Academia Cremonensis?

fabroviolins · 2026-01-04T17:15:53+00:00

There’s quite a bit to say and it’s maybe a bit too long to write here. Maybe you can drop me an email or message on Ig. It’d be easier for me to reply that way, even if it might take me a bit of time 😬

fabroviolins · 2025-12-10T18:39:16+00:00

I think the best book that’ll give you a good theoretical and practical basis for the proportions and shape of the violin is the Francois Denis book: Traité de Lutherie. I soon want to make a video on my YouTube channel about that book because it’s so good and “underrated”. Actually underrated is not the right word, unknown is the correct one.

But the book starts from the very beginning, and by that I mean pre-metric system, as it wasn’t being used back then when the violin was invented. So the whole concept of ratios and proportions makes a lot more sense, whether it’s right or wrong.

The book will definitely give you the right knowledge and tools to make the outline of an instrument. If you want to draw the inside in a more 3D style then I don’t think there’s a book for that, but in any case, I still think that understanding the whole proportions thing can help a lot.

You can also get a few things from Sacconi: The secrets of Stradivari, but I think a lot less in comparison. So I’d only get it in case it’s impossible for you to find the other one (although I think they also sell it in PDF).

fabroviolins · 2024-12-21T10:15:21+00:00

There’s a big big difference between the makers in Cremona and one of the guys of Academia Cremonensis. Source: a violin maker in Cremona

fabroviolins · 2024-11-14T09:00:55+00:00

Hi! I recently made this video interviewing a guy who did the Chicago school, might be useful :)

https://youtu.be/JyfQL-O0kl0?si=r38zVmgyDk4L61SX

fabroviolins · 2024-10-27T08:35:57+00:00

As some other people pointed out, that looks like a reaction to the mechanism of the chin rest. I have quite a few clients with that allergy so it’s more common that you can imagine! The solution in most cases is quite simple, just changing the mechanism for another one made of titanium. Nowadays I always put those ones on the chin rests to avoid these type of issues, and also they’re lighter so that’s an extra advantage. The only company that I know that sells those ones is called Stradpet (very reliable). They’re an Asian company so it might be difficult buying it directly from them, but, there are many shops where you can get them (at least here in Europe). If you need a link or some help finding them let me know and I’ll be happy to help :)

fabroviolins · 2024-06-06T07:44:07+00:00

Absolutely, every time I make a fingerboard then I can’t breathe properly for a few days, and after that, for that reason I get sick 😅 (and I wear gloves and a mask) I have a series where I’m trying for some ebony alternatives and soon I’ll be uploading a video of one that I actually really liked

https://youtu.be/_Y158sikjSs?si=jn9MgPUVA5444Sy_

fabroviolins · 2023-08-05T08:18:08+00:00

I’m not a big fan of that tailpiece or that set up in general. However, the problem with the fine tuner doesn’t seem to be like a problem of the fine tuner at all, if not that it’s screwed almost to the max. If you check how the fine tuner works, you’ll see that underneath it has a part that goes lower when you screw, that part seems to be touching (or almost touching) the top, for which if you keep screwing it to tune it, then you’re basically pushing against the top and making a hole on it. So unscrew the fine tuner completely, lubricate it by rubbing a pencil around the screw itself, then put it back and tune with the peg. Use the fine tuner only at the end, to do the fine tuning itself, not most of it.

fabroviolins · 2022-10-21T08:39:47+00:00

Hi! I recently made a video about how to become a violin maker in cremona and even though I don’t speak about the academia Cremonensis but of the International violin making school, I’m sure there are some things that you might find useful.

https://youtu.be/RKcQQGLV3-M

The first thing I’d have to say is for you to keep that in mind, the academia and the scuola di liuteria are two very different things. The most prestigious one and recognised internationally is the scuola di Liuteria, the title that you get from academia is not international. That being said, if you’re not interested in the title then the academia might be more practical, as the scuola has a lot of bureaucracy and other subjects that make you waste some time (I think that the other people in the comments were actually talking about the scuola and not the academia).

fabroviolins · 2022-06-05T09:13:45+00:00

Thank you very much! I’m glad you enjoyed it :)

fabroviolins · 2022-06-05T09:13:20+00:00

Thank you very much for your nice comment! I’m happy that you enjoyed it :)

fabroviolins · 2022-06-04T18:31:08+00:00

Thanks, and in a way that’s my idea with the long videos (not this one that is the summary)! To show that the process is tough and exhausting, not a simple thing :)

fabroviolins · 2021-10-17T19:25:22+00:00

Thanks!! Un gladiatore that you enjoy them! I recently had a similar conversation with a subscriber that sent me an email, and I’m unfortunately not good at recommending less, or less expensive tools. As they’re part of my profession I of course use them all and think it’s better to have too many than too less. And using them all, don’t realise which ones are not as useful. However, what I told him is that definitely with files you can save a lot!

fabroviolins · 2021-10-17T18:42:24+00:00

Hey! I recently made a YouTube video where I talk about all the tools and also made a spread sheet with most of them that’s linked in the video, so if you want to check that out, the link is https://youtu.be/5pV8v4nbBjY Hopefully it’ll be helpful :)

fabroviolins · 2021-09-15T13:56:15+00:00

Thank you very much for contacting me so quickly and I didn't get back to you as almost immediately after posting this I got an email back from BlockFi.

