AtlVcl

There is no MSRP on violins. Just as in real estate, automobiles, or ladies of the evening, a "fair" price is what a willing and able buyer will pay, and a willing seller will accept. You were well-advised (above), when you find a violin you love, ask if the price is negotiable. Keep in mind this tactic is most likely to be successful when you take out your checkbook to indicate seriousness of intent.

"Kickback" has such an unfortunate connotation. Sounds to me as if they were showing appreciation for a highly-valued customer.

It seems I haven't missed anything in the last three years...

Actually, any musical instrument is going to be difficult in order to play it well. A lot of stuff NEVER gets easy, and requires repeated practise and refinement, even from the very best. Ask Yo-Yo if he still practises the Dvorak cello concerto!

Clearly the only thing I've missed over the last week is more of Stephen Fine's ad hominem attacks. One might expect a college professor to know better how to further his argument, but apparently he slept thru that lesson in viola school.

Once things descent to ad hominem attacks, that's when the gloves come off. It's easy to make accusations, most especially against dead men unable to defend themselves. Some people will believe anything in a skirt because....well...they're such delicate things, after all, and of course none would ever exaggerate or misunderstand or misinterpret, much less lie. I'm done. I already know who will be commenting further, and I'm just not interested.

Some people will believe anyone wearing a skirt; they're usually called liberal Democrats, perfectly willing to dismiss the presumed innocence in force in the American court system. First, she <famously> debuts half-dressed in lieu of talent, then she makes accusations against a famous violinist who, as would happen, is incapable of defense. How convenient. Sounds a lot like a classical "attention seeker." Miss St. John may be late to feminism, but curiously just in time for #MeToo. Discuss amongst yourselves.

I agree about being free to allege assault, and the time to make an allegation is when it happens, not when the accused is long returned to ashes and unable to defend himself!

And while you're at it, mind those black helicopters!!!

This is old "news." Jascha Brodsky was almost 90 yrs old at the time of the allegations against him, and Lara St. John is no "accomplished violinist"; she's best known for album covers where she's only half dressed.

Just FWIW, several makers whose names have been mentioned in this thread operate out of the Fine Arts Building in Chicago, on Michigan Ave. Since you're concerned about the cost of travel, I should say Chicago is my favorite (short) destination spot. If you fly into Midway, you could be there in 20 minutes (unlike NYC, where everything takes forever, and is expensive once you do get there!)

I don't know why it should be a "problem behavior" just because it happened to sell instruments at prices that were quickly going out of grasp's reach of professional musicians, even with concomitant tax benefits available at the time. Anyone remember "investment tax credit"? I have two colleagues who play nice instruments that were bought from Moennig. both look French polished, and decades later they're still beautiful to look at. One is a million + $ Ruggeri cello, of which I've seen 4-5 over the years. At that elevated price level, I suggest "beauty" is part of the deal. (And granted that "beauty" is in the eye of the you-know-who...)

Yes, just as I said, at one time it was common to French polish, and then fashions changed, and it is now looked down upon. Of course, Bein & Fuschia is part of the fashion change in the marketplace.

What is truth? Practically every world-class violinist who appears on stage with me has an instrument that looks to have been French polished. Does that diminish its value? And if you think yes, what if it was being played by Perlman? I have it on excellent authority that there was a period when every string instrument that came thru Moennig's was French polished. Was it for pecuniary marketing purposes? (he asks rhetorically...) These things go back and forth. For myself, I happen to think the matte finish is plain and ugly. That said, and speaking strictly as a player, if the instrument of my dreams happened to come that way, I wouldn't be sending it back with an ungrateful scowl.