I have the tools. The backs of violins, violas, and cellos are made of maple, he says. I knock it to make sure the sound is good, not too low or too high. A low noise means Strinkovsky has made the piece too thin, which could produce cracks, given Jerusalem's hot and dry summer weather. He travels to Germany to buy his wood, dealing with artisans in the Erlangen area whose specialty is preparing wood for musical instruments.
Maple comes mostly from Bosnia and was difficult to obtain for several years during the war there.
As a professional violinist, Strinkovsky knows the needs of musicians. I like to be close to wood, to music, to make something you can immediately touch. You know if you do good or bad work. You see it immediately. You have to use your brain.