WILLIAM 'GRIT’ LASKIN - THE STRADIVARI FORMULA

WILLIAM 'GRIT’ LASKIN - THE STRADIVARI FORMULA

From Backstage Pass by Douglas McLean | Canoe FM

February 20, 2026 · 1h 1m · Season 4 · Episode 85

About this episode

William 'Grit' Laskin discusses the mystery surrounding Stradivari's guitars and the quest to uncover hidden secrets.

This week, WILLIAM 'GRIT’ LASKIN - THE STRADIVARI FORMULA GRIT LASKIN – making the book As a luthier (maker of stringed musical instruments) for more than half a century I was aware of Stradivari and knew that despite him being a violin maker he also made some mandolins, a harp and some guitars. (There are currently 5 known Strad guitars still around, although only 1 is playable). That anomaly stuck in my head and made me wonder why Strad made guitars. My next thought was to imagine why that happened. The answer to that question began with “What If?” What if the most celebrated violin maker in history (yes, his instruments are considered superior to any other) really did have a secret that enabled his instruments to be better than those being built by his contemporaries such and Amati and Guarneri. And, what if someone close to him felt the need to hide that secret somewhere his competitors would never find it. Jump forward to our modern era and we find people who believe the secret exists, have been hunting for it for decades. One of them wants the secret to be revealed; the other desperately needs it to stay hidden. Into this volatile conflict we find some Canadian guitar…

People in this episode

Host: Douglas McLean

Guest: WILLIAM 'GRIT’ LASKIN

Topics covered

  • luthier
  • Stradivari
  • guitar making
  • musical instruments
  • mystery
  • Canadian guitar makers

Keywords

  • Stradivari
  • guitar
  • luthier
  • mystery
  • musical instruments
  • Canadian
  • exhibition

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri

Books & works: THE STRADIVARI FORMULA

Places: London, Paris, Cremona, Sardinia, Phoenix, Ottawa, Toronto

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