James Ropp violin, 2017, J14-G, Spokane, Washington | Metzler ViolinsA lifelong violin player, James learned how to repair violins when he was 16 years old from a luthier who immigrated to the United States. Currently located in Spokane, Washington he has collected and restored violins over the years. In 2015 he began an intense study of the recorded techniques used by Cremonese makers from the Golden Era of violin making. Additional research was conducted based on new research of acoustic characteristics of the violin