baroquecello

Have you looked at the violin by Oswald Möckel on the Tarisio website? Maybe you can figure it out when you have the violin at hand and compare it stylistically. Personally, I don't see the same quality.

I'd like to see you maintain that to your cellist customers.

I'd like to know if anyone has an opinion or information about what effect a layer of shellac, thin or thick, has on the sound of instruments, violin, Viola, cello or bass.

Well, you could consider fitting an ebony crown, couldn't you?

The golden ones are, if they are flat wound, old Pirastro Gold. The pinkish ones are round wire wound, and while I don't know the brand, depending on the gauge, and the core material, they will be rather close to chorda, if they are light gauge and low twist, or comparable to something like Aquila or Toro if they are thicker and have a higher twist core.

This is what happens to normal leather with Mr also. No nail causes this. I got a different kind of leather, could indeed be lizard skin, and the problem yet has to arise (after two years or so). Super wear resistant stuff. I don't like the feeling of playing with a plasti/rubber tubing on that part of the bow.

If the sound post becomes too short (a sound post doesn't become shorter, but the top and back plates change shape over time, the back plate bulging out, the top plate caving in, if that happens the sound post "has become too short"), the arch of the violin top may suffer from collapsing. Even a slight collapse, barely visibile, in some cases leads to severe tonal and response problems. But this should all be checked by an experienced person in person.

open seams, badly positioned/ill fitting/too short sound post, badly fitting bridge feet. Four years without adjustment is quite long.

Oopsie

Well, it depends on how you define "trade instrument ". It is not a registered trademark and it's meaning is sort of subjective. But to me, this violin is about as trade violin-ish as you can get from the period it was made: second half of the 19th century Markneukirchen or thereabouts. The makers attempted to hide only the "missing" corner block that is visible through the f-holes. The carved out bass bar fits right in the picture, although it has to be said that this is a better than average example.

Oh I like that, very nice work indeed! The antiqued varnish is very convincing on the top.

I'm only a player, but work as a teacher and come across many lesser quality instruments, and this is very comon. In my experience, of the four cello strings, the d string is the string that is most sensitive to problems with the cello that otherwise do not show up acoustically. It is home to most wolf tones, and I've often experienced weird d string response if things weren't glued up properly or loose somewhere. I experienced it once when a fingerboard had become partly unglued (but this remained invisible), and also when the top block (but not the ribs, so again, only visible by moving the neck left -right) had unglued on the top plate side. Sometimes, thinly built plates have this problem also (placement of magnetic wolf killers influence the sound output positively in that case). I could imagine weak necks or too lightly made bass bars might also cause this. Often, a cork wedged between the fingerboard or tail piece and top plate, or a krentz sound modulator under the fingerboard solves some of the problem, meaning that part of the plate there is subject to too much resonance, counteracting the resonance of the d string. So I would guess with you either something is unglued, or the top is too flimsy (too thin or too weak wood or arching).

Regarding the instrument at hand: I think it is an attractive looking cello. I can imagine it sounds quite good (but you have to be the judge of that). It looks to be in fairly good shape, so for the right price I'd see no reason not to buy it.

I think blank face is right, but as a Cellist I wonder about what you believe is a 'better' choice. If you mean the best choice as an investment, then that gets you a wholly different answer to what is the best choice as a player, or what is the best buck for your money. As a cellist I'd say: try before you buy, and unless it is a wreck, buy the best sounding instrument you feel comfortable with and can afford without too much financial difficulty. Don't buy anonymous lower to medium grade instruments based in their provenance. You cannot hear or feel, although occasionally see (from a close range) the provenance.

In my experience, Chinese vendors will not ask for a return shipment, but will send you a replacement free of charge. I'd send them a pic and describe the damage, and ask them what their proposal is for a solution.