Posted on

My Viola Played by Joel Link at an Amelia Island Chamber Festival concert

View this post on Instagram

Viola Primrose: Joel Link first violinist for the Dover Quartet #doverquartet was teaching the resident students at the Amelia Island Chamber Festival spring Institute this past week. For the final concert he needed a viola, and he did not want to carry his violin and viola on the flight. So, Joe Marasco the Festival executive director asked if I had a viola Joel could play for the week. So, the one of the violas I've made on Amelia Island was played by Joel at the final Amelia Island Chamber Festival concert of the season. How cool is that! #violin #viola #violinmaker #luthier #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #violinist #florida #northflorida #Georgia #luthier #firstcoast

A post shared by William Howery (@howeryviolins) on

Posted on

Jameson goes home with his person!

Jameson a 15 1/2 inch 5-string viola was delivered to his person this weekend in Chicago. Here is the initial response from Leigh McCue: “Picked up my 5-string ”Jameson” made by the wonderfully talented William Howery. First thoughts: handles high fast Irish jigs with a lovely response and sound that’s a bit more gentle on the ears than my traditional violin, particularly for the intonation-challenged like me. And Will’s term “chocolatey” is spot on for the low C string. Tonight’s playlist included some Ashokan Farewell and Amazing Grace in an attempt to get my ear dialed in to the viola sizing, a Carolan’s Welcome/Planxty Hewlett/Si Bheag Si Mhor trio I’m currently fixated on, and ended with some Fields of Gold to get a sense of that C string. ❤️❤️❤️ this fiddle. Thanks Will!”

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156974403150801&set=a.10150222249680801&type=3&theater

Posted on

turning in the tapers for the pegs

View this post on Instagram

Fiddle Jameson: While turning the taper for the pegs I thought a poem on turning was in order: And how appropriate for our world today!! Turning to One Another There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about. Ask: “What’s possible?” not “What’s wrong?” Keep asking. Notice what you care about. Assume that many others share your dreams. Be brave enough to start a conversation that matters. Talk to people you know. Talk to people you don’t know. Talk to people you never talk to. Be intrigued by the differences you hear. Expect to be surprised. Treasure curiosity more than certainty. Invite in everybody who cares to work on what’s possible. Acknowledge that everyone is an expert about something. Know that creative solutions come from new connections. Remember, you don’t fear people whose story you know. Real listening always brings people closer together. Trust that meaningful conversations can change your world. Rely on human goodness. Stay together. Margaret Wheatley #violin #viola #fiddle #5stringfiddle#violinJameson #fiddlejamesen #violinmaker #luthier #cnc #cncviolinmaker#orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland#brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys#jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic#jumusic #luthier #whatsonmybench#violinist #symphony #florida #northflorida#Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench#chambermusic #5string #firstcoast #acoustics

A post shared by William Howery (@howeryviolins) on

Posted on

Jameson: Body Glued

Posted on

Fiddle Jameson: Acoustics, what sound features make a good sounding violin?

View this post on Instagram

Fiddle Jameson: Acoustics, what sound features make a good sounding violin? Ask three violin makers and get four opinions… Actually thanks to some great work done by Carleen Hutchins, Joseph Curtin and the Oberlin acoustics workshop luthiers we have a fairly good idea of What acoustically represents a “good” sounding violin. The video shows Chladni sound patterns forming as a signal generator excites the plates at ascending frequencies. You can also identify the frequencies where these patterns occur with a spectrum analyzer, looking for peak energy for specific frequencies. We use the frequencies to calculate the plate stiffness and impedance. Calculating the stiffness is better than twisting the plate and hearing a crack when you press too hard… done that a few times, Ouch Impedance determines how much bow pressure a violinist needs on a string to start and maintain a tone. Too much pressure and the instrument is hard to play having limited dynamics. Too little pressure and the tone is mushy having little projection. Like Goldie Locks in the fairy tale we are looking for the acoustics that are just right:-). We take lots of measurements and compare the results over and over and over. #violin #viola #fiddle #5stringfiddle #violinJameson #fiddlejamesen #violinmaker #luthier #cnc #cncviolinmaker #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #northflorida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #chambermusic #5string #firstcoast #acoustics

A post shared by William Howery (@howeryviolins) on

Posted on

Fiddle Jameson: Graduation

View this post on Instagram

Fiddle Jameson: Graduation, roughing out the inside of the plates. The thickness of the plates will range from 2.2 to 4.5 mm. I use my beam calipers, fashioned after one used by Stradivarius, to score the thickness lines in the plates. Then I use a gauge to remove the lines. When the thickness gets within 1 mm of final I switch to finger planes. If I switch to finger planes too soon my fingers tell me about their sore spots when the day is done. When I’m within .5 mm of my target thickness I switch to smaller finger planes and scrapers. This is the first 5-string model so I don’t have the final plate 3d scans. On my next version of this model I’ll use the CNC machine to speed up the process to within 3mm. That being said, the final finger planing and scraping must be done by hand, because this is when I test the resonate frequencies which determine the instruments ultimate voice. #violin #viola #fiddle #5stringfiddle #violinJameson #fiddlejamesen #violinmaker #luthier #cnc #cncviolinmaker #orchestra #fernandinabeach #ameliaisland #brunswickga #staugustine #stmarys #jacksonville #jaxsymphony #unfmusic #jumusic #luthier #whatsonmybench #violinist #symphony #florida #northflorida #Georgia #luthier #whatsonmybench #chambermusic #5string #firstcoast

A post shared by William Howery (@howeryviolins) on