Jeff Manthos (Corvallis) is a luthier who builds exacting violins and violas. After attending the Violin Making School of America and apprenticing with in instrument repair with Thomas Metzler, Manthos began making his own instruments in 1991. He says that what makes his instruments unique is in the process—the builder's personality comes through.
Bio
Jeff Manthos is a luthier who builds violins and violas. He learned his craft at the Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City and worked as a repairman for Thomas Metzler. Manthos began making his own instruments in 1991. At VMSA, students learned to build with Stradivarius models, but there are even variations within this centuries-old tradition. Violins are made from complex shapes, and builders must be aware of optical illusion when they construct their instruments. A straight fingerboard, for example, appears to dip downwards when one views it from one end to the other. "Tenths of a millimeter makes a difference in a lot of places," says Manthos. "The techniques are 400 years old, and I liked the challenge of learning how they did it. The tools are the same, the process is the same, the features are the same." Each luthier's instruments may not look unique, but players can recognize difference. Manthos says, "There's an expectation of what a violin looks like," fueled by "tradition, what works, and if they get too far out they stop being violins and start being something else.” Manthos has his own varnish that is a secret formula but says what makes his instruments unique is in the process; based on how they work, what they like, the builder's personality comes through. The trained eye can spot idiosyncrasies in how the scroll and f-holes (sound holes in the instrument’s body) are carved. Manthos won a Silver Medal for his 58th violin from the Violin Society of America and was accepted into the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, a guild of select master makers.
