There is pride in me saying that before a violinmaker I trained as a cabinet maker. This didn´t last for many years, as the itch to make fiddles was too urgent, but long enough to learn from some very fine craftsmen in a wide variety of settings and projects.

One of many things about the job I remember fondly is the enormous array of timbers used in the workshop and the joy of looking at different grains, patterns and finishes. This is something I have carried with me ever since and it is something not so present in scholastic violin making, most violins being made of balkan maple back, sides and ribs and italian spruce tops. 

In order to satisfy my curiosity and my own desire, I looked deeper into the Iberian history of instrument making. There was a very rich trade of instrument makers working in Spain and Portugal in the XVII and XVIII century, producing work of outstanding quality comparable perhaps to that of other better known places. While studying some of those instruments, one thing that caught my eye was the widespread use of walnut, Juglans Regia, for the backs, sides and scrolls of instruments. One of those instruments, such as a Violon by Francisco Sanguino, are a masterpiece of design, style and craftsmanship and here is where I departed from. 

Some photos of said instrument were handed over to me by dear friend Joan Pellisa and careful observation led me to a choice of aesthetics, details and decisions. 

Since I had no access to a violin model by this maker, I did what any XVIIIth century craftsman would have done in my situation, I used one of the existing patterns on my wall and just got to work. The pattern used is my usual Bartolomeo Giuseppe del Gesu mould, which I tweaked accordingly to grasp some flavour of what I had visioned in my mind. 

The results is a violin with a great amount of personality, and will display many of the stylistic choices of the period.