Amati

Everyone has his favorite violin maker (luthier, in formal terms). Stradivari seems to be a universal favorite. Andrea Amati's grandson or great grandson is said to have taught Stradivari but nobody really knows for sure. Here is a sample Amati from 1560. It looks kind of crude and it is. Click on the picture and you'll see how really rough it is. Violins didn't really begin to get sophisticated until about 1600. Makers used to make them out of pine or pear tree wood. For hundreds of years now, luthiers have been using maple and spruce. Though there has been some experimentation with the shape, the violin has stayed the way we see it now for more than 450 years.

Leduc

I am not certain but I think this violin is now in the hands of the concertmaster of the National Symphony in Mexico City. It could also be in Israel. What do I know? Nothing. It is a nice violin though. It was owned by the late Henryk Szeryng, the Polish violinist. He made his home in Mexico and elsewhere. Guarneri was, of course, a pretty good maker of violins. He made this one in 1743 - some say 1745. It makes no difference - it sounds good. Stradivari was dead by then and he was a good maker as well. I do not know if either one actually knew how to play.