Violin by Marc Paquin, 2025

Marc Paquin is a Swiss violin maker based in Granada, Spain. He is unusual among contemporary makers in being a performing violinist as well as a luthier, and it shows immediately in the setup and response of his instruments.

Paquin began making in 2000, training in Switzerland with Philippe Girardin and Sylvain Rusticoni, both gold medallists at Cremona and in the United States, and later taking restoration courses with Jean-Jacques Fasnacht. Since 2006 he has pursued his own research into projection, timbre and playability. He works principally from Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu models, returning often to the "Cannone" and the "Ole Bull".

His instruments are played by Sergey Malov, Leticia Moreno, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Tatiana Samouil and Sungsic Yang, and by professional players across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Malov inaugurated one of Marc's violins playing the Schumann Concerto in Granada with the maker in the audience.

Marc is among our most requested makers, and one of the few whose work we order again without hesitation. His Cannone models have enormous power, an open sound and a colour range that players recognise within a few bars. The Ole Bull instruments are darker, with a D string of unusual resonance that holds its own beside the G. Because he plays himself, the setup arrives close to ideal rather than needing months of adjustment. Every Paquin we have offered has found a home quickly.