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About

The Gliga Story

Award winning violin maker, Mr Vasile Gliga, has been creating instruments since 1980 in his workshop in central Romania. Starting from humble beginnings working in a state-owned violin factory, his talent and passion for instrument making soon found him his independence hand-crafting just two violins per month from his own tiny workshop at home with the help of his wife.

His skills and attention to detail quickly found him international recognition which in time provided the resources for him to train other craftsmen in his style of making.

Sourcing his tone woods from the famous Carpathian Mountain region of central Europe, over the years, his range expanded from student to professional levels and to this day Mr Gliga offers European quality at very affordable prices.

Gliga’s success has allowed him to build and support a dance studio teaching Latin and Sports Dance methods to an international standard, a teaching facility and even a local soccer club. In 2008 Mr Gliga was elected to the Romanian Parliament in which he works to further improve the lifestyle of his fellow Countrymen.

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The Process

Mr Gliga sources his tone woods typically from the famous Carpathian Mountains from where it is believed Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) did the same. These Mountains stretch 1,500km in length through Central and Eastern Europe and provide the correct altitude and climate for the spruce trees to grow slowly and consistently thus providing the close and even-grained tone woods best suited for high quality string instruments. Both spruce (used for the belly and soundpost) and maple (used for the back, neck, sides and bridge) are cut and stored for years to ensure that a natural drying process (also called curing) occurs long before the making process begins.

Once properly seasoned the long journey to becoming someone’s treasured instrument commences with the timber being graded, prepared and carved. Each belly and back is taken from the same quarter-cut piece of spruce and maple to ensure tonal matching. Depending on the grade of timber and the model that it will become, the woods are carved and tuned to provide optimal tone and resonance. In the case of the higher grades the craftsperson will, through years of training, practice and experience, finely tune the ‘plates’ by graduating the tone woods to numerous different thicknesses across its surface. This is a lengthy process taking place well before the instrument can be skilfully assembled, sanded, prepared and, eventually, finished in numerous coats of purpose-made oil varnish imported from Germany from the famous Hammerl Company.

In Australia we offer a few varnish colours on Gliga II and above from which to choose:

standard (this is a basic traditional colour used in the market)
antique (a popular Gliga colour introduced in the 90s)
dark antique (made for Australia and now the most popular shade of oil varnish in the Gliga range)
aged dark antique (which incorporates a prominent visible grain line and darker edges)

Once complete the instruments are equipped with all their fittings such as strings, bridge, tailpiece and endpin and start their 2 month long sea trip to Australia where the final quality control check is performed before they are made into outfits by the inclusion of custom-designed cases and bows before being distributed to Gliga dealers across Australia.

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The Set-up

The importance of a professional set-up cannot be understated. For a student it can be the difference between succeeding and failing and, for an advanced player, a fine set-up can deliver even more joy to the playing experience.

The Gliga set-up procedure will vary from Gliga Dealer to Gliga Dealer as, in any art form, the flair of the craftsmen is reflected in the work.

All Australian Gliga Premium Dealers (see Find A Dealer) present their Gliga instruments to the market at a high standard in accordance with Mr Gliga’s criteria. Having spent much time on the set-up procedure in their workshop the instrument is customised for both the local climate in which the player resides and to the individual player’s requirements. The level of set-up and the amount of time dedicated to this procedure often has an influence on the asking price.

In Australia we have a wide range of climates including temperature and humidity variances both of which will have a strong effect on the instruments performance. Here are some of the factors that must be worked on in the set-up process:

See parts of violin

Bridge: The bridge is hand carved in thickness and height to suit both the player and the type of strings being used. The bridge (along with the nut) dictate the string height and therefore dictate the left-hand fingering tension. The curvature at the top of the bridge is vital for efficient bowing. The feet of the bridge must be perfectly shaped to match the curvature of the instrument belly thus providing full tonal transference from vibration of the strings.

Pegs: These must be shaped to match the taper of the holes in the peg box. This is done using two pieces of equipment in which all specialists invest: a peg-hole reamer and a peg cutter. These must match exactly with a taper of 1/30 for violin and 1/25 for cello. When installed correctly, and ‘soaped’ for smooth turning, the pegs will not slip when operated correctly.

Nut: Made from hard ebony, this is the small section at the scroll end of the fingerboard that holds the strings off the fingerboard at a specific height. It is vital that the four notches are correctly cut and spaced to maintain the correct distance between each string. The nut is also slightly curved to match the fingerboard and provides varying heights depending on the size of the instrument (4/4 – 1/32), the type of string being used, player’s preference and the level of expertise. The height will also vary depending on the specific string, for example the violin E (1^st) string and the cello A (1^st) string require less height to vibrate than the others.

Fingerboard: Like the pegs and nut, this is also made from polished hard ebony and attention is given to its shape both in length concavity and width curvature.

Soundpost: This is made from seasoned spruce and is located inside the instrument wedged between the maple back and spruce belly, just behind the bridge foot on the treble side. It can be viewed best through the treble side f-hole. The shaping and placing of a soundpost requires a large amount of training, experience and skill as it must be removed from the instrument using a special tool called a soundpost setter, shaped at each end at a suitable angle to match both the instruments belly and the back, and then reinserted and adjusted to just the correct position to get the best sound from the instrument. The ideal position can vary from instrument to instrument and once again, this requires immense skill and expertise from the specialist.

Tailpiece: Typically on Gligas this is a German-made Wittner Ultra tailpiece and gives the ultimate fine-tuning adjustment. There are many copies of the Ultra tailpiece around, typically from China but only Wittner provide the highest incremental adjustment thanks to German engineering. During set-up the specialist may lubricate the adjusting screws and adjust the position of the tailpiece between the bridge position and the ebony ‘saddle’ by varying the nylon tailpiece ‘gut’ to obtain the highest possible standards. The length of the string distance between the bridge and the tailpiece is quite important.

Strings: All Gligas are provided with high quality strings however individual Gliga Dealers may change them according to their opinion as to which works better for the particular instrument and/or the player. Prices will vary depending on which is chosen.

Playability/sound: Once all of the above has been completed the specialist will test the instrument for sound and playability to see if any further work is required.

The prices on Gliga instruments may vary considerably and this is usually as a result of some or all of the above and how the dealer presents the finished product to the market. No matter which Gliga Premium Dealer you choose you may be assured of a high level of professional standards being evident.

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How to choose the right size

To determine the appropriate instrument size for violins and viola, measure the arm length from neck to left wrist when the person’s left arm is fully extended. Cello and Bass selection can be determined by the person’s height.

See below for the relevant instrument sizing chart/method to find out which size is suitable for you.

Click to see Violin size

Click to see Viola size

Click to see Cello size

Click to see Bass size

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