04/17/2026
Our new book "Investigations of Classic Violin Family Instruments" is the result of a series of miracles. Really! There are many reasons why this book should never have been completed, which may explain why it's the first of it's kind (finally collecting baseline data after 500 years) and why it took so long.
1. Access. Normal people can't access rare, priceless fine instruments. Try it sometime, you won't get anywhere because the violin industry is secretive and protective against outsiders. You can't get near a Strad, and you certainly cannot handle them or examine them in detail. Shops that sell them won't even let you in the same room unless they already know you are a wealthy buyer. You are lucky to even see one in an artist's hands in a concert hall or behind glass in a museum. So how did a lowly geologist from Butte, Montana amass a huge database of technical details on hundreds of classic instruments dating back to the 1500's? You start by asking very nicely! Miracle number one.
2. Display. Data just lay there unintelligible unless you convert them into intuitive graphics. So our thickness measurements had to be converted into color contour maps using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). This was essential for determining structure and symmetry, but it was challenging. These advanced computer programs are designed to show points, lines, and polygons on the Earth's surface using geographical map projections. They are used by engineers, geographers, and computer scientists, not by luthiers. It took me months to figure out how to map the tops and backs of violin family instruments using millimeter x/y coordinates. At first it seemed impossible, but one breakthrough after another allowed me to develop a method involving dozens of steps. Eventually, I plotted over 50,000 data points on more than 600 color contour maps. This took thousands of hours spread over several decades. But these systematically made maps allowed visual comparisons, and data were available in linked databases for statistical analysis. Perfect! My maps were even published in Strad Magazine articles and posters, and in a German book about Austrian violin maker Jacob Stainer.
3. Writing. The writing part mostly explains objectives, methodology, maps, statistical summaries, and graphs, plus a discussion section where things get more interesting. I had to input gigabytes of data into GIS and computer spreadsheets before I could conduct analysis and present results. This took years of painstaking work. Finally I was able to output graphs and tables that summarized important relationships within and between groups of instruments. Then I didn't just describe findings, I evaluated them with regard to statements by authorities. This required an enormous amount of reading of dozens of critical references dating back to the 1700's. Editing, data checking, and rewriting took another two years after writing the first draft. It was exhausting; there were always typos, errors, questionable word choices, and awkward phrases that needed fixing. Editing introduced more errors. I nearly gave up many times.
4. Formatting. This was a huge, complicated monster! I tried it in MS Word for several years but it couldn't handle it. Word is intended for light word processing, not for typesetting a huge book with 75,000 words and hundreds of illustrations. It was a horrible page formatting mess and I was again tempted to give up on the whole project. Then, in 2024, I was miraculously contacted by Chuck Harris, a classmate from my 1974 high school graduation class 50 years earlier. Chuck had an interest in violins and found my name online, which he recognized from knowing my family in the early 1970's. I told him about the book, shared a draft, and he offered to format it using a powerful program called LaTeX, which runs on Linux. I had never heard of it. This took many months but resulted in a high-quality manuscript suitable for printing. It couldn't have been done without Chuck's high intelligence and artist-level computer talent! An unbelievable miracle! Many times problems came up and I told him "let's drop the whole thing", but he always said "No, you can't". So, yes I wrote the book, but Chuck believed in it enough to make it happen.
5. Printing. I've wanted to do a small hard back book run for years, but large book publishers want to print 50,000 copies. That wasn't going to happen because the market for books on classic violins is very small. I considered print-on-demand (POD) but was concerned about binding quality, paper quality, and legibility of the hundreds of colored illustrations. So we are going the self-publishing route, despite daunting personal cost. I approached several local "print shops", but they couldn't handle it. We are still sorting this out. I think I have found a good book printer on the East Coast. We’re talking about having the book ready in June. (Note: we are delayed by problems with a few illustrations. Sorry!).
6. Mythology and Trade secrets. You might think that violin industry insiders would write books sharing critical information with you, to offer you an accurate impression of reality. Unfortunately not. They protect their bottom line by perpetuating imaginary stories about perfection, God-given genius, lost art, and unmatched sound (look up Longfellow's 1863 poem "Tales of a Wayside Inn):
'The instrument on which he played
Was in Cremona's workshops made,
By a great master of the past,
Ere yet was lost the art divine;
Fashioned of maple and of pine,
That in Tyrolean forests vast
Had rocked and wrestled with the blast;
Exquisite was it in design,
Perfect in each minutest part,
A marvel of the lutist's art;
And in its hollow chamber, thus,
The maker from whose hands it came
Had written his unrivalled name,--
"Antonius Stradivarius." '
or George Eliot's 1873 "Stradivarius"
"And since keen sense is love of perfectness
Made perfect violins"
It's been that way for hundreds of years, still parroted by the press who invariably say that modern makers cannot approach the sound (despite evidence to the contrary in many blind listening tests). Insiders in the Violin Industrial Complex are well aware of the controversial nature of the data that I've collected, because they've collected it too. But they hold it tight in order to safeguard a lucrative marketplace based on deep mythology. As an outsider and trained scientist I don't care about trade secrets or mythology; I present data (not only on Strad, but on 61 Italian makers) warts and all, and then I will tell you how it differs from statements made by authorities (like Sacconi; Spoiler: we cannot confirm most of his statements about Stradivari's work). Some dealers and authorities will be unhappy about my book. One elite maker angrily told me "you can't give out this information or people will start making good sounding violins". Seriously! You see, elites want to hide critical info while the rest of us struggle with mythology and misinformation that makes our instruments sound bad (like urging us to copy an extreme outlier, del Gesu's 1743 Cannon, which leads to a thick, heavy, generally unresponsive instrument, UNLESS you know about the low density of woods he used which actually led to a light high-performance instrument; 409 g. Are you starting to see the power of data in making decisions and avoiding mistakes? If you study statistical measures based on a large pool of data you will know which outliers to avoid and which good examples to emulate). Sorry if I'm getting preachy...
7. Most significantly, I never set out to write a book about classic violins. I was curious and sought answers to questions for my own reasons, not to tell the world. As a newly minted PhD, I knew how to put my head down and dig for data as if it was the most important thing (it is!). As answers came, others showed interest and their energy fed the project. Others wanted to see maps and results, so I compiled and sold a preliminary 200 page book of maps for several years (these received high feedback marks). Real data changed people's minds (and showed that they had been misinformed). Soon makers were telling me that they made their best violins after studying these maps. One young English maker won first place in a violin making competition after studying my work. My response was, "That's great, here's more material for you to look at!" And after a while I thought I could write some analysis and interpretation to accompany the maps and stats, which slowly led to the current book. I must emphasize that I keep my own opinions out of it! It is a data-driven product. So much of the violin literature is opinions, pronouncements, and pure fictional blather, and I want to clear that up rather than contribute to it.
So a logical question for you is to ask me "Ok, you have all this data that busts up trade secrets... are you yourself trying to sell ‘fantastic’ violins?" No, I spent thousands of hours collecting, crunching, and massaging data and text into this book. That took away from my making, to say the least. But I did find time to make 30 or 40 violins and violas, applying findings to my own making. All I can say is that I have many happy customers including professional players, string teachers, serious amateurs, expert fiddlers, and orchestra leaders. I'm happy enough with that. But no, I’m not using the book info to sell violins. I see that as unethical.
The project can be summed up in a quote by one of my favorite authors, James A. Michener. He wrote "the book I wanted to read did not exist, so I had to write it." (I think that he was referring to Centennial which is a monumental work if you've ever been to NE Colorado).
