Violin Forum/Message Board

[mr_violin]

Dave
From what I am seeing in your pictures, these plans are in more details than the strad posters have on them.
I knew when I asked for a copy of your blueprints, that the March Strad poster was going to be the Messiah.
I still want a copy of yours and I don`t mind wating for it.

Thanks for your offer!! I would be more than happy to pay what every you need for it.

Larry Lewis

[ghammond]

Thanks for being so generous with your time/prints Dave!

-G

[John Cadd]

The Strad ( March2011) In Ellesmere Port which is just across from Liverpool UK on the Mersey River and not Ellesmere Island in Eskimo land. --Edited in reply to a later question ) arrived today and I was surprised in the Messiah to see a filled -in resin pocket parrallel to the treble side of the fingerboard .So if you aim to make a very special violin one day don`t despair if you uncover a blemish.On the middle of the back is one lonely mark It may just be in the varnish. .I bet somebody had a guilty conscience.
The argument about whether Strad actually made this instrument never includes that detail about the resin pocket . Put it this way, if you were going to make a fake as the finest example would you keep going with a resin pocket .It`s not covered by the fingerboard. Or will they claim it`s a double bluff and still maintain Strad was not the maker. I think they played this violin on the radio once and it had a luscious tone.It must have been a rare event. Did anyone else hear it ? I may have missheard the introduction.

[byacey]

[cmkaco]

I just subscribed, today, and hopefully they will get me that issue. But not wanting to miss it, I drove up to a pretty full service violin shop outside of Washington, DC to buy it. I figured, even if they send it to me, I could always mount the poster showing both the front and back and hang it in my shop. All they had was February. So, you are not alone.

[byacey]

If you go down to an office type superstore like Staples or Office Depot, they have large format scanners. For a small fee you can have a pdf, jpg or whatever file format you want. I would include a measurement scale of some sort so the end user can ensure their prints are at a 1:1 ratio with the originals.

You could then simply email the file to whomever, and they can look after getting the prints made rather than shipping them in mail tubes. These kind of places that have the scanners also typically have large format printers.

Whatever remuneration you charge for your troubles is up to you; be wary if these blueprints are copyrighted.
_________________
Bill

[DonLeister]

http://www.ashmolean.org/shop/?cat=-1&id=18

It might be most economical to order the original and know that you have the most accurate reproduction possible.
Since very few places even make plans available I like to support them directly.

[DonLeister]

I have the plans from the Ashmolean and they look to be the same drawings as Dave shows except that they are all on one larger sheet.

There are some odd things I saw about the neck set, namely a low overstand and unusual nut/top edge length. They are very good drawings still. I'm curious to see how it compares to the Strad poster coming out.

[cmkaco]

Don,

Which plans are you referring to, when you say, you saw some odd things, the Ashmolean plans or the ones Dave has?

[DonLeister]

I think they are the same drawings, done by a Mr. Pringle, for the museum?
They are formatted on the page differently. On mine the drawings are on one side of the poster which is roughly 30"x40", I'm guessing.

[ghammond]

Does anyone know if the plans that are available through the Ashmolean detailed enough to create a violin from?

[DonLeister]

If it is your first violin, no. No mold outline, block locations ....
If you have made some before then you could.

But there is in my mind some doubt about accuracy of the drawings, they are very well drawn but it is a drawing and therefore subjective.

A couple of things, the way the long arch (top and back too I think)) lands is really scoopy, and the flat plane of the ribs if you put a straight edge to it show the plane of the ribs bowing up about 2mm so .... get the poster and the plans if you want to do this violin, well and as many other strads as you can.
The Titian poster is the only one that shows a good long arch since it is a ct scan, btw. Not that all Strads are that way, from what I can tell.

Disclaimer, I do not consider myelf an expert about these things. I try to get the best reference material that I can for my benefit, and at least I can pass on my observations of them.

[byacey]

If you're speaking of the plans for the Messiah, I believe it still has the Baroque era neck that doesn't have much overstand or backset. The fingerboard elevation is accomplished with a wedge shaped fingerboard.
_________________
Bill

[DonLeister]

The drawing I got about a year ago from the Ashmolean shows a mostly modern neck set just that the old neck was extended with inserts and shaped like a modern one, no wedge on the fingerboard.

I was looking at it today and realized that the f's would be hard to do from the drawing since it is all layed out flat and you would be putting a flat f template on a three dimensional surface.
Well the poster should be coming any day/week/month, you never know, but some folks in GB have already gotten theirs.

[cmkaco]

I just subscribed, and the staff at the Strad sent me an email stating that my subscription would start with April. I asked if they could start me with March, so I could get the poster, but I have not heard back yet.