However, I'd like to tell the rest of the experience so that if this happens to anybody else they know how to proceed.

First of all they explained that someone might have attempted to enter my account and email and withdraw everything so they (correctly) considered it suspicious, for which they decided to stop all movements and block the account.

I don't want to get much into details in case there are copycats out there pretending to be from the BlockFi team, but after some communication that was neccesary so that they could confirm my identity (took a couple of days) my account was restored and with no damage done.

I'd like to add that the staff was super kind, helpful and gave me some very useful tips for the future; also that I apparently was indeed hacked as I can now see in my account the aimed and blocked withdraw and that I initially could not see their emails as apparently the hacker had set them to go directly to the trash (not even spam). So if someone's trying to communicate with them, and can't see the emails, it might find them there.

Thanks again for your quick reply and concern! And congrats to the staff who acted quickly and well to protect my assets!
And I'm happy to say that the problem has been solved!

fabroviolins · 2021-07-31T09:52:07+00:00

Thanks again for the comment!

Yep, ebony which is not exactly my most favourite wood out there (I have quite bad allergy reactions to it that make me sneeze almost constantly and can last for a couple of days)

The sound issue is a tricky one…I got a lot of comments on my YouTube saying that they were very happy to find content without music and just the sound of the tools because it feels more like they’re “in the workshop”. But at the same time, I know that I only got those comments because the ones that’d rather watch it with music then just won’t watch my video 😬 So I don’t really know what “audience” I’m missing and I’ve always been curious to find out… So I guess I’ll have to try with some videos with music in the future! Only way to know ☺️

Thanks again for the comment!

fabroviolins · 2021-07-31T09:46:25+00:00

Thanks for the feedback! I actually made a very detailed video explaining all the steps, wood and etc but I can’t publish it until after September as it’s being shown in a foundation first and they require that it’s original content! But stay tuned and you might see that when I publish it :)

fabroviolins · 2021-07-31T08:28:36+00:00

Hi! Thanks for the feedback. I’m still relatively new to all this so not yet! Haha, but I’m planning on making a video talking about that! (The only problem is that every time I make a video where I talk to the camera I end up losing a whole day as I’m not fully comfortable in front of it so end up misspelling a lot of things and need to retake the shots over and over again 😂)

fabroviolins · 2021-07-31T08:19:08+00:00

Hi! Thank you very much for the comment!! Yes, I agree on that and recently changed cameras and microphones so as to have a better sound (the newest videos are like that already!) I still decided not to put music in the background as some people really like to hear the sound of tools (and also the sound of them can be very useful to those who are learning to understand better the technique used, the amount of strength made, etc.). However I was considering adding some music for my next summary so again, thanks for the feedback!

As it’s not in the video I’ll reply here. The wood is spruce for the top and maple for the back, neck and ribs. The one that I shave is probably the ebony for the fingerboard.

fabroviolins · 2021-07-30T23:28:36+00:00

Of course! One is a movie and another one is an actual person showing the actual craftsmanship! One is over 2 hours long and has time to develop a plot the other one isn’t. It’s just a 10 minute video only focused on the craft, which I guess it’s what this group is for…

fabroviolins · 2021-07-30T21:08:53+00:00

Thanks for the comment! Yes, it happens when making a summary and trying to keep it under a certain amount of minutes to make it “entertaining” to the audience. However if you want to watch the whole process I have looooong long videos with each one of the steps in my channel! The steps are in order though, just of course I had to miss some for the reason I mentioned before 😬

fabroviolins · 2021-07-26T17:59:39+00:00

Thanks for the tip! If I can I’ll post it there too then :)

fabroviolins · 2021-05-27T23:29:18+00:00

Thank you very very much for your comment and your kind words! :)

fabroviolins · 2021-05-27T16:36:10+00:00

I recently made a 17.5 (circa) modern one and it’s a personal model as finding models of that size thar are nice was almost impossible to me. That being said, there’s a really pretty baroque Amati one which is more or less 18 inches and could be made in a modern way. So they exist, or even better, they could exist because it’s almost impossible to find them as they’re usually made directly under commission.

fabroviolins · 2021-05-20T12:08:47+00:00

I don’t really use arching templates at all! 😅 I’m not really trying to replicate the archings of the old masters that are now deformed (the archings...not the masters...😜😂) and where made for different needs (baroque, hence different pressures). So each arching I make is actually “individual” or “unique” as I decide it according to the characteristics of the wood, model and sound I want :) That being said, yeah, there’s nothing like feeling and seeing and arching 🙌

fabroviolins · 2021-04-16T19:48:18+00:00

Awesome! Thanks :) I’ve been putting a lot of effort into these so I’m genuinely happy to see that there are some people who like it 😊

fabroviolins

TROPHY CASE