This viola is the second of two on which I tried different experiments that culminated in the design of viola #116. The principal efforts on this model involved further rounding of the shoulders plus some new techniques of purfling the instrument with synthetic purfling. I was not convinced that the synthetic product looked any better than the traditional one. Its nothing fatal, but it was enough to make me keep the instrument off the market until now. Consequently, I am offering this instrument at a reduced price and in new condition.

For this viola I decided to use American wood in all its parts except the fittings. The blocks and linings comprising the structural components are from a chunk of American weeping willow that had seasoned over 20 years before I used it. The willow is from one of three large trees that blew down in a storm in central New York in 1978. A neighbor alerted me, and the owner of the property let me take them off his hands. It was a hard afternoon, but the wood is now very dry and light, and I have used it in every instrument I have built since except one.

The top is made from "mast" grade Sitka spruce, which only grows in the American northwest. Masts for sailing ships require the best grade of Sitka, with no twist or runout. I obtained a small quantity of this wood in 1978 and seasoned it an additional 25 years before using it (wouldn't want to do anything hasty, you know!) The back wood is American Bigleaf maple, another variety from our west coast. Although it is more difficult to work than European wood, it is acoustically very rewarding.

Even the bass bar did not escape Americanization. It is split from a section of Wyoming Englemann spruce that my wife and I cut ourselves while we were students at the violin making school in Salt Lake City in 1979. Incidentally, many of my violins have tops made of this same variety of spruce.

Even though this viola was built on essentially the same mold as #114, the two are noticeably different tonally. The character of this instrument leans much more to the contralto. It has a darker tone than its predecessor, and the lower strings have a bit more punch.

I am always open to suggestions about your particular needs. Please contact me by email if you are interested in further discussions about this viola or would like to tell me about your special requirements.

See other small violas I have for sale:

viola #116
viola #114

I am always open to suggestions about your particular needs. Please contact me by email if you are interested in further discussions about this viola or would like to tell me about your special requirements.

Last updated September 28, 2008.