The workshop

One profession, three activities

Since 1974, and for 30 years in our current workshop, we have been carrying out all types of violin making work and offering for sale a full range of contemporary and antique instruments and accessories. We offer our expertise in:

The sale of quartet musical instruments, new, antique, or used, in our workshop and store on Rue de Rome in Paris.
The restoration of antique instruments and all repairs, maintenance, preparation, and adjustments of string quartet instruments (new or antique).
The management of the quartet's instrument fleet for conservatories and music schools, their maintenance and upgrades within the framework of public contracts as well as specific off-contract requests.

Restoration of old instruments

We carry out restoration and all repairs on your quartet instrument in our workshop, from varnish chips and refinishing to major repairs such as a broken soundboard or headstock.

Bring your instrument to our workshop (65 rue de Rome, Paris 8th arrondissement, open daily except Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) and we will provide you with a clear quote and a timeframe.

Preparation of new instruments

Each new or used instrument that leaves our workshop has been carefully selected by our team from our suppliers, who perform a rigorous initial selection process. They are then carefully inspected upon arrival at our workshop, before being reassembled and prepared.

Checking the quality of the woods used and the varnishes
Checking the overall quality of the workmanship and the level of the instrument's construction
Checking the fingerboard's depth, its length and width, the neck's slant, and the overall integrity of the instrument

Then it is prepared, and we apply all our expertise to ensure that the musician gets the most out of their instrument. This operation is crucial because it largely determines the instrument's tone and playability:

Replacement of the original sound post with a higher-quality sound post, adjustment and tuning.
Fingerboard inspection and straightening.
Supply and installation of a new, high-quality custom-made bridge (Aubert, made of carefully selected maple). This ensures complete control of the rounded sound.
Supply and installation of a finely adjusted composite tailpiece (Wittner type), or ebony or rosewood for older instruments.
Tuning and lubrication of the tuning pegs.
Inspection, lubrication and sharpening of the endpin.
Supply and installation of new, high-quality strings. Sound post and tone adjustment.
General inspection before sale or shipment.

Notre équipe

Ralph Dumonteil

Ralph has been a master luthier for almost 20 years and has been practicing his craft at Pierre Jaffré Luthier for 17 years. Holding a Master Luthier diploma from the renowned Antonio Stradivari International School of Violin Making (Cremona, Italy), he studied under the direction of masters such as Maurizio Tadlioli and Negroni, among others. Luthier at the Jaffré workshop since 2008 and Artistic Director since January 2012, he is in charge of the entire workshop.

Yann Boirie

Responsible for in-store sales and instrument preparation under Ralph Dumonteil, Yann joined Jaffré lutherie in 2008.

Applying the rigor of string quartet instrument making, he acquired recognized expertise and carried out lutherie work on plucked string instruments.

Cédric Desbans

At the head of our violin making business since July 2010, Cédric is responsible, in addition to in-store sales, for the management of our workshop, its administrative management as well as commercial relations with our suppliers and institutional clients, and all administrative operations (accounting, invoicing, etc.).