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Where I got my new fiddle (since J-Walk asked)

Posted by groundhogbrains on Thursday, November 12, 2009

 OK, so I found it on Ebay. This is after, of course, I swore I would never buy another fiddle on Ebay, and that I would only buy one more fiddle (since I have about 8) after testing out its sound in person and making sure it was the perfect one for me. I was going to save up for a while (years?), because although I can easily find fiddles I like for $100-$200, I've never met one with a sound I loved in that price range.

 So that was the plan. Then I was poking around on Ebay and found a listing by Ken White in West Virginia for an old fiddle with a deep voice. Unlike most listings, he clearly loves to play his instruments and spends a lot of time describing their tone. About this one, he said she was unremarkable in quality of construction and had some cracks and damage, but "Lord does she have a tone, the heart of any fiddlers’ desires. It’s voice is deep, dark, nutty, and very strong on the bass side." He pretty much exactly described the sound I had been searching for, and even better, the fiddle looked an awful lot like an old fiddle a friend had at Clifftop that I was quite jealous of. I trusted his description more than I usually would trust a listing, because I had seen a lot of fiddles sold by him in the past, and his descriptions of their tones varied a lot and didn't seem to be overly flattering.

Anyway, I decided to take a chance on it, even though I promised myself (and my husband!) that I would give up the ebay fiddle habit. I barely won it for $200 in the last few seconds, which was a lot higher than I told myself I would go. Boy am I glad I did!



5 comments on “Where I got my new fiddle (since J-Walk asked)”

autumnstrings Says:
Thursday, November 12, 2009 @9:27:36 AM

How exciting for you. I saw that fiddle and had wondered if it sounded as good as he made it sound. Now that you have her, maybe you won't be as easily sold on another. I know of E-Bay shopping...and my hubby can relate to yours. LOL Enjoy that lovely fiddle, you did good!

brya31 Says:
Thursday, November 12, 2009 @4:27:49 PM

My wife has banned me from internet fiddle shopping : (

wormbower Says:
Friday, November 13, 2009 @9:25:58 AM

Sounds like you really did your homework and it paid off--congratulations! Hope we get to hear her next week at the Circle and/or the week after at Dan's jam.
Paul

justbill Says:
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 @6:59:39 PM

I had the best experience winning one of Ken's banjos on ebay. What a great guy. I had to restrain myself so he didn't think I was a stalker it was so enjoyable chatting back and forth with him. I just won a bid on one of his fiddles and I can't wait for it to show up. I would never doubt his description of an item. Did he send you any cd's of his "mountain music" with your fiddle?

groundhogbrains Says:
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 @8:52:00 PM

Yes, he sent me 6 or 7 CDs which I am enjoying quite a lot! He also refunded the extra shipping, even though he didn't have to. What a great guy!

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