W. A. Pfretzschner violin, Markneukirchen, Germany 1925

The Pfretzschner family are most famous for making bows, and W A Pfretzschner is no exception. By the early 1920s, however, he had expanded his Markneukirchen workshop to include violin making, producing well-crafted instruments superior to the standard student models made in other, larger workshops in this Vogtland violin-making town. This example has a lovely one-piece maple back, and a belly of selected spruce. The tone is clear, warm and smooth, with a malleable character and an open, bell-like clarity on the E string.