David Burgess

I'm using Adblock Plus (it's free) on Firefox browser and am seeing no ads at all. No problems with it during several years of use. It may work with other browsers too, I do not know. If it slows down my machine, it's not enough that I can notice.

Valuable insights. Chinrest positioning can make large differences in sound and response, even when no open seams are involeved.

MJ Kwan has presented some really valuable stuff in the past, so I would look forward to that.

I happen to think that Don's pragmatic and "cut to the chase" experimental approaches have been among the most useful presented on Maestronet.

While I will readily acknowledge Julian's highly-valuable contributions to VSA Conventions, the Cleveland conventions have been the most convenient for me, so I have always attended, for better or worse. One of my rare treasures also happened in Cleveland: A decidedly gay woman, who I have known for many years, reaching back and fondling my leg during a "sexual harassment and gender-prejudice " lecture, confident that both of us would get some amusement from that. Geez, does no one have a sense of humor any more?

Based on my experiences spanning five decades in the business, I think such modifications are much less common than they once were, and that there is much more emphasis now on maintaining originality and figuring out the least invasive type of repair. And I think this has a strong connection with investment value. Sure, an instrument which is highly original and therefor very expensive is bound to have a smaller pool of potential buyers (particularly overly-large instruments which have never been cut down), but the high-end dealers still seem to be able to find buyers for them. There are even some cut-down instruments which have been very cleverly restored to their original size, at great expense, and with a minimal increase in parts which are non-original, compared to their cut-down state.

OK, I will offer a magor guffaw. Such notions have been explored for around 400 years now, with some working out better than others, depending on what the players in various time periods most desired.

Thomas Metzler in the Los Angeles area (Burbank?) has a major exhibition of contemporary instruments, about once every year, with makers from all over the place submitting instruments. Have you tried that yet? There are also many other possible ways to experience lots of instruments, ranging from visiting the many dealers in the Chicago and New York areas, to attending a VSA Competion, where there are typically in excess of 400 instruments and bows to try, from all over the world.

I agree with Don. While reducing mass, without reducing stiffness was once a very popular pursuit, with many theoretical mathematical formulas to support the notion, It doesn't seem to have worked out all that well in the real world.

In what way have you found it useful? In my own conversations with Gough (and Bissinger), I've found them very capable of explaining things in ordinary fiddle-maker language.

You must live in one of them fancy areas. Don't Californians know that asphalt contributes to global warming, and that making concrete consumes vast amounts of energy?

I'm going to cheat by filling mine with helium.

Not as common as it is in hotels, but I have not seen a hotel with Olymipic-style barbells. Only machines, and dumbbells and barbells up to about 60 pounds.

Wouldn't Marty's idea of bed mattresses supporting the upper floor surface pretty much eliminate any meaningful A0 resonances, as well as damping vibration of the upper floor surface?

I guess any two frequencies in the same listening space could be considered to be coupled, by virtue of their additive and subtractive phase relationships, even if they have no other influence on each other.