The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 letter word AMATI
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
A
M
A
T
I
More clues leading to the result AMATI
- First of all ask maestro about the Italian violin
- Fiddle with drama, tinkering in part
- To an extent, scam at issue is a classic fiddle!
- Craftsman on the fiddle a dull one
- One takes a bow when playing this part in dramatisation
- Craftsman on the fiddle a dull one
- Rug with top-class exterior is an expensive fiddle
- Soak leaving biscuits for musical family
- Famous Cremonese artist cleared out, visiting friend in Montmartre
- Morning spent with Italy’s foremost instrument maker
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "instrument maker" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case instrument maker = amati.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.