Welcome to my workshop at the southern tip of Africa. The sun pours through my window opening out onto a glorious old world garden in Plumstead, (pictures of workshop and garden) a suburb of Cape Town, about a 20 minute drive to the city centre.
My Interest and Training My interest and passion for string instruments was initiated by my godfather Joe Sack at an early age. Joe living next door to me and being a fine cellist and music critic of the well known Rand Daily Mail, I was privileged to listen to him play in chamber music concerts at his home. I used to come to those evening soirées as a five year old in my pajamas and listen to wonderful visiting soloists that came out to South Africa in the 1960's.
Joe was very knowledgeable about fine old instruments and enthralled me with his playing, sharing his insights as to the different tonal characteristics of each cello that he played on. The picture below was taken on a visit to Joe a couple of weeks before he passed away at age 93, the day that I finished the cello below . (October 2009)
I began my training in 1976 at the Newark School of Violin Making in England under the direction of Maurice Bouette, Glen Collins, Robert Payn and Wilfred Saunders. It was a wonderful experience where the seed of inquiry was planted. Being in the same class as some of today's leading authorities on string instruments, the atmosphere was one of intense passion for the wonders of violin making.
My Career After leaving Newark I chose to specialize entirely on the making of new instruments and have been fortunate enough to have sold my instruments all over the world. (USA, Canada, England, Taiwan, South Korea, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Namibia and South Africa.) The most rewarding part of my career has been all the wonderful friends I have made. Nearly all my commissioned instruments have involved the musician, sharing in the whole process, choosing a name, personal set-up preferences, etc. I sometimes feel as if they are right there in the workshop (even if our only correspondence has been at the other end of the world via fax or e-mail), as every instrument somehow turns out to have the exact quality of sound they desire. This is still a great mystery to me, as working more by feel than science one can not analyze this logically.
If you did not
click the link on my home page you might wish to see a video of me
making a violin. This video was filmed many years ago when I still
had hair, so although I have changed and aged my techniques of making
instruments is still very much the same!
Click
here for the YouTube video
My Model The model I am using developed more by circumstance than choice. On
returning from Europe I found all my moulds and templates were missing
from my box of tools. (Someone had obviously taken a liking to them
thinking it might be a good idea to make a violin). So my only option
was to draw my outlines from scratch. My earlier models resembled
Brescian instruments and slowly over the years have come closer to the
Cremonese school.
I keep changing the finer details as my insight advances. This is all
done with tonal qualities in mind. I do keep detailed records of all the
instruments I have made: arching heights, thickness, weights, etc. So as
I look back over the years I might like the lower register on a violin
made 15 years ago and compare it with one of similar qualities made 5
years ago, to see if there are any corresponding measurements and apply
the correlation to my current instrument. This has all been possible as
I have maintained the same "system" for making all my instruments. The
final finishing though is still done entirely by feel.
I try to remain true to my gut feeling and on several occasions have
made slight modifications specifically for that piece of wood. I
find it very difficult to sell an instrument that I myself am not
totally happy with. (Not comparing to other instruments but in the
framework of my own capabilities.)
I have an assistant Sharon Peddie who before becoming a violin maker was one of South Africa's leading goldsmiths specializing in the copying of antique Victorian jewelery. Sharon has a wonderful feeling towards the living qualities of wood and is an outstanding craftsperson and wood carver.
Materials I import all my wood from Europe using only the best quality available. I do have a fair stock of some beautiful pieces. I make my own purfling from "Stinkwood" an indigenous tree found along the east coast of South Africa. I would like to believe this gives the instruments an African touch. I use high quality ebony fittings from France (Bois d'Harmonie) which include their famous tailpieces with carbon fiber fine tuners.
Varnish Yes, varnish, alternating between great elation to deep despair. That more or less sums up my varnish over the years, although I am now much more content and satisfied. I have taken many hours off from my regular workshop time to further my research, realizing that to get close to Cremonese instruments is only possible using 17th century materials. This led me on a wonderful adventure : constructing a primitive distilling plant, making traditional Indian Yellow ( collecting urine from cows fed on mango leaves), contacting Kirstenbosh Botanical Gardens about " Weld" and going into the mountains in search of this plant, stopping on the highway at night to pick an aloe leaf.
After all this research I am now using a varnish made entirely from authentic materials using a wonderful primer which I import for my friend Koen Padding in Holland (Magister). For the actual varnish, this I cook myself which is made from Walnut oil, Strasburg turpentine with small amounts of Mastic and Sandarac. For color, I prefer on my latest instruments several different madder lakes all being hand ground into the varnish on a slab of glass. My varnish has a soft 'waxy' appearance, which is not over polished and has a lovely texture - I achieve this by leaving the surface without extensive rubbing down.
Decoration I have recently started adding drawings to the backs of my instruments. These are done by talented artist Caryl Blomkamp. These drawings give each instrument a unique look with its own intrinsic identity. They have been so well received all around the world! Musicians can choose his or her individual style of drawing, although we will only do that drawing if we think it is appropriate and will enhance the beauty of the instrument.
Ordering I have tried to
keep my prices at a reasonable level. I work on a deposit in advance, and
the balance on completion.
This is all done on a legal contract . I offer a complete refund of any money
paid if the instrument is not to the satisfaction of the purchaser.
(After 29 years, I have not had to refund a deposit.)
Please e-mail me for my latest price list.
Conclusion I sincerely hope I have expressed myself adequately. Should you wish to contact me, feel free, as I welcome any chat about violins and violin making.
Tel : + 27 (0)21 7972861 e-mail: violinafrica@gmail.com
Please note that with some browsers the gmail does not go through, if you have that problem then mail me directly to: blisus@intekom.co.za