violin – Roman D. Clarkson

Fidelity | 2021

Maker: Roman Clarkson

Year: 2021

Serial: 21-4

Book an Appointment to see this instrument or Contact Roman Clarkson with your questions.

Fidelity

-the quality or state of being faithful

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

This violin is a continuation of the cornerless violin series designed and handcrafted by luthier Roman Clarkson. This instrument has a rich and dynamic sound with a full bottom end and smooth E string. It plays smoothly, easily moving from quiet to loud. Fidelity was named for Roman’s focus at the time on developing his design-build philosophy.

Fidelity has a guitar-style body with no corners. It is finished with a spirit varnish colored in a combination of red, brown and yellow. This violin has a smooth satin finish in red and brown tones, created by the ground color of Missouri walnut stain and a spirit varnish.

The red maple bottom plate was selected by Roman because the flames radiate in the light and the tightness of the front plate beautifully shows the character of the wood.

The length of the violin is 356 mm long. Roman keeps the mensur at the standard length of 196 mm for standard playability. The after-string length is a standard 56 mm which gives Fidelity a quick response.

Violinists have commented on the ease of play and robustness of sound with Fidelity. This violin is sure to be pleasing audiences for years to come.

Fun with wood shavings

Thousands and thousands of little wood shavings. Every now and then I have to stop to look at the shavings. This stuff makes great wood tinder. It also makes for cool pictures.

There is a magical thing that happens when an artist takes away something from raw material to create something new. Violin making is no different. There must be a tens thousand little cuts that go into a making violin. Continuously, the work bench needs to be swept off and the floor swept up.

If you watch YouTube videos of violin makers you will see a trait common between most of them. Breathing. Not just breathing but consciously breathing. I sometimes wonder if they even realize they are consciously breathing as a part of the work. What do I mean? Well, when cutting away material with a gouge wood will often stay on the gouge or in the way of the next cut. I don’t have time to take my hand off he gouge and wipe away the wood chips. Instead, I exhale a puff of air to blow away the chip(s), take a relaxed breath and make another cut.

It took me a while to catch on to what was going on. I saw other violin makers doing it and then realized I was doing it. Now, the act of breathing has become part of the routine when paring away wood. The rhythm is peaceful and focusing. Now, when I find myself engaged with a task and I start to feel a little strained or anxious about a task; I stand up straight, do a quick cleansing exhale (puff), re-engage the proper posture and cut away.

Fun note on wood shavings

When working on the top or back, I can easily generate enough shavings to fill a five gallon bucket. The contents are then deposited into my fire pit for later enjoyment. I think it would be cool to reuse them with epoxy and do some custom lathe work. Hit me up, I’ll ship wood shavings, too.

Why is choosing a violin varnish so hard to get right?

The question “what varnish should I use” and “what is the best to finish a stringed instrument” is impossible to answer correctly. Every maker and amateur researcher seems to have an opinion on oil varnish versus spirit varnish and what the ingredients to use. Of all the things people agree and disagree upon when it comes to violin making, violin varnish is one where they deem you a fool or a maven and there isn’t much room in between.

Keep in mind as I discuss this topic, there are people out there who think the sound of Cremona violins sound so good because of the varnish used. I don’t believe an instrument sounds great because of varnish. The construction, wood and varnish together make a violin. This idea though is pervasive and I use the knowledge to weed out the bad info from the worst. What’s left is a hodge podge of ideas, formulas, over the counter options and hair pulling commentary.

Many instrument makers are trying to find the answer to a question that has no answer. What was the old recipe in use in Cremona between 1600 and 1750. There is no one complete and authoritative written answer. Some recipes have been recorded before and around the those times but I can’t find anywhere where any consensus of violin making experts think those recipes were used. Many think the varnish guild did their thing and kept luthiers and woods craftsmen beholden to them. Many believe the old makers used magic resins. Many believe some crazy stuff. There is a information and records from the 15, 16 and 17 centuries, however finding any real discernible and undeniable truth seems elusive. No one source is “the truth” and all the sources together make the top clear as mud.

I’ve given up finding the best varnish but I come back to the subject each time I prepare to varnish a violin. I haven’t read or seen anything lately to persuade me from my current formula. What is my formula? Spirit varnish. It was used in old instruments, made with 100% natural ingredients and I don’t have to cook oil or buy it from someone. The formula I use is based on two violin makers whose work I respect. One of the violin makers uses spirit varnish exclusively and the other only uses it on lower end violins. What’s interesting the one using spirit varnish sells their violins above 5 digits and the other uses oil on their master violins which goes for 5 digits and above, too.

I choose to follow makers I trust and in the end, if you buy one of my violins you will get a spirit varnished violin. I’m not changing my formula for some time. I can make violins any variation of red, brown and yellow. Besides, would you rather have someone make their violin varnish by selecting the best quality resins, mastics and shellac; or, someone who buys it over the counter or via the internet? I’ve made my choice.

While varnish is convoluted and complex topic, what till I write about the “ground” that goes under the varnish. You guessed it; there more items and combinations you can put on wood and few agree on anything. Maybe this disagreeing is the magic of making. Only the maker gets to decide what works for them.

