Pete Lichtenberger with his violin made by Nicolo Amati of Cremona, Italy.""The violins of Nicol� Amati (1596�1684), the preeminent violin maker of the Amati family of instrument builders, were known for their elegant design, responsiveness, and sweet sound, although they lacked the strength of violins by Stradivari and Guarneri ""del Ges�." Nicol� Amati single-handedly carried on the Cremonese tradition of fine violin making after famine and disease in the years around 1630 had wiped out virtually all of the top violin makers; not surprisingly, violins from this period are very rare. Amati's many students included Andrea Guarneri, Giovanni Battista Rogeri, and possibly Jacob Stainer and Antonio Stradivari, among others." (https://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/503057).