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Carvers, Shows…and People
By Ted Kona
Chip Chats, March 1995
I’m at that stage in life where I’m aware that the time
remaining is precious; time, like a raging spring flood just can’t
be stopped or even slowed a little. After reading about two violin makers
in the local paper I made a mental note to call them to see if a visit
to their studio was a possibility. Time slipped by like quicksilver;
I waited over a year before making the call.
“Certainly,
come and visit our studio’ was the answer to my request.
The Curtin-Alf
shop is located in nearby Ann Arbor, a college town of the University of Michigan.
Ann Arbor got its name from Ann Allen, an early settler, and from the tress
that abundantly fill the surrounding countryside.
Accompanying
me on this expedition were Bob McCartney, Tom Harrison, and Dr. Jim Hinkamp.
Dr. Dick Pearce, on an errand of mercy could not join us. Precisely at 11:30
we were met at the door by Rob Oliver, staff member.
From a walk-in
vault Rob brought out one of three completed violins. “It looks old and
worn, “someone remarked:No one buys a violin that looks new,” were
the words spoken with authority by Joseph Curtin.
Both Joe
Curtin and Gregg Alf studied their craft in Cremona, Italy, (home of Amati,
Guarneri and, of course Stradivari) where they met and became partners. Joe
seems to be the expert in applying finishes. The pure resin varnishes he uses
cost more than $10 an ounce form Geary L. Baese, 610 W. Mountain Ave., Fort
Collins, CO, 80521-but don’t bother contacting Gary unless you are a
committed violin maker.
The studio
uses all four floor levels. The attic is storage for wood, including a humidity-controlled
vault. Most woodworking and varnishing is done on the second floor. The first
floor accommodates design and administration, while the basement contains machinery
used for basic shaping and elimination of surface wood. From this point all
work is painstakingly patent hard work.
Curtin uses
a 1 ¼” wise, foot-long gouge that has a slight radius. Another
set of tools are many little brass instrument-makers planes to shape the inside
and outside carved bodies of both the spruce and wood front (the belly) and
the red curly maple that forms the back.
Avery
delicate U-shaped measuring tool has a dial indicator capable of measurements
within .001 inch. Another measuring device uses magnetism to determine belly
and back thicknesses.
“I
can tell my violin by a fingernail mark I put right her.” that’s
what a violinist said when he recently came to pick up his original violin
and the exact duplicate he commissioned Curtin and Alf to make. Gregg Alf smiled:
both violins had duplicate marks. As a matter of fact, every mark on one violin
was found on the other. Even while playing, the violinist could not tell one
from the other. ‘This somewhat proves that, in the hands of an accomplished
violinist, a well-made violin can be made to sing gloriously.
The work
requires skills, experience and patience; no wonder that t the output of this
studio of seven people is only about two violins per month.
A price
of $33,000 was recently paid at a Sotheby auction for a Curtin and Alf violin-
the most ever paid for a maker is still alive!
There are
some 70 different pieces to a violin. What makes a violin great? It takes experience
and patience to develop the skills required in the maker. It takes the knowledgeable
selection of the wood and material. And, finally, it takes the skill of a practiced
violinist to embrace the violin and persuade it to perform.
1221 Prospect Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
(734) 665-2012 fax: (734) 665-4623
email: violins@alfstudios.com