This violin was inspired by a patent issued to Frank Merwin Ashley in 1921. I loved the shape of this violin, but the construction method is also quite unique. The top and back plates are not carved like a conventional violin, but rather a thin piece of wood that is pressed in a form and then glued to the ribs that vary in height to also allow for curvarture of the plates.

This prototype has a back and sides made of quilted maple. The top is made from a fine grained Port Orford Cedar. Blocks are Spruce and the linings are Alaskan Yellow Cedar. The finger board and the hand carved Fleur de Lis tail piece are made of Bois de Rose, one of the rarest rosewoods from Madagascar.

The scroll was carved with a florentine, and the F holes are my original interpretation of the florentine F hole. There is a carved Fleur de Lis on the back of the scroll that has been covered with 24 K gold leaf. The peg box is fitted with Wittner fine tuning pegs that I have come to really like. They took a while to get used to, but the pros outweigh the cons, and the 8.5 - 1 gear ratio totally eliminates the need for fine tuners on the tail piece.