Dilettante Music

Lots of news from the Frankfurt fair. For instance, the American maker Joe Regh says he's developed a technique to expedite a violin's aging process, making a contemporary instrument sound like an old Cremonese model. Regh says the treated instrument takes on many of the characteristics for which Strads and Guarneriuses are rightly famed: clarity of tone, quick response, increase loudness and projection... Meantime, the French maker Bodo Vosshenrich has introduced the Neolin, a fretted violin, along with a range of oddly shaped instruments. According to Vossenrich's website, beginners are especially taken with the frets since they make it easier to find one's way along the strings. Visit the Neolin site to take a look: http://www.violin-neolin.com.