Everything about how your instrument is built works together to determine how well it functions and how it sounds.

Materials. Starting with materials, wood that is both stiff and light and aged for a few years has the potential to make a better instrument than soft, recently cut, or green, wood. As green wood dries, it shrinks, which causes serious problems a few months or years down the road when the pieces no longer fit together. High-quality, well-aged (seasoned) wood is much more expensive than poor-quality wood. The very best wood, used by high-end violin makers, can cost hundreds of dollars per instrument.

Fittings. Well-made fittings are important, too. A poorly shaped fingerboard can render certain notes unplayable. It’s a dreadful, distorted sound! Painted soft-wood fingerboards wear out quickly, are difficult to reshape, and expensive to replace with durable ebony.

Pegs and tuners must work before you can even begin to play.

The bridge, at minimum, must fit and be the right height or the instrument will sound terrible. Better violins will have bridges carefully carved from good-quality, aged maple blanks. Bridge carving is a highly developed skill and you get what you pay for.

The Form. The model or pattern that is used is important. You may hear of a “Strad” model or “Guarneri” model, but this is a very general starting point. In fact, both of those makers developed several patterns during their careers. It takes a knowledgeable person to make sure that details of the outline, measurements, and shape of the arch are all designed to work together. Different shapes can influence the character of the sound—for example, a higher arch may create a mellower sound that doesn't project to the back of the hall.

Construction. Some of the cheapest instruments cut corners on construction in order to save time, often on the inside where you don't see the difference. Think of a car with an eye-catching body but some parts missing under the hood. The skill of the craftsperson who carved the parts of your violin and fit them together will have an impact on the sound and beauty of your instrument. The jobs are often specialized in workshops, with some workers carving scrolls all day while others make ribs or carve tops and backs. For example, most skillful top carvers know how to shape an arch and how to evaluate each piece of wood as they work, deciding where to take out wood and where to leave it a little thicker. How well the neck is shaped makes a very big difference to the player. Like anything else, it takes more time to do the best work.

But time is money.

According to Jack Hu of Snow Violins, the best wood is given to the most skillful workers, resulting in a more expensive, but better-quality instrument.

On the outside, how the surface of the wood is finished before varnishing will influence the appearance. Varnish must be both strong enough to protect the instrument and thin enough not to strangle the sound—not always an easy balance to strike. Again, better materials, more skill, and enough time to do the job right make a better result.

The Setup. How the completed instrument is “set up” to play is extremely important to the sound. The bass bar (glued inside the top), the soundpost (standing up inside), and the bridge all work together. When these pieces are properly carved and placed in the best possible relationship to each other, your instrument sounds its very best. When they’re not adjusted properly, even a great instrument can sound horrible! Setup is a skill all to itself.

So, you can see at each step of the process that quality materials, skill or knowledge, and enough time to do the best job all contribute to how well your instrument sounds.

—Erin Shrader