jacobsaunders

perhaps you should go back to bed

1 pc. bottom rib would be typical for Mwld, but not always A Markneukirchen Dutzendarbeit from the industrial period with a one pc. bottom rib would be unimaginable

In the late 19th C. much of Markneukirchen, and some 20 surrounding tows, had a combined output of some 100,000 violins p.a.. Holding two random Dutzendarbeit together, and imagining that they were made by the same bloke is theoretically possible, but so unlikely that it borders on the ridiculous

Looks like a Markneukirchen box to me

I think you are correct to assume that it is a violin from Mittenwald, from the end of the 18th C. Where I might differ is re. the condition. It seem to have a fair amount of worm damage. Worm damage is like the proverbial iceberg. Also the button is a mess. Needs a thorough restoration ($!)

If your greatest wish is a beautiful viola, then you should come and visit. If you don’t want me to hear you're viola playing, I would be quite happy to go into a different room

Sounds perfectly appropriate for an ambitious 13 year old too me

I was wondering what a Gustav August Ficker is. Is it a real person, or is it just some made up American importer’s fictional trade name for Bubenreuth boxes (c.f. Juzek), since I’ve never hear of him/it over here? I would be happy to provide the young lady with any instrument that she enjoys playing

Why else would one buy one of those?

As a matter of general interest: When a mouse, or mice, “move in”, do they build themselves a toilet, or do they just crap all over the place? Is your VSO mouse sanctuary full of mouse shit, or if not, which conclusions would a learned criminologist draw from it’s absence?

I would speculate on something from the Chappuy direction, although French fiddles are not my department

It is a common or garden Markneukirchen trade “Dutzendarbeit” with a meaningless label, that needs cleaning and fitting up properly. Just about worth doing if you haven’t got anything else

No, I made the bridge with notches so that it could be used for either 6 or 7 evenly spaced strings, depending on the repertoire. It looks a bit like a wooden circular saw. I used plastic drinking straws, which I don’t suppose is the perfect solution. After stringing it up for the second time, I gradually thought that I was getting the hang of it, still I was glad that I had got it finished!

She should take up viola instead. No damn E strings any more

Several people have asked me if I ever got the smashed Eberle D‘Amore finished In actual fact, it has been more or less “finished” since about Christmas. Fellow Maestroneter Mendicus kindly made me some pins to attach the Bordon strings too. First of all, she adamantly insisted on having diatonic tuned Bordon strings. All the string manufacturers (Thomastik et al) all make D’Amore strings, where the Bordon strings are the same tuning as the upper strings. There is no basis for this in the contemporary literature, So, search for diatonic strings indicated. At the end, a Zither maker in Vienna made some tailor made ones. By that time, I was having a spell in hospital. When I had recovered, she had a nasty car accident in Hungary, from which she is now fully recovered. Then I had another stint in hospital. Now, a few weeks ago, we got together to string it up. Stringing up a D’Amore is a nightmare, because one has to thread the Bordon strings through under the fingerboard, without getting any tangled up. I kept telling myself “Jacob, don’t swear!” This took about two hours. To my horror, the Bordon strings were touching the belly, about 3 or 4 cm. North of the bottom saddle. I had asked everywhere, if anyone had D’Amore bridge blanks, and the only one was Teller. The hole where the strings go through the bridge was too low down for the strings to have clearance of the belly with Eberle’s arching. The only solution was to make a new bridge, with the Bordon string hole higher up. This meant making a bridge out of a solid lump of wood, rather than from a blank (not my favourite job). Far worse, it meant taking the bloody strings off, and putting them back on again! Anyway, we took some pictures of it in it’s provisional state, with the too low bridge, and not quite finally retouched. After I made the new bridge so that it worked, I didn’t get a chance to take any pictures. To save VdA the bother of asking “How does it sound”, everyone can listen here https://youtu.be/TQpybhZNeus,