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THE VILLA MAKING PHILOSOPHY

Our instruments are made through a long and painstaking process, which employs the same tools as prescribed by the classical Cremona tradition: gouges, chisels, planes, jack planes and scrapers.

The choice of the wood is fundamental for the final acoustic outcome.
Marcello and Vittorio Villa use only use highest-choice tonewood, that is
left to season in the storeroom for a minimum of seven years.

In order to make the ribs, they employ the inside (internal) form as
Stradivari e Guarneri used to do.

When special models must be made,
specific forms are prepared in advance.

The different parts of the instruments are created through sculpture and carving, first by gouges and chisels, then by small planes, files and scrapers.

Glueing of various parts is done exclusivel with animal bone glue. Although very thick, this glue is reversible, meaning that it melts easily in contact with hot water, permitting further maintenance and repair operations without damage to the instruments.

From 20 to 30 coats of varnish are necessary to varnish a Villa instrument.

The secret varnish formula has been subject to constant improvement over the years. This formula is alcohol-base, in accordance to Cremona's age-old tradition, offering a classical varnish with legendary transparency.

Before and after each coat of varnish the instrument is sanded to perfection. When the instrument is finally finished the setup is performed, starting with the "fitting up". Namely that means fitting the sound-post, the bridge, and setting the strings.

This is a particularly delicate stage because even an excellent instrument can sound very badly if the fitting-up is not perfectly done.

Last stage: the testing!

Yet an instrument hardly ever performs at its best from the beginning.
That's why Marcello and Vittorio Villa spend several hours playing each instrument, making changes to the set-up as necessary, until optimum sound quality is achieved.

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