Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use [Paperback]

Henry A. Strobel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1989

This classic handbook is a standard reference for violin, viola, bass, and bows, all sizes. Size and adjustment. Tables, text, diagrams. Concise, objective explanations. Bridge templates. Illustrated, with select bibliography. Cross reference of 200 violin terms in four languages. For anyone working with bowed instruments. The Strobel books for violin makers are professional, concise, and convenient, reflecting traditional, conservative, and artistic work. Some forty thousand sold, they are used internationally by student, amateur and professional makers in shops and schools, and referred to by manufacturers, sellers, users, and lovers of bowed instruments. High quality 8.5 by 11 in. paperbacks made to lie flat and last on your workbench.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"All (of his books) are thoroughly illustrated . . . replete with bibliographies, annotations, and indices . . . The Art & Method of the Violin Maker is . . . a very personal account, written with great erudition and insight . . . All of these titles are recommended to anyone with even a passing interest in violin literature." -- From a review by John Dilworth in the April 1994 Strad Magazine

"I hardly know another book where a maker can find all the important measurements in such a clear order . . ." -- Karl Roy, Geigenbaumeister, Past Director of the Violin Making School, Mittenwald, Germany, letter of Sept. 24, 1989

(The series of books) "Si tratta di volumi che hanno una finalit practica, di ausilio al lavoro del liutaio. . . L'intera collana rappresenta una interessante initiativa editoriale, che ha in pi il vantaggio di prezzi modesti." (I translate: ". . . These books are for the practical assistance of the working luthier. . . The whole series represents an interesting publishing venture, with modest prices as well.") -- From the review in La Lira di Orfeo, Cremona, No. 3, 1996

About the Author

Henry Strobel is the author-publisher of seven books on violin, viola, and cello making, repair, and adjustment, which are used worldwide. He recently published a video Watch Me Make a Cello, Step by Step. Born in Indiana in 1936, he had a first career as an electronic design engineer, and was one of the founders of Digital Telephone Systems, Inc. in California, which manufactured transmission and switching equipment. He served in the US Air Force service in Scotland as a communications officer. He studied violin as a schoolboy, made his first over thirty years ago, and has had his own violin business for twenty years, fifteen at his current full service violin shop in Oregon, where, with his wife and sons, he also makes violins, violas, and cellos, and writes books.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 46 pages
• Publisher: Henry a Strobel; 5th edition (July 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962067326
• ISBN-13: 978-0962067327
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #173,482 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Arts & Photography > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Sheet Music & Scores > Instrumentation > Violin

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful but shockingly disorganized, March 12, 2004

By 

Thomas Fitz Hugh Mace (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use (Paperback)

Somehow, when I was an apprentice, I didn't pay nearly enough attention to standard setup. For years, I've done penitence for my folly by painstakingly collecting measurements from any authoritative source I could find. With some skepticism, I bought this booklet to enhance my collection. On balance, I'm glad I did.

Strobel's data jibes quite well with what's taught at the Mittenwald school, and what I've learned from personal observation and such sources as Sacconi, Moeckel, the Hill books, and many VSA presentations. It's nice to have it all in one place and the author is free of any odd theories and strikes a sound, reasonable tone throughout. Measurements (in mm) are often given as ranges reflecting accepted practice, rather than a single number, as it should be.

Now the caveats: For a shop reference, this book is shockingly disorganized. The whole thing has a hobbyhorsiscal do-it-yourself quality, more like a chat with the author and a couple of handouts than a book. You really have to dig to find its nuggets of wisdom, which consist, primarily, of two detailed tables of standard measurements for violin, viola, and cello, and two detailed scale drawings of violin and cello setup. You will also find full-size bridge-curve templates, a reasonable discussion of bridge, bass bar, and sound post fitting, and some hints on eliminating cello wolf tones.

This material, if collected together, would occupy about nine pages. The rest of the book's 47 folios are filled with what I can only describe as junk, including egregious clip art, cartoons, portraits of Paganini, lists of maker's measuring tools (steel tape!), a table of the frequencies of standard pitches, a 200-word French-German-Italian-English dictionary of luthier's terms, a weak bibliography, and some exceedingly thin information about various historical instruments. Why did the author give us a full page of Ingres' often-reproduced Paganini portrait while cramming both of his valuable setup diagrams into a miserable half page?

Overall, you can't go wrong for the price, and you might just need to know in a pinch, say, the saddle height for a cello (12.5 mm). But I hope that the author, who seems to have at least eight books to his credit, would consider hiring an editor for his next venture.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Every maker of violin family instruments needs this book., July 22, 2001

By 

David Brown (HILLCREST., Queensland. Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use (Paperback)

This little book is worth its weight in gold. It contains every measurement necessary for the correct setting up of instruments. It is an indispensable tool in my workshop. Definitely well worth the money.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Must have" for hobbyists, January 28, 2003

By 

Keith (TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use (Paperback)

This is a great book if you work on stringed instruments, from serious repairs to fixing up eBay finds. Even includes measurements for fractional sizes, so you can set up those tiny violins for all the Suzuki students.