“My workbench sits in the city of the secret...”

 

Stringed Crane Conservatory's atelier, Stringed Crane Services, began its development in the easily overlooked “old post office passage” in the neighborhood of Bağlarbaşı, in the Maltepe municipality of Istanbul. A student of renowned master saz maker Celal Doldur, SCS's resident luthier, Philip Weil, handcrafts traditional Anatolian long-necked lutes, a family of instruments known broadly as the saz. A central mission of the workshop being to propagate knowledge of and engagement with the saz and its accompanying musical and cultural traditions, the workshop offers, in addition to custom luthier-made instruments, educational resources ranging from books on playing technique to musical recordings and academic works. While SCS’s specialties center around the saz family of long-necked lutes, the workshop is glad to offer consultation, repair, and restoration services for other stringed instruments as well.