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mrphysics55 - Posted - 06/23/2007: 22:43:05
I have a very nasal sounding student violin. The wood appears good. Tight grain spruce on top. Lightly flamed maple on sides and back. Anybody got a rule of thumb for deciding which fiddles are good enough to incure the cost of having it reworked/recontoured by a luthier?
Thanks in advance.
Eddie
Check-Out and Support www.fiddletunes.net
Edited by - mrphysics55 on 06/23/2007 22:48:36
M-D - Posted - 06/24/2007: 00:51:57
Not really, but I'd base it more on who made the instrument. Is it a trade instrument (one of gazillions made) or is it a bench-made (entirely made by hand)? Some trade instruments are dang-fine fiddles, so. . . . What brand is it? Cremona, or. . . ? Without hearing it, my guess is that the problem lies in the bridge. Student fiddles are usually over-built in all dimensions. Less work involved.
Twelvefret - Posted - 06/24/2007: 12:59:20
I have seen fiddle improved by having a good setup, having good rosin, proper bow tension, and a quality string. Cleaning the strings with alcohol can help, but always protect the fiddles finish.
Medium to heavey strings help a bright sounding fiddle.
Some Maple is more figurative than others. Most of the builders I have spoken to do not equate sound and amount of figured wood, except in bridge material. Please refer to picture of an Eastman VL100. This fiddle has Tomastic SuperFlexible/Mediums, and a good quality Ebony tailpeice.
This is the brightest and most responsive fiddle I own. Given an outside venue, I have noticed that the instrument sound very mellow.
chuck
Here is an archive of old time music from Berea College in Berea Kentucky, http://tinyurl.com/d5mnx
Edited by - Twelvefret on 06/24/2007 13:14:59
beegee - Posted - 06/24/2007: 17:59:07
Too many junky fiddles will remain junky fiddles no matter what you do to them. I try to buy older quality fiddles that need repair and then try to figure out what they need. Sometime it's hopeless, even with better "cheap" fiddles. Crappy wood, no liners or corner blocks, poorly fitted bass bad, poorly graduated belly and back. Once in a while a gem will emerge from hiding, but most of the time, most fiddles are just decent fiddles and will never make a fair violin or great fiddle.
For your nasal fiddle, I'd imagine the air volume and graduation is wrong. All you can do is try to enhance the set-up with correct sound post and placement, right strings and bridge and tailpiece. You can experiment yourself with all the variables or pay through the nose for someone else's experience.
Another interesting aspect is perceived sound. I like fiddle that sounds good under the chin. I have a friend(professional violinist) who has a very fine vintage French violin. It sounds thin and weak under the chin, but when she plays it, it has great projection and tone from across the room and in a large hall. she has several other violins that sound bett under the chin, but don't have that projection. That's the mystery of violins to me!
How can scratching cat-gut with horse hair possibly make a pleasing sound?
M-D - Posted - 06/24/2007: 19:01:35
Then I'd suggest you not put much money into it. As BeeGee suggested, air volume of the box and graduation come into play here. I'd doubt the top is too thin, though, which can result in a nasal sound. IF you want to experiment, you could cut and fit your own bridge and sound-post. WARNING: Frustration lies ahead! 
You'll gain some valuable insights by doing so, and your only real costs would be the tools to do so.
If not, I'd suggest saving your coins.
Paul Hostetter - Posted - 06/26/2007: 02:08:25
I would never equate "nasal sound" with a thin top. It could as easily be precisely the opposite. And I would never second-guess an experienced luthier as to what's worth pursuing in the quest to make silk purses from sow's ears. Which of you has real experience?
BTW, those boxy Sears-Roebuck Stainer items have a place in the realm of baroque music: straight gut strings (including the E) and so on bring out a voice that often works very nicely. Put modern strings on them and they're seldom very pleasant.
Paul Hostetter, luthier
Santa Cruz, California
http://www.lutherie.net
voodoo - Posted - 06/26/2007: 07:29:00
While there are good older Czech fiddles, many have very poor graduation. The interior of the back will be smooth, but a mirror or look through the endpin hole reveals a roughly carved top with the bass bar carved in place. These may sound "OK" but will never perform very well. A quick look inside shows the story with many instruments. Look inside Chuck's VL100 - nice work in those and they sound very good. One of the more consistent high performance/$$$ instruments available.
Have fun!
www.giannaviolins.com
Friendsville, TN
Twelvefret - Posted - 06/26/2007: 16:49:57
quote:
Look inside Chuck's VL100 - nice work in those and they sound very good. One of the more consistent high performance/$$$ instruments available.
Good to see that you arrived, Steve. I will add my recommendation for Steve and his business Gianna Violins. Anyone in the market for good instruments should speak to Steve prior to purchasing a new product.
chuck
Here is an archive of old time music from Berea College in Berea Kentucky,
http://tinyurl.com/d5mnx
hardykefes - Posted - 06/27/2007: 16:33:36
MD is actually right, A nasal sound can come from a too thin top, but also from weak bass bar or from soft / green wood.
It is always trouble to deal with this. I have an old italian from 1870 with nasal sound, I am not done yet but in the middle of rebarring it. I'll see. This one has a paperthin top plate and I might not be able tu cure it.
If you have a new fiddle that sounds nasal mostlikely it is a factory made with poor wood quality. Let it sit for 100 years and the wood is finally dry. But remember: a bad fiddle will never become a good fiddle, no matter how long you wait and play on it.
Hardy
Violin/Fiddle Instructor and Repair Service
'Shenandoah Valley Jams' 2 hrs