For you, if you are a maker, how did you settle on a violin varnish? Do you vary it?

The picture in this post was two books I reviewed last night that inspired this post. I did get some new ideas to try, but I’m a long way off before I change a good thing..

Preparing violin ribs

I finished preparing violin ribs by shaving maple wood down to 1.2 mm thick. Learning to thinning wood to a veneer thickness with hand tools was tough. I am finally feeling like I got the hang of it; I can still tell I have more room from growth. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about the tediousness of this task and get on to playing music.

Preparing violin ribs is one of those tasks in violin making where you could make them with a drum sander or some other feeding type machine; the issue will always be with the way the wood looks when it comes out of these machines. Often, the tool marks left on the ribs creates more issues than helps. I think one could easily spend more time fixing tool marks than just doing the work by hand. I know it’s debatable, it’s just my observations.

When making ribs, my low angle block plane is my best friend. I put on an audio book, get setup and then start planning away. The wood I use is typically thicker than what you would by from a regular tonewood dealer. I use to not like starting with thicker wood. I have since changed my attitude when I realized I had more choices with larger rib stock.

I get a couple of additional choices available to me when my wood is less refined. I like that I can adjust the grain direction because my rib stock is wider; so I can change the angle/slope of my ribs. Also, I can work the outside facing portion first to get the crisp smooth edges and still have plenty of thickness in case I mess up. Which I sometimes have a little too much tear out.

My takeaway

Choosing thicker wood does have some challenges. Primarily, the surfaces of my rough stock do not show the flame as much as I like. So, when starting a violin and choosing the rib stock, I have to spend more time looking at the texture of the wood and the grain features. The extra steps definitely keeps me closer to the wood because I have to make decisions. After I choose the rib stock, it’s on to bending ribs.

Verity | 2021

Treble side of scroll of violin named Verity

Bass side of scroll of violin named Verity

Maker: Roman Clarkson

Year: 2021

Serial: 21-3

Book an Appointment to see this instrument or Contact Roman Clarkson with your questions.

Verity

-the quality or state of being true or real

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

This violin, designed and handcrafted by luthier Roman Clarkson, sings under the ear and plays smoothly from soft to loud while holding more in reserve. Verity was named when Roman realized his dream for the future is to continue creating instruments with intention.

Verity has a guitar-style body with no corners. It is finished with a spirit varnish colored in a combination of red, brown and yellow. This violin looks like it wants to be noticed with its rich suede leather finish in red and brown tones, created by the ground color of the varnish and the red spruce top plate. In the light, the flame beautifully radiates. In addition, Verity has a red maple back and neck and its fingerboard and accessories are ebony.

The length of the violin is 360 mm long. Roman keeps the mensur at the standard length of 196 mm for standard playability. The after-string length is a little longer than the standard, but Verity plays well with it.

Everything about this violin fell into place. Roman plans on making more violins in this style for 2022, so if you miss this one, another opportunity may present itself soon.

The first two guest violinists who played Verity were using strings from different manufacturers and its sound changed depending on the strings. It is easy to imagine how this violin will be pleasing for years to come with the ability to enhance its sounds by changing the strings.

The first violinist worked with Roman for two sessions to get the sound just right. After their feedback, Roman decided to cut a new bridge, add more graphene to the nut, add more soap and chalk to the tuning pegs and burnish, and add a new set of strings. In the second session, the combination of the player’s familiarity with the instrument along with the new setup opened up the violin to even richer sounds.

Beget | 2021

Treble side of scroll of violin named Beget

Bass side of scroll of violin named Compassion

Maker: Roman Clarkson

Year: 2021

Serial: 21-1

Book an Appointment to see this instrument or

Contact Roman Clarkson with your questions.

Beget

– to produce especially as an effect or outgrowth

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary

This violin, designed and handcrafted by luthier Roman Clarkson, has a warm bright sound and responds well when played soft or loud. The name Beget represents the outgrowth of creativity that developed through the process of crafting previous violins. Beget is not only a product of what was created before but is also the predecessor of what is to come, a guitar-style violin named Verity that has the same dimensions and a similar feel. If you prefer a traditionally shaped violin, Beget is a perfect choice.

This violin was finished with a spirit varnish in a blend of red, brown and yellow. The color of the varnish along with the naturally dark Engelmann spruce top forms a lovely overall blend of dark red and brown. The red maple back has a touch of golden yellow in addition to the red and brown, creating a sophisticated look. The mensur is a standard length of 196 mm.

When the first violinist played it at a sound-check session, it immediately sounded great. Only slight changes were made afterward to trim the bridge and add more soap and chalk to the pegs and burnish them.

The second sound session for this violin filled up the room with an inviting warm sound. The longer the violinist played and the more they became familiar with the instrument, the more dynamics were discovered.

Roman D. Clarkson

Articles with violin

Fidelity | 2021

Fidelity

Fun with wood shavings

Fun note on wood shavings

Why is choosing a violin varnish so hard to get right?

Preparing violin ribs

My takeaway

Verity | 2021

Verity

Beget | 2021

Beget

Noble Strings