Special offer: The Best of Trade Secrets 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 bundle
£163.50 £140.00

The Best of Trade Secrets series brings together some of the most useful articles from The Strad’s ever popular section on the instrument making process. Luthiers from all over the world have contributed articles explaining their own special methods for overcoming some of the trickiest problems in instrument making. All the techniques are fully illustrated and clearly explained in step-by-step how-to guides.

Almost every part of the making process has been covered in these four best-selling volumes containing more than 150 articles between them. There are techniques for everything from casting an f-hole to antiquing, along with tips on edgework and purfling, necks and fingerboards, varnish, set-up and making tools. In recent years there has been more emphasis on restoration techniques, as well as on bow making.

Luthiers including John Dilworth, Joseph Curtin, Gregg Alf, Francis Kuttner, Raymond Schryer, David Burgess and Jan Špidlen have lent their expertise to the section in its decade-long history. Collectively, these four volumes make up an essential addition to any instrument maker’s library.

Print + Online Subscription

• 12 issues in print – Priority Mail
• Two detailed instrument posters a year – Includes measurements and thickness maps (posters usually retail at £19.95 each)
• The Strad Directory: the essential annual guide for the string music industry, with global listings for businesses, artisans and organisations (usually retails at £19.95)
• Special supplements, in print and online, including Accessories, String Courses and Degrees
• Plus all the online package including: premium online access and over 140 digital magazines

Online Subscription

• No need to wait – start reading today, with a digital edition of each new issue
• Dedicated sections for players, teachers and luthiers
• An online archive of over 140 digital editions
• Unlimited access to premium online content
• Digital special supplements including Accessories, Degrees and String Courses
• Access from anywhere on your devices

NEW – Masterclass: Violin Concertos £30.00 – £25.00

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s. Now, in association with publisher G. Henle Verlag, The Strad is releasing the best of its Masterclasses as a bespoke anthology series.

In this first 148-page collection of Masterclasses from 2016 onwards, some of the world’s leading soloists give their thoughts on their favourite violin concertos, with Bruch, Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky all represented.

‘Kochanski’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin 1741 poster – NEW

One of The Strad’s most popular posters is now available with brand new artwork showing the 1741 ‘Kochanski’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ in all its glory. Now with actual-size photos depicting every nuance of the violin, this poster has been used by luthiers across the world as a model for their own instruments, thanks to the detailed outlines and measurements on the back.

One of the few ‘del Gesù’ instruments dated 1741, the ‘Kochanski’ is exceptional due to its fine state of preservation and pristine varnish. The thickness of the coat is almost undisturbed by polishing, and its glistening texture emphasises the instrument’s freshness and natural condition.

Includes measurements, thickness and arching maps.

Antonio Stradivari ‘Archinto’ viola 1696 poster – NEW

By popular demand, The Strad is republishing one of its most sought-after posters – the 1696 ‘Archinto’ Stradivari viola – with brand new photography that brings out the colours and craftsmanship like never before. One of the treasures of London’s Royal Academy of Music, the ‘Archinto’ provides a model for luthiers to admire and copy even in the 21st century.

Includes measurements, thickness and arching maps.

In Focus 2 – NEW

The Strad ’s second compilation of fascinating articles, written within the last 5 years, brings together fine instruments by some of the world’s greatest instrument experts. In this new anthology, every instrument has been given three pages to include more close-up photographs, archings, angles and tiny details.

Makers such as Antonio Stradivari and Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ rub shoulders with lesser-known names such as Alfredo del Lungo, David Stirrat and Willem van der Sijde, with each article including biographical details as well as points of interest regarding the instrument’s form and construction. This book is a must for every luthier’s library.

Antonio Stradivari ‘Benvenuti’ Violin 1727 poster – REPRINT

One of the masterpieces of Stradivari’s late period, the ‘Benvenuti’ has had a rich playing history – which makes it all the more remarkable that the instrument remains in superb condition today. This is the first of The Strad‘s posters to use full-colour micro-CT scans, with all the scanned images actual-size reproductions of the instrument.

‘From both the front and rear, the pegbox appears wide and powerful, the fluting remaining quite shallow all over (as in the volute), to deepen only under the throat’ – Andrea Zanrè in the December 2016 issue

Carlo Bergonzi ‘Baron Knoop’ violin 1735 poster

This violin demonstrates all the hallmarks of Carlo Bergonzi’s mature style, as well as the influences of both Antonio Stradivari and Guarneri ‘del Gesù’. Made from top-quality spruce and maple, it shows the exquisite care with which Bergonzi prepared all his finest instruments.

‘Bergonzi’s varnish has a deep, subdued fire which doesn’t try to emulate the visual effects obtained by his competitors’ – Andrea Zanrè in the July 2021 edition of The Strad

Includes measurements, thickness maps and life-size CT scans.

Gasparo da Salò double bass c.1550 poster 

Our poster of this extraordinary c.1550 Gasparo da Salò double bass is now available in the Shop. It is a magnificent instrument by the 16th-century Italian master, with original scroll.

Just the sight of it is breathtaking. The model itself is exceptional – the round, well-sized middle bouts, the round, wide upper and lower bouts; and the upper-block curve which runs steeply up towards the neck, making the instrument very comfortable to play.

Includes measurements and thickness maps.

Antonio Stradivari ‘Willemotte’ violin 1734 – NEW

A masterpiece of Antonio Stradivari‘s late period, the ‘Willemotte‘ has a muscular ruggedness and strong character: massive, with generous edges, full arching and broad f-holes. It is now the principal performing instrument of violinist Leonidas Kavakos.

‘The sound of the “Willemotte” leaves one grasping for the right adjectives: complex, deep, pungent, something you almost taste as much as hear’ – Sam Zygmuntowicz in the December 2020 edition of The Strad.

Includes measurements, thickness maps and life-size CT scans.

Cello Player BUNDLE
£67.96 £40.00

• The Best of Technique

• The Strad Masterclass: Solo Cello

• Cello Heroes

• Rostropovich: A Celebration

The Strad / Digital Amati T-Shirt – SUMMER

For its first ever T-shirt, The Strad has teamed up with Harry Mairson, a computer science professor and cello maker who directs Digital Amati, a project using computer technology to enhance our understanding of classical stringed instrument design.

The T-shirt exhibits the renowned Stradivari 1700 ‘Stauffer, ex-Cristiani’ cello, now in the collection of the Fondazione Stauffer and on display at Cremona’s Museo del Violino. Depicted together with the image of the ‘Cristiani’ is a geometric drawing of a Stradivari cello, using the methods of François Denis’s book Traité de Lutherie: The Violin and the Art of Measurement.

Be among the first to wear this 100% high-quality cotton T-shirt that illustrates the synergy of art and science, which in the Renaissance were one and the same thing. One quarter of the proceeds will be donated to the Friends of Stradivari at Cremona’s Museo del Violino, helping to sustain this remarkable museum.