JoeDeF

Any plucked string will lose amplitude (string motion is transduced into instrument body/air molecule motion). You may be hearing a descending frequency envelope (the pitch goes down after the beginning of the pluck), This is because you are elongating the string as you pull it to the side before releasing it, which adds tension to the string. That tension decreases as the amplitude of the string's motion decreases while the sound decays. This is more noticeable on lower strings in general; their cores tend to be at a lower percentage of their breaking strength, which causes elongation to result in greater pitch change. You can hear the same phenomenon when you bow heavily some C strings on a viola or cello; the "louder" you bow, the more the pitch rises as the bowing elongates the string (displaces it perpendicular to the string).

Sorry to hear this--I will really miss LMI. I didn't order that often, but when I did, the products they sent me were of high quality. I will really miss looking at their gorgeous tonewood. I really like the diversity of species used in guitar-family lutherie, and their site has been a great place to check out beautiful wood.

Once you open any cyanoacrylate, you shouldn't refrigerate it. The opened bottle will contain air with some moisture content, and the chilling will cause the moisture to condense out, which will lead to the glue setting in the bottle. It is fine/helpful to refrigerate unopened bottles (the manufacturer will have taken pains to fill the "air" portion of the unopened bottle with a gas with no appreciable moisture content).

Is that white thing you're holding the pre-industrial era version of a sawzall? Happy Birthday, David!

Anyone tried ancient Kauri? https://ancientwood.com/resources/about-the-wood/

Most contemporary composers and New Music performers I know use bass bows, probably because they're pretty sturdy. You sometimes need to exert quite a bit of force to get a hunk of metal moving. I had a cheap carbon fiber bass bow for that purpose, but I lent it out and never got it back. I bowed lots of odd objects with it, and it worked well. Bass rosin is also ultra-grippy; I used that.

Thanks, Anders, The link wouldn't download for me. I'm speculating that perhaps they've updated the version number, because when I tried it without the version number, I was able to download it. Here's a link without the version number, in case anyone else has the same issue: https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/forests/forests-13-01004/article_deploy/forests-13-01004.pdf Very comprehensive--for me at least, it will require some head-scratching about the chemistry, etc.

Not a bow guy, but yes. Often Loctite 410, a black, thickened super glue is used. If you are not a luthier or skilled woodworker, it might be best to bring it to a luthier for the repair. If you are skilled enough to want to undertake the repair, search this site for "loctite 410" to find a few tips.

Blank face, My (amateur) understanding is that the “brick like” feature is a reliable indicator of pernambuco. Is that correct? The following closeup of a bow has both the brick like feature and some bright horizontal lines/flecks. A luthier I trust said it was pernambuco (he was not involving buying or selling the bow). What are your thoughts on the identifying features both in this pic and in general?

This is cello, not violin, but cellist Clay Reude has done a few videos comparing the Frirsz (harp-ish) tailpiece with other "straight" tailpieces. In this case, I definitely hear a difference.

Bow clearance is a big issue. They're why C bouts evolved on violin and viol family instruments. You could get around it by making the body tiny; the forearm and belly carve on an electric guitar could serve as a C bout alternative as long as the body is really small. You could also get around the clearance problem by using a taller bridge (generally not a problem with electric instruments), but it's questionable how the ergonomics would be. I would suggest making a mockup (a mockup is non-functional), no matter how crude, just to see what the bow clearance and general ergonomics would be like before committing to the project. You could use pine, or even cardboard for some of it, and you could save time by buying a cheap pre-made fingerboard (or maybe a local luthier would give you a junk one). Make the mockup the envisioned shape, add strings (even under barely enough tension to keep them in place) over a bridge proxy with the typical violin bridge top curvature, and pick it up and see how it feels to hold it with your LH, how it meets your shoulder/chin, and how the bow clears the body. Then build a testbed (an easily modifiable, possibly ugly, but basically functional version). Once you've mastered that, you could go ahead and build the actual instrument, which would be a good learning opportunity. Or, at that point, you could give the "tuned-up" testbed to a builder. Then they'd at least know a little bit more what you are wanting and what they're getting into. If you're paying for their time instead of by the job (many luthiers wouldn't touch such an open-ended job for a set price), you'll end up saving yourself a lot of money. It may be hard to find someone who will commit to making such a specific and untested design. I'd expect it to be costly, because even if you make the mockup and testbed, it won't be clear yet that all of your ideas will be feasible. A lot of experimentation, back-and-forth, and time (=$$$) will have to be spent just to finalize a design that will work. Building it yourself might turn out to be fun, and you could experiment to your heart's content without paying someone else by the hour.

Good eye, Televet!

I agree with Melvin. This seems like it could possibly be a case of noticing “atypical structural detail A” and “unwanted musical effect X” and then assuming that A caused X. Correlation is not causation, as we all know. There are lots of red herrings in the musical instrument world — this could be one. I would guess that an unglued part is a likely culprit, as Melvin said. Unglued parts can cause all sorts of weird resonances and tonal problems, and the notes the OP mentioned are not in the typical wolf range.

It’d be really hard to choose, but the one thing I’m pretty certain of is that the the older I get, the higher up the list go the magnifiers, light sources, and other visual aids.

I’m no expert, but the rough quality of the woodworking is not a good sign.