Atelier für Geigen- und Bogenbau

Nicholas Gooch was born and grew up in the University city of Cambridge, England. After finishing school and art and design studies at college Nicholas left Cambridge in 1992 to begin his studies at the Newark School of violin making. After an extended stay at Newark, including working at the college as a member of staff, Nicholas was awarded diplomas with honours for violin making, violin repair and restoration, baroque instrument making and classical guitar making.

In 2002 Nicholas moved on to Hamburg in Germany. Taking a leading role in the workshop of Geigenbau Winterling, during the next four years he completed many repairs and restorations of valuable and important instruments. As always Nicholas continued to follow his passion for making new instruments when time allowed.

In 2006 Nicholas moved to Munich and began to work part time at the workshop of Lijsen & Wiest while also enjoying having more time to devote to new making.

In 2007, fifteen years after beginning his studies at NSVM Nicholas opened the Atelier für Geigen- und Bogenbau together with Irina Feichtl, bringing together considerable experience and the opportunity to continue making new instruments and repairs of the highest quality.

In recent years Nicholas has been awarded several prizes for new making in international violin making competitions.

Awards:

• 2009 Cremona Triennale: Viola Silver medal & Violin Bronze medal.
• 2010 Pisogne International: Violin Gold medal
• 2012 Cremona Triennale: Violin Silver medal, 2x Gold medals for craftmanship 

Musical instruments are made to last forever. We, musicians and violin makers alike are merely their trustees at this moment in time.

A successful repair, be it a standard procedure such as fitting a new bridge or an extensive restoration including many crack repairs and patches requires two things of a violin maker. Firstly sufficient knowledge and experience to decide which is the correct procedure for each individual instrument. The second is a sufficiently high level of skill and craftsmanship to realise the desired result. Nicholas has over 20 years experience in repair and restoration of stringed instruments. In that time he has worked on instruments from many of the greatest violin makers: Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù, Nicolo Amati, GB Guadagnini, Gagliano, Testore, JB Vuillaume etc.

This experience combined with the desire to achieve the perfect result create a sound basis for his work.

Our aim is for repair and restoration start obviously with the preservation of the original and to provide a comprehensive and lasting work quality. Playability and sound, incorporating individual customer wishes and goals are also a priority for us. We will be glad to glad to give you any advise we can with regards to your instruments.

The creation of a new instrument is a process involving techniques and knowledge in many different areas. Obviously woodwork and understanding for music but also elements of geometry, physics and chemistry are all subjects that a maker must attempt to master. It is however exactly this challenge as well as the love for the detail which a perfectionist like Nicholas thrives on. He strives to bring all of these facets of skill harmoniously together to create an object of beauty, which can be appreciated on many different levels.

Nicholas devotes as much of his time to making new instruments as possible. He makes violins, violas and celli based on classical forms with meticulous attention to detail and an emphasis on playability and sound. A life long love of music and fine art, combined with a multitude of techniques and knowledge learnt from many years of work and practice in violin making and restoration, form the basis for his work.

Only well seasoned hand selected tonewood, each piece individually  measured for weight, density and speed of tonal response, are used in order to provide the best possible starting point. Suitable classical models are chosen and either copied directly or reconstructed at the drawing board using rediscovered techniques. Nicholas uses a simple self-made oil/resin varnish with natural organic pigments.

The aim for Nicholas is to make every instrument an individual masterpiece, crafted from beginning to end entirely and exclusively from his own hand.