Welcome Ya Yin Music Company

Precision and Sound
The Fine Eye, Ear and Heart of the Luthier
by Nina Chen
May 2009

Having worked as an architect in Switzerland, I thought I knew something about the application of exacting precision in craft. On objects as large as an office building, details might be specified to the millimeter, a distance just slightly more than the thickness of your fingernail.

Imagine my astonishment when, during a course for violin repair, I was introduced to the measurements that a luthier, a maker and restorer of stringed instruments, works with. In my little kit of tools, in addition to such things like knives, clamps, and steel wool, I was given a little ruler along with a chart telling me the measurements I should take heed of.

I had to rub my eyes when I saw the dimensions. “Fingerboard Surface Concavity Under String One: 0.5mm. “ “Fingerboard Clearance under String One for Steel Strings: 2.5mm.” “Bridge Thickness at Strings: 1.3 mm.”

Here were measurements so fine I couldn't comprehend how they my eyes might discern them. But what I didn't know then I know now - where the eye reaches it's limits, the ear and heart take over. Discovering and coaxing the optimum sound out of each and every individual instrument depends on pure patience and heart. A little more sanding here, a little tap there, a little nudge here - hardly noticeable physical differences bringing nonetheless audible results.

The work of a luthier is perhaps one of the few surviving professions where one may get a glimpse of how medieval guilds functioned. There are no shortcuts in this field. An apprentice may spend the first months simply learning how to sharpen tools. Material is not published en masse in textbooks, but rather handed down by mouth, luthier to luthier. The soul of the luthier yearns not for the wild adventurous unknown but rather for a complete maximum harmony of shape and sound. It is a patient, quiet, and ultimately noble pursuit for perfection.

At Ya Yin Music Company, we recognize that each violin has its own story. Individually recognized and named, all of our instrument have a unique history of sound which has been tended to by the fine eyes, ears and hearts of different and unique persons, each a luthier.