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They could be, but there is no evidence that they aren't also old.

It's Faux Pernambuco. Or that is how it is marketed. Yes it's dishonest for sellers to call it Pernambuco and there is no need for this because it's a very good wood for making good l but inexpensive bows. If your bow is finished with hard lacquer, that's almost a guarantee that it's Ipé.

...usually go thud, not ring... ...well, great wood made well. will ring...

Tapping on a violin plate is every makers right. It is the only true Amendment!

Agree but with lesser makers they principally list instruments they have sold at Tarisio whereas with the big names they fold in all known instruments from all known sources.

Thank you!

Maybe some makers were knocking their plates to see how loud they were.

They 'could have', but there is no evidence the did. Also, there's a big difference between tapping to hear the character of the ring versus tapping to hear specific church. While they 'could have' compared to the local church bell or organ, they also would be well aware that in their time you had to retune to the local standard for each town. There was not a fixed general standard of pitch. Modern concepts of tapping tuning are modern.

I believe they enter almost anything they get. Remember that they have a huge auction to draw from.

Do the arts deserve funding? Without getting too deep into very complicated current events, public and private funding ( of the arts ) is good, right? In the past week, I overheard the word, "Entitlement" attached to performance arts over a dozen times. The term was used in response to many arts groups asking for operational funds. From what I understand, the amounts are relatively small. I currently take in zero dollars from any arts focused non- profit. It's been that way for at least ten years and being somewhat careful, I believe that to be true. My time "working" in that sector, is donated. Nope, have not paid Union Dues, for years. This is not a boast. I would like for this to be a legitimate, non- self interested question. There are no direct interests. There might be an indirect benefit, but I care less and less how operations are run. Besides, the graduating kids are far better technical players these days. Cooking might be of more interest these days. I remember playing ( "serenading" ) in an Italian restaurant during college. Two hours of solo violin work is difficult. The pay was virtually nothing, but the eggplant was good. Medically, or scientifically, our lives - for many of us, anyway - is a bit on hold. Priorities should be set, but... I really need a road trip out to the desert.

`Certain sandpapers can use "stearates" as anti clogging coating and this can also effect adhesion. I would highly suggest doing repeated test's over numerous "ground/first coat/sealer" applications to ensure you have completely taken the "loss of surface tension" out of the equation. I would also look at my environment tools,applicators and containers. Also just because the varnish is "sitting well" does not mean you "have it" assuming you can get it to sit well..ie not fisheye, re-solvent, loose surface tension...you still have adhesion and wear characteristics that need to be sorted out, let alone optics. So after you have made several say 8x8 test sample boards with something that is sitting well I would start "playing destroy" with it, seeing how it reacts to several forms of torture, such as "abrasion" use fine sand paper to see it's wear characteristics, light whisks of a scraper, a stiff brush, tap it with the tip of the corner of a flathead screwdriver, to see if it's "chippy" or fractures , do direct sunlight test's to check for thermal plasticity, refrigerate to see if going cold then re-warming does anything and well just anything else you can think of. If you do this enough you find combinations of products that will work well, or better than others...A varnish that is "looking good" may work on "this" ground, but not "that" one, again I would caution using oil based conifer straight over protein, it certainly can be done, but they have to have tested compatibility. Your "protein/gelatin/glue" coat looks rather thick, and as we see it really wiped off on the back, so I would really want to get that squared away. Again we are all just "doing the best we can" with our work and I like to think that some of the "draw" to instrument making is the "romantic notion" that something you have created may be loved well after you are gone and that it could be perhaps your "legacy" and well, I suppose no one wants to think of some guy saying 200 years from now, "ya. he made good instruments, but, that varnish, if he had only used something different." Most places scrap wood can be had for free with some scrounging if you don't already have a pile, and it's much better to really get this figured out before putting "it" your system of layers, on a bunch of instruments, before you know what "it's going to do" ...good luck

Correct. Don't know where my brain was. Sound was very rich as it was

Maybe, maybe not.

It is an acronym for International Pants Edifiers, which can be given credit for most men wearing pants these days. But you already knew that from doing a google search, right?

Seems to be a sort of compilation for several South American woods. Wikipedia names: Handroanthus impetiginosus, Handroanthus serratifolius, Handroanthus heptaphyllus and Handroanthus chrysanthus, and is also subsumized under the similar unprecise general term Ironwood. At least I haven't seen any older Pfretzschner being made of this sort of wood yet, and the bow looks rather modern to me anyway. You could ask the actual Pfretzschner firm http://pfretzschner-markneukirchen.de/index.html wether the bow is from their production or a fake.

first person monkey Could not resist. The generic term "Brazilwood" is too literally, wood from Brazil, though it might not have been from Brazil. Not very specific, though better more learned players and dealers have started to be much more specific. For a length of time better bows were divided into Pernambuco and Brazilwood, for perhaps the ease of the consumer to discern in quality? Tons of information on Ipe online. I first learned about it from a guitar maker who was experimenting with the material. He was actually making decorative corporate furniture ( for their headquarters, ) but decided to start using the scraps. There is an interesting variety at some woodworking stores. I have used it without much success and apologize for the vagueness. Of the dozen sticks, most of the pieces have been heavy and depending on the orientation, a little over damped. I have experimented on a potential electric bass neck...

What is ipe?

Cozio goes out of its way ro compile a complete inventory of Strads, DGs and Guadagnis. I don’t think it has a similar level of interest in Landolfi!!

I looked at this very violin in Jan with a view to purchase but didn't. Agree and disagree with Plowright. Yes, very large across the lower bout (almost viola-sized) but this gave the resonating chamber a massive volume.The tone of this was so sweet - loud yes, but refined and mellow, not coarse or harsh by any means. Crack is held in place by the end block. Solid as and no movement. If it affected the sound, it would only be better after a repair.

Tapping on a violin plate, and comparing it with the pitch of the local church bell could have been one way of assessing some of the properties of the wood, as well as an aid to configuring it. Granted, this would not be foolproof by any means, but not all violins by the great makers are fabulous playing instruments.

Maybe I’m the outlier, but I usually consider anything from 348-352 to be 7/8. There’s no absolute rule, but I’ve seen plenty of violins in that range called 7/8. Body length isn’t the only thing that can make a violin feel smaller, though. A narrower neck, a shorter scale length, narrower bouts, or sloping shoulders can all contribute. It’s not uncommon for people to try some Guarneri models and think they must be shorter until they see the actual back length on a measuring tape.

looks like ipe to me.

I'm absolutely sure you'll find lots of 19th century discussions of tapping on wood and even 18th century discussion on hammering on the tonewood trees to see if they ring, you guys are making a religion of ignorance about the history of the violin. I honestly think some would mock Stradivari if he were here telling us how to make violins.

For digging the volute more, it sounds like your cutting direction is starting to become more tangential... following the curve of the spiral. (My cuts in the very top picture are radial, cutting from the edge toward the eye.) Do I understand you correctly?

Amusingly, I am working on a Del Gesu copy right now.