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Color coded micro-mutes allow you to incrementally mellow the timbre to best fit a particular ensemble, or a particular piece of music, or to simply avoid tiring your ear during long hours of practice.
You can change the string-heights above the fingerboard by inserting a key into the base of the neck. You can just as equally change the centering of the fingerboard beneath the strings. These and other innovations let you keep your Ultralight in optimal adjustment even when you’re a continent away from the nearest violin shop.
The Ultralight is built to resist the kind of damage that is almost inevitable with traditional instruments. The bridge will not warp, nor will the strings dig into their grooves. The fingerboard has an abrasion resistant surface that can be removed and replaced in case of eventual wear. The chinrest assembly does away with the metal clamps that so often damage the top and ribs. Strategically placed veneers prevent the soundpost and bridge from digging into (and eventually cracking) the top. A host of less obvious innovations ensure long-term structural and tonal stability.
Joseph Curtin is an American violin maker based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and one of the most respected and most innovative makers in the world. He builds instruments for the most demanding musical settings, from auditions and competitions through to solo recitals and concertos.
His work sits at the intersection of craft and research. Collaborations with Claudia Fritz and Fan Tao produced three papers on the blind testing of violins, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and he has lectured on the art and science of making at physics colloquia at Stanford, Princeton and Cornell, and at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. He writes regularly for The Strad and Strings. His "Ultralight" violin uses low-density woods and an advanced acoustical design to cut weight, with colour-coded micro-mutes for adjusting timbre, player-adjustable string heights, and a construction built to resist the wear that traditional instruments accept as inevitable. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2005.
His violins have been built for Erick Friedman, Ilya Kaler, Cho-Liang Lin, Elmar Oliveira, Yehudi Menuhin and Ruggiero Ricci. In 2013 the "ex-Ricci" Curtin & Alf violin sold at auction for $132,000, a world record at the time for a living maker.
We are Joseph's only partner in the United Kingdom and have worked with him for years. His instruments are worth waiting for, and we have waited: over two years for one Stradivari model, which one of us flew to the United States to collect. The sound was powerful yet round, with a crisp, biting edge that makes projection effortless. His recent work combines power, resonance, nuance, balance and response in a way that is genuinely a player's dream, and is full of small innovations aimed at keeping the instrument sounding its best for decades. We were the first dealer anywhere to offer the Ultralight.
Every instrument is available for trial at our beautiful central London showroom.
Based near the vibrant Smithfield market area of the City of London, you'll find a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, perfect for trying our contemporary collection.
49 Little Britain
EC1A 7BH, London
MyLuthier is the UK's leading Dealer of high-quality contemporary violins, violas, cellos and bows.
Started by Violinist Ariel Lang and Cellist Pedro Silva while studying at the Royal Academy of Music in London.
Our mission is to provide musicians with exceptional musical instruments and bows at a fair price.
