Sounds like fun.. I've received 'gift' fiddles that had major cracks and seam separations from years on neglect..Also have received fiddles that were in pretty good shape.. Guess they are like a box of chocolates.. ya never know what you're going to get..

How exciting!!! Aren't VSO's more a recent phenomenon?

Wishing you great luck with it! Who knows how much this instrument would like to be played... Who knows how good it is??

Please keep us updated on this old fiddle <3

I have something with the idea that someone from a long time ago already played the instrument that is in my hands now. Makes me feel connected and same time wonder where it will lead to, the great unknown.

Congratulations with your new fiddle!!

Bad ass!

Well, she dropped it off yesterday evening!

Good news:
No visible cracks … exciting!

Bad news:
No strings attached… AND also no bridge! :-O

Hmm, something rattling around inside? I looked. It was the soundpost. :-/

One interesting thing:
It has a one-piece back.

I googled the label “Antonio Stradivarius Cremonsis / Faciebal Anno 1716” and yep, it is a factory-made German violin from the time when they were cranking out thousands…will post pics later.

But trying to decide if it’s worth a luthier makeover…
I.e. spending $$-$$$ just so I can try it and hear what it sounds like! :-)
If I was a luthier, I would really enjoy this kind of “instrument rescue”…

Woohoo!! Nice, a one piece back, my old fiddle has that too.
To give you some support on the rescue : my luthier did a more than fine job under 300 euro for my old fiddle that I bought from a young slovakian violin crazy gypsy music player.
Included: a new bridge carved to fit this fiddle, the lowered and loose neck was put back in place and the gap that followed as a consequence was covered with an extra piece of wood, the instrument got a cleaning and new varnish and the strings were replaced with four new Helicores, one being a titanium wounded A-string. Under 300 euro price! I think that was very reasonable and it feels so well spent!

I said it several times lately but I simply adore my own 'rescue' :-D All it needed was an understanding luthier and some money I had put aside for it.

I also looked up one day how they put a sound post back in place... Look at a video like that, the luthier has the right instruments and skills to do this and it is not that much of surgery on the fiddle!

The only way to decide if its worth a "luthier makeover" is to show it to a luthier and ask their opinion. If there are no other problems, you're probably looking at $50-65 for a new bridge and whatever you want to spend on strings, probably at least $40. If the old soundpost still fits, reinstalling it should be neglible. Proper length, position and fit can make a lot of difference in the sound.
Although many people like one piece backs, and believe its a sign of quality, that's not really true. Both good and bad violins have been made with both one piece and two piece backs. It is one less seam to come apart, though.

quote:

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Originally posted by DougD

The only way to decide if its worth a "luthier makeover" is to show it to a luthier and ask their opinion. If there are no other problems, you're probably looking at $50-65 for a new bridge and whatever you want to spend on strings, probably at least $40. If the old soundpost still fits, reinstalling it should be neglible. Proper length, position and fit can make a lot of difference in the sound.
Although many people like one piece backs, and believe its a sign of quality, that's not really true. Both good and bad violins have been made with both one piece and two piece backs. It is one less seam to come apart, though.

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But a one piece back just looks beautiful :D

And yes , ofcourse first I would have it inspected by a luthier :-) There is a difference between luthiers though, one here acted as if my oldest fiddle was a piece of fraud on labels and a lowered neck without even looking at it properly and he totally acted as if it was not worth any of his noble work/ more than a few seconds of inspection followed by a long rant on ex east block sellers, the other one said immediately and repeated that later on during other visits: you are certainly not ripped off!  and this one found it a decent instrument after his first inspection. He was happy to help me out with getting it back in shape. 

Ooh pics please !

Fingers crossed, might be French. i bet it's a hundred years old. Can you see inside for corner blocks etc? Take the end pin out and shine a torch in. Make it sing again, even if you do it yourself. Its all on youtube.
Good luck!

Wow...congratulations! That sounds like more fun than ever!

I would definitely take it to a luthier...I think the person who cuts the bridge oughta be the one to set the sound post, ideally anyway. I betcha it won't cost more than maybe 80 bucks or so? Of course that's 80 bucks...but...well I hope you can get someone to look at it and fix it all up into playing condition for you....like early Santa Claus!

Suggestion for the name - "Lazarous". I'd like to hear it when done, too!

Love “Lazarus” as a name! Wouldn't it be cool if it's a nice-sounding fiddle?

I will be back with pics…I took some with my phone but they are in HEIC format, but I found that I gotta convert to JPEG, then upload to my Media folder, etc etc…! 

If an old fiddle comes with a bow, do NOT ignore the bow. I talked to a violin collector once, and he said bows are the first thing he looks at. He said he finds more valuable bows than he does violins. People don't know that much about violins/fiddles, but know even less about bows.

I don't mean to display my ignorance.....

But what the heck is a

"VSO"?

I picked it up somewhere…
Violin Shaped Object

An Object whose appearance resembles a violin, but does not emit noises like a violin…?

quote:

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Originally posted by Mark Douglas

I don't mean to display my ignorance.....

But what the heck is a

"VSO"?

AKA a violin made with little regard to actual usability or playability.  Commonly found in offerings from China, but more coming in from the other Far East these days. 

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The fiddle I seem to play more than the others is one that my uncle gave me about 12 years ago. He doesn't play any instruments. But his big thrill in life was going to garage and estate sales. He had a fea market booth and like going to auctions (my dad owned / ran an auction 3 nights a week - BTW- I'm a Master Auctioneer - State of Tennessee  ).

...anyway he asked a lady at the end of a garage sale if she had anything else not out on display that she'd like to sale. She remembered a violin that belonged to her deceased husband that had been stored up in the attic for years. She said he had for years and loved to play it. Didn't know anything about it - neither did my uncle. He bought it for $20 and kept it for almost 20 years.  When he learned I had started to play the fiddle, he offered it to me - free. He warned me it was probably "worthless" - but I was welcome to it.  I gratefully accepted it.

A friend in Alaska set it up for me  - fine tuners, new strings and bridge.  When I picked it up - he told: "Be prepared to be pleasantly surprised." 

I was  - still am.  I'm playing it this morning. This one is a keeper - for more reasons than one.

Congratulations!  You have a good friend. 

BTW - this does not have any label in it. I have no idea how old it is or who made it. I  figure it has to be at least 50 - 60 years old. It is in good shape.  But none of that really matters.

I love these stories about fiddles with a background <3

Thats one of the fun things about playing fiddles, especially if you're an auction of flea market type. One never knows what one will find ( or have someone give you). And because of the absolute plethora of violins out there, it's really like the proverbial box of chocolates! In college I made some decent dosh picking up fiddles at antique auctions, fixing them up and selling to schools and music stores. Never found that Stainer , Hopf, etc etc but it was enlightening.

Speaking of free instruments - Whats with the free piano's on Craigslist?? I mean spring time - you see free boats for sure, but here 2-3 pianos come up for the asking all the time. Just move 'em ha ha.

NC we're gonna want to hear what Lazarous sounds like - don't forget!

VSO -- Violin Shaped Object...

I got to say, too, that the term "violin shaped object" is one of the meanest, funniest term I've come across. Yeah, it may look like a violin. But it croaks like a frog with laryngitis when you put a bow to it.

The mark of a good fiddler to me, is to be able to make a VSO make music IMO... Or even a non VSO (Cigar box fiddle etc), Make music.