James Ropp violin, 2022, Guarneri model, Spokane, Washington | Metzler Violins

soulful, clear, nimble

About the Instrument
This violin has a lovely clarity that shines across registers with a nimble responsiveness. The instrument has a brown varnish over a wheat ground with reds more notable on the ribs, scroll, and back plate. Its medium curl flames fall from the treble shoulder on its single-piece back with plainer wood along its ribs and scroll. The violin’s antiquing and distinct f-hole shapes are in reference to the Joseph Guarneri “del Gesù” model upon which it is based.

Interior label reads: “James Charles Ropp / J-28G ano 2022” and bears the luthier’s signature
Length: 358 mm
Upper Bouts: 165 mm
Middle: 114 mm
Lower Bouts: 204 mm

About the Maker
James Charles Ropp is a contemporary luthier based in Spokane, Washington. A fiddle and violin player his whole life, Ropp began to repair violins in a violin workshop at the age of sixteen. In 2015, he studied the Golden Era Cremonese master luthiers’ techniques in earnest as well as modern acoustic research and its impacts on violin design and wood selection. Two years later, Ropp began to make his own violins. A consistent exhibitor at Violin Society of America International Competition, Ropp runs the atelier Ropp Violins with his daughter, the luthier Michelle Ropp.

https://jamrop3.wixsite.com/roppviolins