My instruments are made entirely by hand, one at a time, in my Vermont violin workshop.  To some extent, I do some matching of tones from the wood of the top and back plates. I let the wood do the talking while I am listening as carefully and precisely as possible. The air volume inside the instrument is critical. I also find that matching sound from the fingerboard and the tailpiece is necessary. The outside archings of the top and back are modeled closely to traditional makers and are responsible for the way the sound is shaped. Critical to sound are the soundpost and bass bar. Literally everything on the instrument, including the pegs and chinrest, can influence the sound production.Trained in the traditional methods of building instruments by Karl Roy at the Violin Craftsmanship Institute at the University of New Hampshire at Durham, I find the use of my senses to be the best method in searching for the production of optimum sound quality.  I feel that all I need to know about the wood can be found in the tone, flex and feel of the plates, using my hands, eyes and ears.

Thurmond carving a violin scroll