Mat Roop
-
Posts
840 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Events
Downloads
Gallery
Articles
Store
Posts posted by Mat Roop
-
-
...and this thread gives life to stupidity! What a waste.
-
my favorite is antique shops... I get to inspect & measure and being a cheap SOB, I negotiate and have acquired many decent markies and the like for $30-$90. Most often they are in horrid condition, but that is what I like ... take a piece of junk and make it sound great for a student. that process would give you experience in all aspects of the violin. But I will not pick up a junk instrument, just those that have been decent (for kitchen parties and students) until they were abused.
for example...
a $75 John Juzek viola (in horrid condition with corners missing)+ $1000 of my time & parts ... sold it for $1400. and totally loved by the student
a bow in a dark and stuffy antique shop with no hair, covered in dirt and broken slide... bargained from $10 down to $5. Brought it home, cleaned it up and found nice pernambuco with silver fittings. I added a premium rehair and sold it for $800... felt guilty for having bargained.
Cheers!... Mat
-
I have always promoted the concept that violins need to be kept out in the open so that they "stay alive" with ambient sound and vibrations . But I keep running across comments that good players and expensive violins are kept in their case. I thought cases were for transport only or for when there is possibility of physical harm. probably not an issue for violins played daily, but for casual players??
Am I wrong??... what is the general consensus?
-
tying bow hair the simple way... easy and REALLY tight ...The constrictor knot...
2 versions...
https://www.animatedknots.com/constrictor-knot-rope-end-method
https://www.animatedknots.com/constrictor-knot-twisting-method
Takes a bit of practice, but when you get it ... its great.
-
The adjustable soundpost would be equivalent to installing a post with rounded ends... except that there would be little damage to the top. ie... it is like thickening the plate and shortening the post... so as David says, a very different behaviour. If, however, the swivel cap on the post could be glued and set once it is in final position, ... you might get a different result?
-
9 hours ago, JackSchmidling said:
....I have never rehaired before but have done a lot of reading and looking. ....
and now you will do a lot of trial and error. Its a lot tougher than you might imagine to get the rehair just right.... especially on a standard bow... Glassers are easier. Make sure you have a few extra hanks of hair on hand! ... and be sure to buy high quality hair.... good luck!
-
8 hours ago, Jonathan21 said:
Very interesting. If so, would a sales sample be of lesser quality or unusable?
No... the sales sample is always the "best of the bunch" or better. It is intended to impress.
-
Could this perchance have been a sales sample? because "Spezial Antertigung" translates to "Special manufacture"
Perhaps some factory or luthier wanted to have weisshaar distribute these instruments for them.
That would explain why "a bridge has never set foot on it".
-
1 hour ago, Nick Allen said:
It won't be a problem with any kind of peg, even normal pegs, if properly repaired.
Nick....what is your description of " properly repaired"?
-
missing a tongue... the last owner cut it off because he played so bad the lion kept sticking it's tongue out at him.
-
I think it is a "folk art" fiddle... made with a factory neck.
I had a client come in one day to have 2 fiddles fixed ... one was a dutzendarbeit in not bad shape the other was a home brew folk fiddle. The folk fiddle had lots of unusual features, and I advised the customer It would not likely sound like much. They insisted on repairing both and to my great surprise the folk fiddle sounded better than the dutzen.
so... you may be in luck and have a great sounding fiddle. My recommendation... don't sell it for the high bid of $26.50... I'm offering $27 CAD
-
/
in The Pegbox
As an experiment I bought a spiral and straight from Ali express just for curiosity and and use on school violins because they were cheap... turns out it was an expensive experiment because the straight one would not cut at all and the spiral pretty much useless... Still using my original that I bought from Geo. Heinl 30 years ago... works like a charm...FWIW ... Mat
-
You'll never realize what a great repair really is until you see this...
-
Oh.... and in case you are wondering what the other item in the OP photo is ... its a "clothes peg"
https://medium.economist.com/the-curious-history-of-the-clothespeg-3f8615519c61
... also known as a liner clamp...
http://www.rolandstefenviolinmaker.com/Images/052 Rest of Liners Installed 2.jpg
-
Last time I bought they were about $4 or $5 per marker
-
.
in The Pegbox
I have recently been in the habit of removing the string protector, but instead of placing a skin under the e... I dab a bit of thin super glue to harden the slot to prevent it from collapsing under the string.... seems to work well.
Anybody else do that? any negative side effects?
-
Thanks everyone... looks like dry brown chalk dust is where I'm headed! I have some black chalk dust I use for slippy ebony pegs, works pretty good on the bass bar, but it is just a bit gray, So I'll get some dark brown chalk & try that.
....Cheers, Mat
-
3 hours ago, B. Duckworth said:
If you must, some scrapbooking stores sell markers in natural tones
check my link above... there must be 50 or 60 color variations... more than you'll ever need:)
-
So Strad O, when you put a new bass bar in an old violin with a dark interior you leave the new white bass bar white? I've done that many times, but because you can easily see the bar at the f hole, to me it sticks out like a sore thumb. But... if that is considered good practice, I'm all in!
-
Thanks B. ...
Yes, on a separate piece of wood its easy to stain and get results, but in reality the problem is that the bar or cleat is carved after installation and one needs to be careful to not stain the original aged wood, otherwise it really looks like c....
... so just wondering what do others do?
-
So when you do internal violin repairs like bass bars, cleats on old darkened violins, do you darken the new repair wood, and what is the best solution?
tea bags? dirt? chalk dust? water colors? I've never really been happy with anything I've tried.
Suggestions?... Thanks, Mat
-
I use these regularly...keeping in mind I do mostly violins for schools and the kitchen party types... so not exactly high end.
There is a learning curve to use them effectively. I have about 10 color variations and often blend them in layers and rubs to get to where I need to be. Applying one color on top of another will also dissolve the first color... and can make a mess... so there are tricks.
It helps to have a sample board of maple and spruce with each color applied and that is a good start to matching the color you need.
I seal anything bare first with clear varnish or shellac, then apply marker in one or several THIN coats .. When done, seal with a clear varnish rub.
Can't say I have ever seen a fading issue...
Cheers, Mat
-
This stuff (the wood version) works great... shape it, carve it, sand it, stain it and finish it! ... key is to rub the uncured material onto the surface to be glued so that the roughly shaped uncured replacement piece sticks well.
-
1- remove the wedge & do a neck lift... https://trianglestrings.com/raisingtheprojection/
2-the scratched cross... Although I don't do it for many reasons, It is my understanding that making a pin prick in the varnish to mark the bridge is acceptable in some circles. Are you sure the cross was not there before and you just did not notice it?
Number of trees on bridge
in The Pegbox
Posted
This might help...
https://www.violins.ca/supplies/bridges/bridges_despiau.html