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Players and Instruments

Bent top parlor guitar

I wanted a guitar that played like an electric but didn't need plugging in. I designed this guitar ...

The Turing Violin

The Turing Violin is one of a series of instruments that explore the craft of violinmaking in the Di...

Henry Miller performing Sibelius on the Violin in...

The Violin in a box is an international project where 10 violin makers arounfd the world made one vi...

The Ripple cello

This cello was designed by Andrew Carruthers in collaboration with Cellist Mia Pixley to extend the ...

Mia Pixley and Alisa Rose play "Ripple"

This original composition played on the Ripple Cello and Ripple Violin by Andrew Carruthers, 2002 Ce...

Andrew Carruthers 2014 cello / Robert deMaine /...

As part of the 5th Annual Contemporary American Violin & Bow Maker Exhibition & Sale, Los Angeles, c...

Tabolin Sound Test

The Tabolin is an experimental violin, part of a series of Off-Beat Fiddles https://www.andrewcarrut...

Michelle Lambert and The Turtle Fiddle

Michelle takes the Turtle out for a walk. Here's the hook from her hit single "Come to me". https://...

Edwin Huizinga and William Coulter play Vivaldi's "Summer".

The Redwood violin appeared as part of Edwin and Bill's "Fire and Grace " show at a house concert i...

Tabolin rhythm

Tonal possibilities of the Tabolin's resonant panels...

Mads Tolling shreds Led Zepplin's Black Dog on...

At house concert near Forestville, Sonoma County. The Redwood violin had a pick-up fitted and Mads ...

Mads Tolling plays the Dimpled Viola

Mads Tolling, https://madstolling.com/ @MadsTollingViolinist Plays the Dimpled viola. https://w...

The Tabolin, part violin, part tabla drum

Here’s my latest Experimental Violin project: the Tabolin, a fiddle that is part violin, part tabl...

Experimental Fiddles, sound test

This is a sound test of three experimental violins and one straight violin . They are all built on ...

Richard Prenkert plays Baden Powell

Richard Prenkert giving my new guitar a quick test drive with Baden Powell's "Poem on the Eyes of Lo...

Carruthers 2015 viola

Richard O'Neill plays a 2015 viola at the Metzler Violin Shop exhibition in Glendale CA on April 8, ...

Carruthers del Gesu violin

https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/violin/del-gesu-violin-2016/ Martin Chalifour plays a del Gesu at t...

Erik Anderson, Bach, Carruthers cello

Just to remember the the moment: Erik Anderson plays Bach, after his Musica Marin concert....

Jung-Hsuan Ko 柯容軒 Bach cello suite no.6 prelude

Cello by Andrew Carruthers...

Carruthers, poplar Ruggieri model cello, 2016

Carruthers 2016 Poplar Ruggieri cello demonstrated by Marek Szpakiewicz at Tom Metzler's "American ...

Violinshop: Tools, Tips & Tricks

VIolin locating pins

A method for fitting violin plate locating pins, using a kiri drill....

Various

Making a violin, start to finish. Hear what...

Sights and sounds of a violin being built. Thanks to Justin Liddell and his crew at Definition Fil...

Off Beat Violins

More about them here https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/off-beat-violins/...

The Flipper

Violinmaking Business in the Corona Days: What we can learn from The Old Masters. https://AndrewCar...

Violin Making: One Man's Journey

In this film, we enter the shop of Andrew Carruthers to experience the craft and art of violin makin...

Violin varnish drying

...

The world's biggest cello mobile

What to do with those extra cello tops...

#Ripple #vortex

A new collaborative fiddle with metal foil and patina finish master @davidmarkswoodworking #patina #texture #whatsonyourbench...

The latest "regular" fiddle: a Guadagnini model cello. The finish has no deliberate scratches or craqueleur, just "wear" and "patina" and plenty of tool marks and tear-outs for texture. I'm always amazed at how hard it is to leave tool marks and not smooth them over, a few swipes with a scraper and they're gone. I set out to to make a completely normal cello but when it came to the head and scroll I fell off the wagon. It just seemed bland without a little extra gouge work #cello #cellist #violin #violinist #fiddle #fiddler #sculpture #woodcarving #texture #guadagninicello

The latest "regular" fiddle: a Guadagnini model cello. The finish has no deliberate scratches or...

The Unicursal Fiddle! Each surface contains a labyrinth, a single channel that wanders the entire...

CNC wizard to the violin trade, Ben Pearce @outlierworkshop, mills the parts for the Unicursal...

The Unicursal fiddle. A single, “Unicursal” line covers the entire surface of this violin back....

