Philippe Gaud Workshop Violin- PARIS 1948

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Philippe Gaud was born 1905 Venice, Italy and moved with family to Nice, France. Before violin making he worked an apprenticeship at sea and then as a student of architecture. He later became acquainted with luthier Pierre Rossi with whom he learned violin making. Gaud emigrated to New York in 1954, where he established a workshop and remained active until the 1960s. His fine violin work is particularly noticed in his Stradivarius models. Gaud has a Strad model ‘Sarasate’ violin in the Paris Conservatoire collection (Musée de la Musique). Wow, who can say that about their work?

We have a French workshop violin labeled Philippe Gaud, Paris 1948. The instrument has traditional woods and is slightly larger in its rib structure and upper and lower bouts. The edges of the plates have a quick return up to the lip of the edge contour and the f hole wing areas are Guad’s in how the wing peninsula is edged. The instrument, simply put, oozes character. We’ve gone over the violin from the pegs to the end button. The violin has a new set up: pegs, post, bridge, finger board, tailpiece, and chin rest. The fittings are completed in rosewood. There are tool marks in the violin I decided to keep. The vanish shows patina and visible brush lines. The violin almost screams at me that it is Italian. The handwork is a little rough, as if he didn’t worry about making sure his tools were totally sharp. It reminds me of a lot of Italian violins I have studied. The violin has been played well, which is a very good sign; someone loved the instrument and played it seriously for a generation. The instrument is a cross of spirited hand craftsmanship, which quite possibly needed to be completed to survive economically after World War II, mixed with a quick paced brushed varnish work.

Corpus 356.0 mm., Major Width 208.0 mm., Minor Width 168.0 mm., Rib Height 31.0 mm. in the lower bouts tapering to 30.0 mm at the neck. – Vibrating string length 325.0 mm.

The sound of the violin is powerful, especially on the G and D string. The lower strings have a darker sound and maturity to the tone. The sound has some guts, woodiness, and edge to the sound which brings out the harmonics and helps the violin ring. The A & E string sounds lean slightly to the brighter side of the spectrum. The violin should only open up and respond, producing more power, the longer it gets played. This violin has been sitting around for 30-45 years, not set up and not under string tension. The sound is respectable and for my short fingers lays nicely on the finger board with the 325.0 mm. string length. This violin will need to find the right player as the instrument sounded, in my taste, not as sweet or smooth in its responsiveness. The violin responded well with a bow that had a more gram weight, at 61.5 grams and higher. The violin is not going to be starring in a classical quartet playing Baroque and Romantic period pieces. I see this violin in an orchestra adding its power and drive to a violin section or maybe it will find its home with a fiddler. A 70-year-old French violin ready to be played again and find a new home.