Posted by fiddlepogo on Wednesday, February 17, 2010
But it's sitting on my bed, case closed, letting the temperature equalize like Gianna said to do.... maybe another hour. It's okay though, just knowing it's here. I've had just enough shipping nightmares to worry maybe too much as long as something is still in transit.
But I'm still a bit worried... not on the quality of the violin- Eastman VL100's are very popular and have a good reputation, but- will I "bond" with it??? I've played some nice sounding fiddles before that just weren't "me"... just couldn't be my fiddle voice, if you know what I mean.
One of the reasons I picked the VL100 was I could hear a certain singing tone in the high tones that appealed to me. I hope I can still hear that or something like it when it's under my chin.
On the phone when I was listening to "voodoo" trying out the fiddles, I told him I'd been pretty happy with the Knilling 4KF Bucharest, and he was surprised- he doesn't think very highly of them! Well, last night I noticed that the G string was awfully close to the pegbox so that the string might be binding a bit, and I loosened the peg to readjust it, and bingo- much better resonance on the low strings.
And it's sunny, spring-like weather, so it's happy about that.
And the thought occurred to me to clean the rosin build-up off of the stick of the new bow, and to my surprise, THAT changed the sound- more clarity!
So I think "Booker" is making a pitch for getting kept and not getting sold!!! He was sounding really good last night!!! I probably will keep him... it's really hard to fault Booker's sound for Old Time.
Now Stinky, I'm not so sure about! The E string is still sounding funky, and with all my allergies, that pungent wood smell COULD be a problem- I'm already reacting to the fresh mahogany fumes from the Walden dreadnought I bought last spring. I really need to lighten the load on my immune system, since spring is starting to happen around here, and the nasty pollens will be out in a month or so.
Well, the thought occurred to me that the fiddle had a brand new bow most likely without a speck of rosin onnit, and that I could kill time by rosining up the bow.
I opened the case quickly, leaving the blanket on top of the newbie, and retrieved the bow and closed it. Yup- slick as a whistle... and cool (but not cold) to the touch, so letting the Eastman continue to warm up slowly is prolly a good idea.
Got out an emery board, sanded both the Kaplan Premium Light and Becker Dark cakes with it. First Kaplan, then Becker, Kaplan, Becker.
Then I did the backside of the hair with Kaplan... ahhh, much better,
Then I got the idea to do the backside of the hair with the rosin covered emery board- even better. And more Kaplan, more Becker.
And now it's not feeling like a brand new bow- quite useable!
2 compatible rosins + emery board + rosining both sides of the hair works REALLY good for new bows!!!
And I put a dot a masking tape on the underside of the frog towards the end- slight but noticeable improvement- more neutral feel, possibly compensating for the TUF grip.
Well, it's been almost 2 hours... I could PROBABLY open the case and get the fiddle out...
Hmmmm.....
BC Says:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 @12:43:43 PM
Don't ya just love it when the waitin' ends! Can't wait for the upcoming updates. Don't keep us wondering too long!
mudbug Says:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 @12:51:04 PM
If this was a movie, they would do the slo-mo of you walking towards it, arms extended, with a look of anticipation on your face..............only to have you open an empty box. OOppps! Sorry, Michael, It was a Friday, shipping guy had a hot date.
bj Says:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 @4:06:48 PM
Or . . . he accidentally put an even stinkier Knilling in the box . . .
ChickenMan Says:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 @4:21:26 PM
a DOT of masking tape?? Seems like that would be relatively insignificant.
I better look back at your writings on the various additions you've made in experimenting with bow balance.
And experiment some myself with a couple of my less than favorite bows with balance issues.
brya31 Says:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 @4:29:15 PM
Woooohoooooooooo!!!!
fiddlepogo Says:
Wednesday, February 17, 2010 @11:18:53 PM
BJ- are you psychic??? Truth is stranger than fiction...
Believe it or not, though it's not a Knilling, it's an Eastman alright, but SOMETHING is even stinkier than
"Stinky". PART of it is likely the case- the case itself smells really strong. The problem is that I don't know if the smell from the fiddle is from the fiddle's wood or something it's picked up from being stored in that case. The sound of the fiddle itself is pretty good, although it may be a little too soft and sweet for my taste.
Chickenman,
yes, it doesn't seem like it would be significant, but it is.
Remember, it has to do with balance. If scales are balanced, a feather will tip it one way or the other. TUF tends to move the grip ever so slightly toward the frog, making the bow seem ever so slightly tip-heavy. A dot of masking tape on the extreme end of the underside of the frog seems to correct that.
Another thing I did was swap the adjuster knobs on my three bows- each one was a different weight, and I found combinations where it seemed to improve all three, at least for me. I've also used dots punched from adhesive backed copper.
fiddlepogo Says:
Thursday, February 18, 2010 @12:36:35 AM
It must be the case or maybe the varnish, because according to this Canadian website
http://www.violins.ca/instruments/violins/violins_eastman.html
the violin is made of spruce and maple.
bj Says:
Thursday, February 18, 2010 @7:54:03 AM
I must have briefly channelled my Gypsy Grandma . . . LOL!
Hopefully that smell fades soon. I swear, it's one of the reasons I hate new schtuff. All those chemical smells . . .
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