Our 5 most impressive contemporary violins under £15,000

Ulf Kloo is a Swedish master luthier working from his own workshop in Beziers, in the south of France. He makes violins and violas, and numbers his instruments by opus.

He works both to his own models and from Stradivari's golden period, and chooses wood with unusual care: the maple on one of his violas was cut around 1950, and a recent violin used carefully selected Bosnian bird's eye maple for the back and sides. His violas are designed to make demanding repertoire manageable while keeping an expressive voice, and every instrument leaves the workshop with his own certificate.

His instruments have been exhibited at the Cremona Triennale in 1997 and 2009, at the Royal Academy of Music in London in 2004, at the Concours Etienne Vatelot in Paris in 2011, at the Conservatoire de Paris in 2012, and at the Amati Exhibition in London in 2015. Kloo violins and violas are played in symphony orchestras and opera houses, by section leaders, and by freelance musicians and advanced students.

Ulf combines elegance and creativity to make instruments of very high calibre. The sound has incredible depth and outstanding projection, and the violins respond extremely well to whatever the player gives them, which is why they suit a musician still developing as much as an established one. The violas are the ones we would single out: they sound wonderful in every register and are comfortable enough to make hard repertoire feel less hard.

Colin Cross is a British maker and restorer whose instruments are played by professional musicians across the United Kingdom and abroad. His reputation as a restorer is well earned, and players and dealerships send specialist projects to him from hundreds of miles away.

He works principally from Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu, and makes violins, violas and cellos. The finishes are deep and unshowy, with the detail of the woodwork left visible rather than obscured, and his cellos are often built to slightly smaller dimensions than standard.

Cross instruments are in the hands of high-profile players in the UK and overseas, and his restoration work passes through many of the country's leading workshops.

We have been admirers of Colin's work for years, and what keeps us going back is the value. His Stradivari models give a rich, full sound with real projection and precision, and a resonance through the middle register that is unusual at this level. The Guarneri models sit darker and warmer, well rounded and complex, and suit expressive playing. His cellos are worth singling out: the smaller dimensions make them very comfortable under the hand and quick to respond, with a clear core and weight in the lower strings that never costs the sweetness up top. One of the best quartet cellos we have handled.

Lucas Fabro is an Argentine luthier working from his own private workshop in Cremona. He makes around eight violins a year, alongside cellos, and everything is made entirely by hand.

He works to traditional Cremonese technique and from Stradivari and Ruggeri models. He takes pride in understanding every technical process that goes into a good violin, and pays particular attention to setup, so the instruments arrive playing well rather than needing months of work. Each one leaves with his certificate.

He knows where most of his instruments are and sees them from time to time, since the musicians who commission them often become friends. His work is played by orchestral, chamber and solo players.

Everything Lucas makes is expertly crafted and, unusually, extremely well set up when it reaches us. His violins play with ease, freedom and sweetness while keeping the power you expect of the Italian school. The response is very quick and they project in any hall, with a rich, dark low end and a powerful top that keeps the precision of old Italian instruments. His cellos are resonant on every string, powerful and balanced, with a bright projecting sound that suits a student, a recent graduate or an established professional equally.