Because I learned my trade as an apprentice to a master violin maker my methods of violin making are quite different from most makers today who learned in one of the German concept trade schools. Added to that, my 48 years experience in both restoration and making cause me to be unique in the business.

I use only the most choice, expensive, well-aged maple available. The spruce I use is cut by me and aged from 10 to 25 years. I do not make copies. All of my models are originals, designed by me and based on the proportions of the greatest of the old Italian masters. Since I admire the originality of Guarneri Del Gesu, my models may remind some people of this great maker, but they are no more copies of a Del Gesu then a Del Gesu is a copy of any other maker. In order to maintain consistency I work very accurately to arching templates that I have generated mathematically and that reflect the concepts of the best of the old Italian instruments. I assemble my instruments under very strict conditions of relative humidity between 35% - 45%. This, combined with well-aged wood, contributes to the fact that, to my knowledge, not one of my instruments made in the last 30 years has ever suffered a weather-related crack. I know of only a few that have ever needed a seam reglued.

The most unique aspect of my methods is my varnish. It is a high quality oil varnish based on an Italian recipe from the late 1600s. Most makers today use a spirit varnish that consists mostly of shellac dissolved in alcohol, that is applied in 2 to 3 days. This spirit varnish is so brittle it cracks and chips easily, sometimes has a very low melting point, is chemically unstable and, worst of all, produces a brittle and restricted tone. The oil varnish I make takes almost 2 years to produce. It takes 4 to 6 months to apply. It is chemically stable. It is tough, but flexible. It has a very high melting point. Most of all, because of its flexibility, it produces a smooth, deep, open sound. All of this combines to make my instruments superior to all of today's modern makers and very competitive to the instruments of the old masters, which cost 10 times as much.