the craftsman whose work became a legacy set the unreachable standard
for others and many became obsessed with his creations paying millions for his masterpieces
or even committing a crime to own them his name is antonio stradivari
Violinmaster is a tribute to the man whose legacy inspired millions to reach new levels
in music artistry for many years fender created incredible tribute guitars this is the first time
we are creating a tribute not to a musician but to a fellow craftsman who throughout his career
made not only violins but guitars as well this is also a tribute to one of his legendary works
made in 1713 known as the Huberman Stradivarius played and owned by Grammy winner Joshua Bell
during its 300 years it was stolen at least twice and while it was recovered quickly first time
second time it was lost for decades
since 1936 a lucrative thief was playing around new york's cafes and parties on the
priceless masterpiece until his final moments of life in 1985. on his deathbed he confessed
about the origin of his shabby violin which he not only used vigorously but also have done to
the unthinkable to disguise the identity of his Stradivarius he smeared shoe polish all
over its beautiful varnish it took nine months to restore the instrument to its current condition
the Violinmaster project began far away from fender custom shop and with the help of all
mighty natural forces in november 2018 the violent storm brought down
thousands of spruce trees in the northern italy alps area known as fayemi valley often called
as a Stradivari valley rarely available to the public precious wood from that
area unexpectedly became a scarce commodity in possession of fender musical instruments
my personal passion to classical music violins and especially strazivari's craft inspired me
to create limited edition tribute guitars to the legendary master using the same spruce as he used
on his violins would give this project a special meaning and providence however it went even beyond
that i would never dream that working on these guitars i will not only be able to commemorate
the great master but also connect this project to the Huberman Stradivarius as well when i was
given in 2020 a privilege to meet joshua bell and document his Stradivarius violin it became one of
the most incredible moments of my life it became a turning point for me where all my experience,
knowledge and passion could be utilized to create a tribute to someone so extraordinary
at the same time it brought the challenge and the great responsibility
to make my tribute worthy of such highly regarded craftsmen as Stradivari.