Hammering, chiseling, sanding, clamping, drilling, vacuuming, shaving. These noises and more fill the workshop.
You may not know it, but these humdrum sounds — of tinkering, tooling, and testing — are indispensable prerequisites of the music you love.
An unassuming yellow brick storefront in Chicago’s north side Roscoe Village neighborhood, A440 Violin Shop is one of the many in a city that thrives as a stronghold for lutherie — the art of violinmaking and restoration.
“Chicago has been a fiddle town for a long time now,” reflects Sam Kunkel, a luthier in residence at A440.
New York, unsurprisingly, is the country’s leading violin market, but Chicago is a strong second. And unlike New York, Chicago also hosts one of the three leading violinmaking schools in the US (the other two are in Massachusetts and Utah).
This school-to-shop pipeline — as well as Chicago’s central geography — makes the city a prime lutherie destination. In particular, Sam explains, “Chicago makes the great restorers. We always have.”
Repairs are at the center of A440’s Roscoe Street outpost — in addition to independent artists, the shop is responsible for servicing string instruments for nearby Lane Tech as well as cultural beacon Old Town School of Folk Music. But the shop also offers violins, violas, cellos, and double basses (an A440 specialty) for rent or purchase for players of all experience levels.
The shop was founded by cellist Bobbie Guastafeste, in a time when women musicians — much less repair shop owners — were a rarity, but lutherie was on the rise in Chicago.
“I think the goal was always to be a nice neighborhood shop,” reflects Sam, “which we still are. But we’ve got nice stuff too.”
The “neighborhood shop” fits right in on its Roscoe Street block. Walking around the building, it’s apparent that the facility was once an apartment building. Go past the entryway (the proprietors will buzz you in the front door), and you’re warmly greeted by a crowd of double basses and related accessories. Venture further, and you’ll peer past a converted kitchen into the bass repair shop.
Migrate upstairs, and you enter a showroom that was once a living room. Now the space opens into a congress of violins and violas of all vintages hung from virtually every surface available. Cellos line the floor, too. It’s here that musicians can test drive instruments that have traveled centuries and continents to get here.
Head towards the back of the second floor, and you’ll be met by a pleasant clutter of workbenches, tools, and instruments. In sharp contrast to the pristine artifacts in the showroom, the queue of hanging instruments all need some love. Maybe a crack stretches the face. Maybe the fingerboard is missing completely. Maybe the varnish has rubbed away.
Behind the scenes with Sam Kunkel at A440 Violin Shop
It’s here that you might find Sam at work. The meticulous artisan is tall and bespectacled. His long curly hair, Doc Martens, and youth (mid-to-late 20s) might defy expectations. What does not surprise, however, is the care and enthusiasm he radiates.
“I think people are becoming more conscious about the things they buy and wanting to know where they came from and how they got to be where they are. Whenever somebody is curious about those things, I always make the biggest effort to encourage that.”
Sam came to Chicago to study lutherie — he grew up in a musical household and decided to channel his love for music and handicraft. “This seemed like a great way to stay close to music and to musicians, who I love as much if not more than music itself.”
Following his studies at the Chicago School of Violin Making, he worked in shops around the city before landing at A440.
Though he’s young, the respect his colleagues afford him is evident. Occasionally in our work, store staff will come to consult him. “What’s the state of this fiddle?” “Could we turn this repair around by Tuesday?” “Does this need a new soundpost?”
Over the course of a few weeks, producers from WFMT visited A440 to witness an instrument's incredible transformation. When we first met this violin, it was cracked, tarnished, and altogether unplayable. Through Sam’s expert work, the exquisite instrument has been brought back to life.
