iLuthier

LEFT: David S. Brown, violin maker.

David S. Brown peers closely at the purfling line on the belly of a violin, the sunlight fighting it’s way through the multi-paned window of his sixteenth century style workshop and into the darkness within. It is a scene which would not appear too out of place in far off Cremona but is, in actual fact, from a leafy outer suburb of Melbourne, Australia. In fact the entire scene is so authentic looking that David, and his workshop, have been featured in a painting for an historically accurate book about the traditional woods used in a variety of crafts.

David was born in Queensland, Tasmania. In the late 1960’s he won a scholarship to the Nuechatel School of Watchmaking in Switzerland when we was 22 years old. He ended up being the top student of his year and when David returned to Australia he continued to work as a watchmaker for another 20 years until technology and a restless spirit forced him to consider another professional direction.

“I have worked with timber all my life and was used to fine detail with my watchmaking”, says David, “I’m also fascinated by Japanese culture and philosophy and I’ve been making traditional Shoji screens and Shakuhachi flutes for some time now. The history of Japanese Shakuhachi flutes goes back some 700 years but I wanted to make something that had a long heritage from my own culture so when violin-maker Warren Fordham offered to teach me how to make violins I jumped at the opportunity. I then spent five years with him learning the various techniques of violinmaking and then eventually took over his studio here in Montsalvat, Victoria.”

Most of the time David makes his violins from Australian timbers, often using a combination of European spruce with Tasmanian myrtle or blackwood. “King Billy pine from Tasmania is much sought after by European violin-makers as it has such special qualities,” he says. “It’s one of the few timbers in the world that can be used for violins and is very hard to get as it’s endemic only to southern Tasmania.”

LEFT: Viola, belly (European spruce), body (Tasmanian blackwood), chin rest (Gippsland blackwood) and tailpiece (ringed gidgee)

“Every single violin is different and every piece of timber has to be worked differently, depending on its elasticity, strength and weight. I record every detail of each violin that I make, so that I have some correlation between good and bad instruments, but generally I manage to make violins that have a good tonal quality. The only way to become a good violin-maker is to make a lot of them. It’s the watchmaker in me that enjoys fine detail.”

Such is the personal touch, attention to detail and the passion in all of David’s instruments.

In the coming months iLuthier will feature more of David’s work as well as some pictures of his workshop. Unfortunately David doesn’t have a website but we’ve provided his contact details below:

David S. Brown
Montsalvat
Hillcrest Ave
ELTHAM VIC 3095
(03) 9439 9699

(Taken largely from Country Style)

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