The Wonderful Violins of Mr. Zhang Shu Mei

No two violins can be totally exactly the same. Why? Because they are hand-crafted with natural materials.

Variations in the wood grain from trees are like variations in finger prints. No two pieces of wood are exactly alike. Then the human factor enters into the process of shaping and joining the wood.

These are areas where the experience and skill and love for the instrument by Mr. Zhang Shu Mei and his craftsmen enter into the equation of how wonderfully an instrument is constructed and from what materials.

Variations in violins include those crafted totally by Mr. Zhang Shu Mei, and then a sub-set of his own creations would vary depending on the choice of materials used.

For the accomplished soloist his design specifies more expensive wood prepared even more subtly so it is capable of even greater distinctions of sound with bow pressure variations. The soloist violin category is also designed for greater volume and greater range of sensitivity to the bow stroke. This involves subtle techniques applied on the bridge, it's height, angle of descent from the top through the sides and even the combination of strings. Different strings can require more or less height in the bridge as the tension required for different types of strings has a noticeable variance.

Resonance is a factor that has much to do with the volume of sound released from the violin. Another factor is the bow stroke itself, of course, but the resonating ability of the violin, the composite of all its parts, greatly determines the amplitude of final output.

Not only amplitude of the note played, but also the amplitude of overtones produced by the combination of all vibrating parts. These are the things that make each violin unique. Not all overtones and harmonics are amplified the same from one note to another. The same is true even for most electronic amplifiers which are machine made, and designed to be very linear. So how much more should we recognize the fact of naturally grown woods and horsehair producing their own unique combination of tones and overtones for each stroke of the bow. Many mass-produced violins and even hand-made can have a terrible drop-off in resonance ability at different frequencies. In some of those, overtones are real strong and others are too weak. When you have a violin from Mr. Zhang Shu Mei, you will be assured of a good resonance pattern between tones and overtones. This is due to the loving care and custom fitting of each of the custom parts blended into each violin. His violins are each custom designed to radiate a smooth spectrum of sound through-out the range played on the instrument. Not having intense spikes or drop-off in tone at any spot in the spectrum of sound is a requirement for even a beginner violin. After we have found a violin with a level output at each frequency, then we want to see how wide a range of amplitude it can produce from super soft tones to super loud at each frequency. This is a factor of how the artist decides to bring the bow to the strings, softly or hard. Can the violin respond to a soft touch and can it reproduce the sound intended by a hard striking touch. Mr. Zhang Shu Mei's can definitely differentiate themselves from other violins in these areas. That's why he was selected as one of the world's top violin makers. He is a masterbuilder of violins.

To enable you to have a choice of what you want, he has provided designs of violins, which scale up the features involved. Each feature has its own cost associated with it. From student to masterpiece, the violins range up in details applied into their construction.

A young child does not yet possess the fine touch variation in how he strokes the bow so an instrument for a child need not be so sensitive as a more mature player's violin.

To play a very soft note with a very soft amplitude requires a more skilled player and a more sensitive instrument. The ability of a violin to produce both a very soft and a very loud note is a measure of its value as the player matures.

This more exacting response measurement is proven as we progress into the more exacting details of how Mr. Zhang Shu Mei constructs his more advanced violins.

His top line, masterpiece, violins are in the playing range of $8,000 to $10,000 violins in the United States.

His next line, soloist, play as a typical $3,000 to $4,000 violin.

He also has designs in full size 4/4 violins from $400 up with which the student will be well pleased.