditional violinmaking techniques.
• The high standards of traditional varnishes are emulated.
• Precisely controlled plate thickness and distribution.
• Fingerboards are checked for correct thickness, curvature and scope before finishing with smoothing and polishing.
• Thickness of the neck with fingerboard checked – these are frequently too bulky for comfortable playing, particularly at the heel of the neck.
• String grooves at the nut and bridge are well lubricated with graphite to protect strings.
• Bridge is professionally cut, with special attention to the feet fitting perfectly.
• Correct string clearance checked for.
• Pegs are shaped to give them the correct taper and peg compound applied to ensure that they work smoothly.
• Pegs ends are rounded for a nice finish.
• Correct cutting and placement of the soundpost is an imperative for optimum sound of the violin. Full contact of the ends with the back and belly are required, with no minor gaps.

About Our Tonewoods:

Nearly every new violin advertised for sale these days comes with a claim that the wood is 10 – 20 years old at least. The inside story from those in the know is very different. The truth is that probably fewer than 10% of these instruments have wood that is 5 years old.  Pressures of time and economy on price mean that an ever increasing number of makers are using ‘Green Wood’, less than a year old. Not only do violins made from green wood lack the tonal qualities of those constructed of mature wood but there is a high risk that they will crack, joints will come apart or the neck will warp. Our makers have a stockpile of wood sufficient for 5 years and the instruments that we select from them are made from wood guaranteed to have been air dried for at least 14 years. Forced drying, using heat to speed up the process makes the wood brittle.

Plate Thicknessing:

The tone and projection of a violin is critically dependent on both correct thickness on the plates (belly and back) of the violin. Too thick and they will be stronger but lack the flexibility to vibrate freely. Too thin and the violin will be fragile under the immense pressure of the strings and although it may initially appear to have a good sound, over the course of a couple of years it will lose its tone. Our makers have carefully studied many highest quality instruments, especially the very best 17th century Cremonese (Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesu, Amati), and have developed a careful understanding of the correct plate thickness and distribution to give optimal results over the long term. The plates of these violins are on average around 5% thicker than that commonly seen on many new violins, and their tone will only ever improve with the ripening of time.

Size: 4/4

Back length: 356mm       

Upper Bout: 169mm      Middle Bout: 109mm    Lower Bout: 207mm

String length: 330mm

Fingerboard: Ebony       Fittings: Boxwood

This violin comes with a free upgrade to Pirastro Tonica strings. For an extra sizzling performance Contact Us to upgrade to Pirastro Evah Pirazzi strings for £65.00.

A case is included in the price but no bow. Please Contact Us for bow options at very special prices.

SOLD – Introductory Offer Price Only: £315.00         Normally: £415.00 – SOLD

About The Titian Stradivarius 1715 violin

The original violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1715 is a famous violin that is very highly rated even amongst golden period Cremonese instruments. It is also one of the most intensely studied violins, having been part of the Strad3D Project wherein it has been subject to 3D modelling, CT scanning, dendrochronology studies, sound tests and modal analysis all by top scientists in their field. As such it is one of the best Stradivari violins to reproduce as there is such a wealth of information and precise details on all its dimensions and acoustic qualities, assisting skilled luthiers to make the most accurate models possible.

The Titian is based upon Stradivari’s ‘P’ form, an internal ‘mould’ upon which the outline of the violin is built, which is the traditional Cremonese method of making a violin. The Titan has not been used in concert a great deal until very recently when soloist Cho-Liang Lin has had use of the violin. Prior to that Efrem Zimbalist owned it for a couple of years in the 1920’s. Other than that the Titian has largely been in the possession of private collectors, wherein it saw little in the way of concert action. In fact when it as loaned to Cho-Liang Lin for use it required significant adjustment by foremost luthier Sam Zygmuntowicz to make it sound fit for public performance.

It appears that the violins name, ‘Titian’, has its origins with the French violin dealer Albert Caressa who was reminded of the work of the 16^th century Venetian painter of that name by its clear orange-red varnish. Titian being the Anglicized name of the artist Tiziano Vecelli whose use of colours had a great influence on the future of western art. He was known by his contemporaries as “The Sun Amongst Small Stars” (taken from the concluding line of Dante’s allegorical poem ‘Paradiso’).

Currently the violin is in the hands of American-Taiwanese violinist Cho-Ling Lin, born the son of a nuclear physicist near Taipei, Taiwan in 1960. Here Cho-Liang Lin plays the Mozart’s 2nd violin concerto on the 1715 Titian Stradivarius:

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