Hey Everyone!
Howdy from West Virginia! I’m new to the community and pretty new to fiddling. I love all the good info I’ve came across on here already! If this request isn’t allowed here I apologize! Hope I didn’t post in the wrong area. I bought a couple old fiddles locally. I tried attaching pictures but it says there was trouble thinking it was spam. Anyway, the label in the full size fiddle reads, “copie of stradiuarius by Anton Bachman- fece in Cremona 1901. Made in Germany”. Does this maker sound familiar to anyone or any opinions of this kind? It’s an upgrade from the Chinese beginner fiddle I have regardless of it’s quality haha.
The second is a 3/4 “Bruno means security- johan georg Kessler- made In Czechoslovakia”
Any info or opinions are appreciated! I look forward to being apart of the forum and community!
quote:
Originally posted by jmoore64Hey Everyone!
Howdy from West Virginia! I’m new to the community and pretty new to fiddling. I love all the good info I’ve came across on here already! If this request isn’t allowed here I apologize! Hope I didn’t post in the wrong area. I bought a couple old fiddles locally. I tried attaching pictures but it says there was trouble thinking it was spam. Anyway, the label in the full size fiddle reads, “copie of stradiuarius by Anton Bachman- fece in Cremona 1901. Made in Germany”. Does this maker sound familiar to anyone or any opinions of this kind? It’s an upgrade from the Chinese beginner fiddle I have regardless of it’s quality haha.
The second is a 3/4 “Bruno means security- johan georg Kessler- made In Czechoslovakia”
Any info or opinions are appreciated! I look forward to being apart of the forum and community!
I guess you've wandered deeper into the land of sore-necked, left-ear deaf neurotics! As for your fiddle choices, you have to understand that fakery is a long-established tradition in the fiddle-making biz. This doesn't mean, though, that you might have gotten ripped off. It could be said, too, that it's kind of charming that the label claims the fiddle hails from both Cremona Italy AND Germany. In any case, it looks a lot like what the label does imply -- that it was made in a German factory maybe a hundred years ago. Yeah, it's not great that the label says Germany and not the name of a specific town in Germany. But if the fiddle produces decent volume and sounds good to your ears, that's more than good enough. Enjoy the heck out of it.
Thank you! I look forward to the learning process haha. For $40 I’m not too worried as it sounds and feels much better than my previous fiddle! I appreciate the input!
What I will add is that a good setup with a newly cut bridge by a pro violin luthier can make a world of difference in playability. When you get a few scales and tunes under your fingers you may want to have a violin shop look at it. R/
If you do take Richard's advice, Bob Smakula in Elkins is excellent. You will get as much playability and tone as the instrument has to offer with one of his set-ups. If you have been lurking around here you probably already know that the strings, bow, and rosin play as much into the overall sound as the fiddle too. Pretty cool find for $40...I would have still been happy paying much more if I liked the tone and how it played.
Thanks for the advice! I’ll have to make a run to Elkins before long it sounds like. I appreciate the recommendation. Not many fiddle shops or luthiers show up online around here.
On the 3/4 violin label, Bruno means security was a trademark or label logo of B & J New York, an importer of German and Czech workshop "trade" violins, they sold the whole range from dirt cheap to expensive.
Bob, I have to disagree.
B&J was Buegeleisen & Jacobson, a New York distributor of musical merchandise.
C. Bruno and Son was a large distributor of musical instruments and accesories, founded in 1834, and still in existence as part of Kaman Music Corp. Charles Bruno was an early (and brief) partner of C.F. Martin. A short history and picture of the "Bruno means security" label can be found here:
commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/C..._Security
The Internet Archive has a copy of a C. Bruno catalog from about 1890 that shows how musical goods made it to local stores at that time. We actually have a Victor Professional model banjo thats illustrated in that catalog.
yep, yer right, i remember now, they distributed E Martin violins, among others.
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