A day in the life of luthier Ed Klose

Back in 2019, I met up with luthier Ed Klose and explored his story into lutherie, from his early self-taught efforts into woodworking, thorough to his studies at West Dean college and his early projects at Bridgewood and Neitzert. We heard about his painstaking restoration of a Nathaniel Cross 1731 cello belonging to Guildhall School of Music and Drama which inspired him to build a cello in the same style.

4 years later, I thought it was time to revisit Ed in his bench in the top workshop and find out more about the day-to-day activities of a working luthier, aside from the major instrument restorations. One of the most interesting areas of development that he cites, it is developing a deep understanding of sound adjustments on an instrument.

Sound adjustments are one of the biggest part of a luthiers work, and being skilled in this work requires a unique mixture of understanding the structure of an instrument and deep communication with its owner.? Often a musician will come in when they have experienced a significant change in the sound. This might be something that has come about as a result of travel, a bad repair elsewhere, knock, change in humidity or being left for a long time.

If an instrument comes in with a buzz, this can be very difficult to locate – it could be the result of an open seam, an old repair inside that has become undone, rattling purfling or worm damage. The ideal scenario is to go through everything possible before resorting to taking the front off.

Ed explains that as a luthier you have to really be able to hear what the musician is describing. ‘It takes a while to hear what they are hearing, but you absolutely have to. You have to take a step back and go through the process with them’. If the instrument is sounding dead it maybe that the bridge feet are not fitting right, or that the sound post needs adjusting. This in itself is an intricate process, requiring the luthier to mark the position of the soundpost each time an adjustment is made and not the sound quality to each position. Sometimes the soundpost can be too tight, and the reverse can also be true with heavier instruments sometimes needing? the soundpost pulling tight to build more tension. Ed will work with a customer until they have found the optimum sound.

Day to day, Ed will work on a huge range of instruments, from major restoration work of fine instruments and baroque conversions to setting up student instruments, sound adjustments and repairs. He has also needed to step in to help resolve major disasters. Every musician’s worst nightmare is some terrible accident that threatens to destroy their beloved instrument and Ed has had to deal with two such examples recently. Firstly, a Viol in a soft case was sat on by child and needed an entirely new front. The challenge here was to make the match as precise as possible including the grain and the varnish. In addition to the replacement front, the open instrument revealed many tiny cracks that required repair. Another horrifying accident involved a Viol receiving a front on blow from a brick thrown through a window! Ed repaired the resulting damage of two massive cracks on the front.

One of the most interesting restorations that Ed has worked on since the Nathaniel Cross Cello was a ‘Frankenstein’ cello that a customer brought to Bridgewood and Neitzert for conversion. The customer had bought the instrument at auction as a small sized double bass and wanted it converted into a cello. When it arrived, it was clear that the neck and head did not belong to the original instrument. The head had spaces for 6 stings (2 were plugged). The instrument had worm damage and very wide bass bar. It looked as if originally the instrument had been a Viol.

Ed painstakingly cleaned it up and worked through the damaged areas. Then he started fashioning a new neck and bass bar to fit a classic cello proportion, the same time making sure that it did not look our of kilter with the original Viol aesthetic. All through the process, Ed worked closely with the owner, who was a historian and fascinated by the instrument’s provenance and this new stage in its journey.

So, what is next on Ed’s journey as a luthier? ‘ There is always a huge amount to learn’ he tells me ‘There is no replacement for pure practical experience and what you learn from each instrument you work on’. He also adds that ‘ It’s really rewarding process to take an instrument that someone loves and working on it so that it sounds as good as it possibly can’. Aside from his attention to customer needs, Ed has just started work on his own next cello. He is starting with some pieces that were bought in an auction of a luthier’s estate and working out the f holes placement and subsequent dimensions for the piece. He is hoping that he has the making of a cello that he can bring close to Peter Wamsley (c. 1670 – 1744) cello that has recently inspired him in the workshop. We’ll be checking back in with Ed on this project soon!