Got tool marks? 15.75” viola in poplar with textured finish. #viola #violist #violin #violinist #fiddle #fiddling #texture #woodcarving #sculpting #whatsonyourbench #offbeatviolins

Got tool marks? 15.75” viola in poplar with textured finish. #viola #violist #violin #violinist #fiddle...

Latest 5-String for @mrfiddler1 and @theviolinshop. See it, play it next week @wintergrassmusicfestival, Bellingham, Washington....

Latest guitar. I wanted something with the feel of an electric, but without the amp....
I’ve been distracted by other projects, but the Turing Fiddle is finally done! #turing #violin #fiddler #whatsonyourbench #luthier

I’ve been distracted by other projects, but the Turing Fiddle is finally done! #turing #violin...

I always like getting the first coat of varnish on. Suddenly you can see shadows AND reflected highlights, and the form and texture of the instrument become more apparent. Now I think the extra day and a half I spent chamfering the rays was worth the effort. (Can anyone tell me where to get straight-cut back wood?, I’m sick of this!) #sunrays☀️ #turing #woodcarving #violin #fiddle #whatsonyourbench #luthier #luthiery

I always like getting the first coat of varnish on. Suddenly you can see shadows...

Chamfering those rays!…… It seems like years since I started this……. But it’s alright….. here...

Doing a little bark beetle work on the sides. #barkbeetle #turingpattern #turing #woodworm #woodcarving #fiddle...

The Turing fiddle....It's hot! #turing #violin #fiddle

Carving at last! #turingpattern #woodcarving #violin #fiddle

Carving at last! #turingpattern #woodcarving #violin #fiddle

There’s a great feature on @miapixley and her Ripple cello in this months Strings Magazine. This project was so much fun…..and it’s still making waves! #cello #offbeat #cellist

There’s a great feature on @miapixley and her Ripple cello in this months Strings Magazine....

I designed this Turing patterned fiddle, in collaboration with @kerimdundar_ of Yakaza.org. Kerim uses Reaction-Diffusion...

Watch full video @definitionfilms. it’s good, the action slows down, and I don’t play the...

Stradivari’s Blue Jeans Did Strad know that his varnish would wear off quick and look awesome…. or was it a fortunate mistake? What makes an antiqued finish the most enduring and acceptable form of violin decoration? Is “Antiquing” a violin the equivalent of stone washing jeans? Could there be a violin finish that has similar attractive qualities to an antiqued finish…. but that isn’t pretending to be something it isn’t? …. …..I think there could be. What do you think? Read my rambling musings on this topic. https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/controlled-randomness-and-the-search-for-a-good-honest-violin-finish/ #violinvarnish #blueviolin #fiddle #lutherie #violiinmaking

Stradivari’s Blue Jeans Did Strad know that his varnish would wear off quick and look...

The most fundamental essence of music is transferring energy by waves and vibrations form player...

Imagine you could see waves and vibrations passing through an object, the way that we can see waves and ripples on water. #violin #fiddle #sculpture #waves #ripples #violinmaking

Imagine you could see waves and vibrations passing through an object, the way that we...

#offbeatviolins #fiddle

Conventional cello decoration. Nothing weird about it.

The Tabolin is up and running at last! @theredfiddler came by to help discover what...

@michellelambertmusic rockin my O-Fiddle. All I can say is “O, I didn’t know it could...
The varnish is on. I’m about to start texturing and antiquing the Tabolin. #texture #offbeatfiddles #experimentalviolin

The varnish is on. I’m about to start texturing and antiquing the Tabolin. #texture #offbeatfiddles...

Technical problems. The vellum is an amazing material, super strong and it self tensions as...

A look at the violin plates, before I close the box.

Decorating the Tabolin plates. Its another cell pattern, this one has a sea urchin and lobster look, with some reptile overtones. #experimentalviolin #fiddle #sculpture #woodcarvingart #woodcarving

Decorating the Tabolin plates. Its another cell pattern, this one has a sea urchin and...

Knocking out the panels for the Tabolin. It already has a different tap tone! I...

Here’s my latest Curious Violin project: the Tabolin, a fiddle that is half violin, half...

Coming soon: A violin like nothing you’ve ever seen before.........It might even sound different too!...

Great to see Brandon Godman @thefiddlemercantile coming out of hibernation and waking up the X-fiddle...

The Redwood Violin is out and about. We met these two local fiddlers, @theredfiddler and...

Very happy to have the Redwood Violin covered by Strings. Thanks to everyone who has been involved in the project! #madelocal #farmtotablefiddle

Very happy to have the Redwood Violin covered by Strings. Thanks to everyone who has...

