The April 2005 edition of The Strad saw the first in a new regular section: Trade Secrets, in which violin and bow makers would share the technical tips and tricks that they’d worked out for themselves and wanted to share with their peers. Almost two decades later, Trade Secrets is still a mainstay of the magazine, having featured over 200 fully illustrated parts of the making process penned by more than 140 makers around the world. This latest collection brings together 35 of the most recent articles, drawn from the magazine’s pages since the pandemic year of 2020.
The Covid-19 emergency was a difficult time for luthiers, with most businesses across the globe suffering in some way. However, it was amazing to see so many people using their lockdown time to develop new ideas, finish off their pet projects and work out new solutions to old problems – many of which have since appeared in Trade Secrets. It’s also heartening that this current volume, The Best of Trade Secrets 6, contains articles by a plethora of new contributors, along with several names familiar to readers, such as Nicolas Gilles, Shem Mackey and Davide Sora. The ideas displayed within these 120 pages are a testament to the creativity, ingenuity and imagination of today’s instrument and bow makers – and long may that continue.
