Ling Zhenhua 15 1/2″ Strad Model Viola 2023 – Great Sound!

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Ling was a winner in both the 2014 and 2016 VSA competitions. In 1984 Ling landed a job as an electrical engineer in Shenzhen in southern China. Its proximity to Hong Kong helped get Ling into violin making. Ling wanted to be a famous violinist but was urged to go into violin making rather than play them. He spent 10 years playing and honing his making skills before returning to his home of Shanghai and in 1995 he set up his own workshop. His focus has been and remains making replicas of fine Italian violins. He studied Italian varnish from fragments and broken instruments from Europe, the only things he could afford from the European auction houses. He would then take them back to his workshop to arduously study the traits and ingredients that he could discover. His instruments have been purchased by Pinchas Zukerman and others in major orchestras. His wood selection and the drying process are very important to his creating and building instruments. Ling spent much time researching and traveling to Italy, even having huge logs cut and dried in Italy before having them transported back to Shanghai.

The craftsmanship is outstanding in this copy of a Stradivarius, including a well thought-out slightly wider major width bottom in this smaller 15 1/2” viola. The spruce top that has straight 1.0 mm width grain at the center seam and only broadens slightly towards flanks. The maple back has a small-to-medium width flame with a slight descent from the center seam. The varnish work is beautiful, and the fittings are all carved in ebony.

• Corpus 393.0 mm.
• Major Width 246.0 mm.
• Minor Width 194.5 mm.
• Rib Height 37.0 mm.
• Vibrating String Length 362.0 mm.

The sound is powerful with, in my mind, a woodwind quality. It is just as responsive under the chin as it is in a larger hall. It has rich sustain which in part I believe is due to a different thought in the modeling which sets this instrument apart. The instrument is constructed slightly broader in both the major and minor bouts with a very manageable 362.0 mm. string length, rather than just making the instrument longer. It is an elegant solution to get a bigger, lovely sound. We also experimented with different strings to obtain a variety of sound on all the voices. I settled on this viola with Evah Golds. The sound is inviting, and the reediness quality rings with a slight edge to the tone. This edge helps make the overtones build on each other. The tone is no way harsh or strident and I love the maturity of the instrument. The viola jumps out to me because of its overall sound.