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its all in your head.mp4

Like you said, common behind closed doors only. Outside there was (and still is) told something else.

Both should make a MASSIVE difference in how the E sounds. And by the way, you need to decide if you need the E to sound good to you or to the public 10-15m away. The two are not quite compatible. 30m away they are not compatible at all. There are numerous, well understood aspects to be discussed here. Unfortunately, you asked a vague question and forgot to introduce yourself. I've no idea if you play violin for 30 years or 30 days and at which level.

Such things were common knowledge in the trade, long before Maestronet existed.

He must have read Maestronet very carefully, the article is just telling what was preached here for years.

The “secret” is that there is no secret.

Of course you are right, thanks for specifying

A perennial go-to E string for many years is the cheap-as-dirt Lenzer Goldbrokat in .26mm. Another E string with some current popularity is the anti-whistling spiral Warchal Amber.

While I will agree the vibrating string length can make the most difference, I feel I must disagree with some of what you have said, and also Duane88. Today, people want everything to be neatly pigeonholed, but in the past there clearly wasn't such a distinction where everything fits into neat sizes. The same can even be true of bows, where there are those which are borderline between a violin weight and a viola weight. It could be sold as either, depending on the motivation. Violas are generally sized by the back length, but within a given back length, string lengths can be all over the place. So following the ideas above, a 16 1/2" Brescian viola would become a 15 3/4" viola, due to the string length. That just seems like nonsensical madness. I believe that a true 7/8 size would have everything proportionally smaller, and not be some mongrel with bizarre measurements in one aspect.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO TELL US. YOU BOUGHT WHOM A VIOLA? YOU GOT 2 INSTRUMENTS WHICH ARE DIFFERENT FROM THE ONES YOU GOT?

The temp is 62 C. USA newbies will assume you mean Fahrenheit unless you stipulate.

You know that you need to post this in The Auction Scroll, instead of The Pegbox, right?

It's eBay..... If you really want to get something good, you need to go in person to a shop. Even if you had got the models you expected, they may still have sounded terrible.

Dear all, I'm here to warn everybody about a far from hnonest seller on ebay. He's got 2 shops, selling identical products, .referred as violin--shop and Dushi. I bought him a Viola and a violin and I actually did get 2 top-of-the-line instruments which are very different fom the ones I bought. Of course, they are of a much lower quality. I thought that the seller just made a mistake, but he does not answer my emails anylonger,simply ignoring me. Sad story. Just hoping that nobody else will face such a situation.

I agree with that. @Sarah N, welcome to MN!

I'm thinking this started out as a German trade instrument, from the Markneukichen area. It seems, at a later date, someone has stripped it and refinished it with colourless varnish.

Yup. LIKE!!!! Great article. Some may miss one of the most important hints David sticks in here, "Based on a 315g-strength glue......". If, like me, you work in a semi-tropical heat-and-humidity area, using a strong glue weight is essential.

A heavy .27mm gauge will give a darker tone. The old favourites are Pirastro Gold heavy or Jargar Forte, both of which are still reasonably priced.

Here's how I go about it: Strad glue article.pdf

My impression was that the article had already addressed both.

I think you want to balance your E string in "harmony" with the rest of the strings that work well on your violin. I have found the Thomastik Peter Infeld platinum-plated E string to have strong tone that worked well for me on all 4 of my violins when they were strung with Pirastro Evah Pirazzi Gold and a few other brands. However the PI-Pt E strings seems to be fairly high tension and tight and does not give a good pizzicato sound. For that a softer E, such as Pirastro Eudoxa or Perpetual Cadenza E is good. The Warchal Amber and Timbre E strings are good too - provided they work well on your instrument.

Another interesting article: https://stringsmagazine.com/how-to-invest-wisely-in-the-instrument-of-your-dreams/ It seems that more and more "insiders" are becoming more willing to speak out about things which were once only shared/disclosed behind closed doors.

I think it will be difficult to get many answers, because not many measure or have specific data on the glue they use. Also, always keep in mind that the dilutions and temperatures are variable depending on the type of glue you have and the gluing operations you need to do. However, since I am one of those who indicate temperatures higher than 62 ° that are often indicated, I feel obliged to give some clarification. I generally consider a temperature between 65° and 70° to be optimal, considering freshly prepared glue, not re-heated several times. Furthermore, after leaving the glue to soak in cold water for a few hours (mine requires at least three or four, it's a Japanese glue whose gram strength I don't know, but I estimate it around 300) I don't let it heat up for a couple hours, but I simply bring it to the temperature of use (it takes about twenty minutes to melt completely) and use it immediately, just to avoid prolonged overheating. If you plan to keep the glue at use temperature all day, perhaps it is better if it does not exceed 64/65 °(or 62° if you prefer). The problem with the temperature is that the glue, once applied, begins to cool down, and if the temperature is already low it will almost immediately start to gel, especially if the pieces are not preheated, which is not good. A low temperature (62 °) is good if the gluing operation is very fast or if the environmental conditions are such as to delay the cooling. For this reason I prefer a higher temperature, to have more time margin, always with the premise that it is freshly prepared and used immediately without overheating it for a long time. In the case of the central joints, where I indicate a temperature of maximum 75° (I usually stop heating at 72° if I don't get distracted), this is due to my gluing system, which involves transferring the glue into a small glass to pour it on the piece to be glued, and because I prefer not to heat the pieces of wood in order not to risk to deform them. All this will cause progressive cooling which will lower the temperature of the glue in the actual gluing, hence the higher temperature. Regarding the dilution, I measure it only for the most critical gluings, and I established them by doing specific tests with my glue, for other glues they could be different: Ribs to sides (do you mean ribs to blocks?): by eye, moderately thick Glue sizing end grain : by eye, not much thick but not much thin, I continue to put it until it is no longer absorbed, so the dilution is not too decisive Joining belly & back centre : 1:4 (thick) Joining belly back to garland : by eye, not much thick but not much thin for the back, moderately thin for the top Setting neck : 1:5 (fairly thick) Bassbar : 1:5 (fairly thick) Warning: do not follow my directions blindly, test your glue before using it for important gluing to get the right dilution ratio

@Yogic I've a cello with a rather short LOB, (can't check now how short, as it is being restored, but the restorer described it as right between 3/4 and 4/4th LOB) but the distance between the bridge and upper edge is 400 MM, which results in a neck length of 280 MM (so that the 4th position thumb placement is standard) and a vibrating string length of approx 695MM. This small bodied cello is therefore a 4/4th cello with a rather small lower bout. Cello size depends on vibrating string length primarily, because that is what influences the playing experience most. Only the string length is relevant when someone is looking for an instrument that fits a small hand. And think of electric cellos. Therefore: Size designation equals string length.

Delivery and Assessment. Onwards to a student. IMG_1248.mov