Stroh Violin

Glasgow

Stroh violin (also called the Stroviol or horn violin).

A violin fitted with a metal resonator and a trumpet‑like horn instead of a wooden soundbox.

Early acoustic recording equipment (pre‑1925) struggled to capture the soft, diffuse sound of wooden violins.

The Stroh violin’s mechanical resonator + horn produced a louder, more directional tone that could be aimed straight at the recording horn.

It was invented by Johannes Matthias Augustus Stroh, in London, in 1899.