A Violin by Michael Gene Scoggins

This violin by Michael Gene Scoggins offers a rare look at the work of an English-born maker who became a defining voice in the modern American school. Made in Salt Lake City in 1990, it reflects Scoggins’s reputation as a master luthier and teacher—an instrument built with the confidence of a mature hand, and preserved today with the kind of cleanliness and integrity that collectors and players both prize.

Based in Salt Lake City, Scoggins co-founded Scoggins & Scoggins Violin Shop with his former wife and fellow master luthier Carrie Scoggins, and he also served as a teacher at the Violin Making School of America (VMSA). That combination—active bench work, shop leadership, and instruction—tends to produce instruments with a particularly high level of consistency: clear modeling, disciplined workmanship, and a practical understanding of what musicians actually need from an instrument over years of use.

Scoggins is especially notable as a pioneer in the use of native-grown American tonewoods for fine violins, violas, and cellos. Rather than relying exclusively on imported European stock, he preferred to source exceptional material from the Pacific Northwest—particularly Oregon and Washington State—bringing a distinctly American materials philosophy to the classical tradition. For a buyer today, that detail isn’t just interesting; it’s part of the violin’s identity, tying the instrument to a specific maker’s convictions about sound, sustainability, and the possibilities of local wood.

In mint condition, a 1990 Scoggins violin is an increasingly uncommon opportunity: a fully benchmade contemporary American instrument with real authorship, strong provenance, and a compelling materials story—ready to be played, and worthy to be kept.