Since January 1st I’ve been building a violin from scratch, using only materials from within 25 miles of my house. the Redwood Violin is a community project in two parts: In phase 1 MADE LOCAL, I collected materials such as local sheep's intestine for a tailgut, beef tendons to make glue, walnuts to make oil for varnish, even some wildfire ash to make lye. For woods I picked materials that made sense tonally, but also had some local cultural social significance The main woods I’m using are Redwood and Applewood and Manzanita. I did most of the violinmaking myself but, wherever possible, I enlisted the help of other local artisans with greater knowledge than me. I’ve had contributions from a papermaker, a woodturner, a mobile slaughterer, a calligrapher, a grape grower a peddle steel guitarmaker. I’ve documented collecting and preparing the materials, and making the violin. I also interviewed all the contributors to the project. on a YouTube channel: The Redwood Violin Project UCNLXc5u1RBaCkJ_8Jeb6bJA. The violin will be debuting in mid April at a concert of a local youth orchestra which will feature a concertina for violin and strings composed by one of the students. After the April concert, we enter Phase 2: PLAYED LOCAL. The violin will be made available to anyone in the community who would like to include it in a concert or to make a home video. We hope to attract the interest of musicians and composers, regardless of age, musical genre, or ability. The hope is to stimulate artistic collaborations and to showcase the talent that we have to enjoy right here at home in Sonoma County, CA. At the end of the year the violn will be donated to the Santa Rosa Youth Orchestra The best way to follow the Redwood Violin Project is to go to our website website TheRedwoodViolin.org, and sign up for our almost-weekly newsletter. #violinist #violin #fiddle #whatsonmybench #madelocally #madelocal #theredviolin #theredwoodviolin

Since January 1st I’ve been building a violin from scratch, using only materials from within...

I finally got the X and O fiddles done . There’s a sound-test video which probably does more to add to the mysteries of violin sound rather than shedding any light. See more details about this project on my website blog

I finally got the X and O fiddles done . There’s a sound-test video which...

The woodwork is done on the X and O-fiddles. The last two pictures are of the Cladni patterns overlaid on a picture of the outsides of the backs. The O-mode on the O-fiddle was weak and at a higher frequency. Apparently my carving pattern was an interference. My sense, from the feel of the wood and the plates is that the X-fiddle will be the brighter and livelier of the two.

The woodwork is done on the X and O-fiddles. The last two pictures are of...

Done carving the outside of the X and O-Fiddles. Next comes the interesting bit: hollowing and tuning the plates. I’ll start to get a sense of whether the carved patterns will affect the tone of the fiddles. #violin #violinistas #pattern #texture #fiddles

Done carving the outside of the X and O-Fiddles. Next comes the interesting bit: hollowing...

Getting into the carving on the X Fiddle. It´s fun making up the chip patterns as I go. It reminds me a lot of carving wood blocks for print making. The possible patterns are dictated by the wood grain and they vary between cell in the design. I dont yet know how Ím going to treat the central ¨corset¨ area. It needs some texture. I really want the fiddle to have an organic look, like something you might find washed up on a beach somewhere.

Getting into the carving on the X Fiddle. It´s fun making up the chip patterns...

The fun begins. A pair of violins patterned after the X and O vibrational modes. #violinist🎻 #violinistas #fiddler #chladni

The fun begins. A pair of violins patterned after the X and O vibrational modes....

Flown into my yard from the fires. Mostly bay laurel (or eucalyptus?), but also live oak, maple and some building material(?!). I guess that it is incinerated without oxygen, turns to charcoal and gets caught in the updraft. The big piece weighs 0.8 grams and came at least 5 miles. Check out the blisters on the bay laurel where the volatile oils evaporated before it charred. @peter_goodfellow Does this look familiar?

Flown into my yard from the fires. Mostly bay laurel (or eucalyptus?), but also live...

Im starting a pair of fiddles with contrasting structures to see what the effect on sound will be. The first two drawings are the designs that I will use, they are based on the X and O-vibrational modes. This is a little bit science but mostly a good excuse to indulge my interest in nature, geometry and architecture. More on the ideas behind this: https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/cellular-fiddles-part-1-braces-modes-and-the-possibilities-of-shaping-sound/ #violinist🎻 #fiddler #violinistas #cellpattern #celli

Im starting a pair of fiddles with contrasting structures to see what the effect on...

Turtle Fiddle Arrived! Its been a slow but interesting ride. Read about the ideas behind the turtle on my blog. https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/turtle-fiddle/ #violinist🎻 #violinistas #fiddler #texture #rust #sculpture

Turtle Fiddle Arrived! Its been a slow but interesting ride. Read about the ideas behind...

A glimpse inside my dreamworld. I’m loading 75,000 pictures into a new photo-sorting app, and...

The Turtle Fiddle is coming along......slow and steady!

The Turtle Fiddle is coming along......slow and steady!