bean_fidhleir

I can't find anything where it says the model, but '120' sounds vaguely familiar at least. It's about 5-6 years old. I agree about the bridge curve, tho being a fiddler I'd have probably recut the bridge flatter anyway. I didn't know about the 200, but now wish I had the money to buy one. But at $1000 or more, I doubt I'll be swapping out any time soon.

If I were doing it, I would buy a plain, inexpensive, perhaps used, student-grade case for maybe $35, since unless you plan to travel extensively with your fiddle shipped as checked baggage (shudder) you don't need much more than protection from dings and drops. I would also choose a carbon-fiber bow, since I think everyone here will agree that, at the low end, they're much better value for money. There are several useful ones in the $100-$350 range. I'd probably go with a $200 Glasser or a $250 Musicary, but if I were feeling the pinch, even the $100 Glasser would be fine. Whatever I had left over, I'd put into the best reputable factory fiddle I could buy. There are several Maestronetters who can advise on that. Hope that helps!

Now an apartment-dweller, I also own and most of the time play a Yamaha. It's not really 'silent' even when switched off, but it's probably no louder than the original bodyless practice fiddles were/are. What I most object to about it is the lack of adjustability -- the chinrest is moulded in, and the shoulder rest might as well be. I don't find it especially comfortable, but it's okay apart from that.

I agree with LastChair on the 'doesn't last'. I like Jade because of the good grip it gives when first applied, but it seems as though I need to re-apply it 15 minutes later! So I mostly use Oliv instead. (And, just for the record, my cakes of Jade are also cloth-on-cake with no backing)

I just checked my old Mayer's Artist's Handbook on grinding pigments. He noted that pigments, especially the earths, before the mid-19th century were made of particles that were "many times larger" than modern grindings.

quote: Originally posted by: kathykSpeaking of interesting cellos, take a look at this one

Thanks, all. I'll try your suggestions, Oded, and hope not to cross the line between dampening and muffling.

Viennese, perhaps? I'm not sure what the seller (or appraiser?) is trying to say--that it's a Tecchler? A da Saló? A da Saló copy by Tecchler?

I have a German fiddle, about 100 y.o., that I think of as hoarse-sounding. I can't think of a better way to describe it--the sound is scratchy and woody, no smoothness at all under the ear (which is the only way I've ever heard it). It sounds to me like the auditory equivalent of looking at a piece of paper under a microscope: what seems integrated and smooth at a macro level is revealed as a nest of every-which-way fibers under magnification. I want the fiddle to sound like the piece of paper, not the nest of fibers . String differences don't seem to matter. I've had it in for adjustment a couple of times, but to no avail. Any suggestions?

It not only evades the eBay fees, it also locks up the buyer: note that virtually all listings exempt shipping costs from any refund. So if it turns out to be rubbish, they refund your $50 and keep the $500 (or whatever) 'shipping'.

*sigh* Thanks, Jeffrey. Clearly I'm a long way from being able to pick up on whatever subtleties pop out for you. Oh well, wouldn't the world be a boring place if we were all the same.

I couldn't get the second one to work, but the first one seems like a cheap Chinese outfit (which might be fine for her student, of course). Is your friend located in Europe? I ask because the first seller says he'll ship within Europe, by which I suppose he means only within Europe.

Wow. Now this is a case where I would love to see a comment by Jeffrey or Michael. I look at the darn thing and see a rather modern instrument, so I'd dearly love to know what I'm missing. Jeffrey? Michael? Would you be willing to comment even in a not-for-publication pm we could share around?

quote: Originally posted by: violinguy1234 Yeah, I've recived that something quite similar to that, though my instance was with paypal. It said I needed to update my information and they needed my credit card to verify it (something stupid like that). I relized this could not be, beacuse I never registerd Paypal with that particular email address. So watch for that one too. Also, it doesent matter whether it has the little security thing, it can still be false. I don't know whether I made it clear, but the one that got me wasn't an email phish -- I have no problem with them because email is so completely untrustworthy. The one that got me was a web page, inserted into the legitimate sequence of ebay web pages so that it went real real real real fake real real...

quote: Originally posted by: escargofast If you caught this in time won't your credit card company take off those charges? Sometimes it would be worth to have one card just for online transactions, that would have that feature. Is there such an animal? Geez... what is going on ebay these days! Yes, thanks EF, they did take off the charges. But there might have been some in a prior month, too. I haven't looked because I feel so embarrassed and angry already that I'm afraid my head will explode if I find out it's been going on for more than a month.

That's supposed to be the sound of me combining cynical laughter and a snort ---someone got him (and not beforetime, either!), but he'll doubtless be back soon in yet another guise.

Someone managed to get my credit card information and has been charging to my account in a number of guises (or perhaps it's being passed from hand to hand among the thieves). So far it's only been a few hundred dollars, and it was caught in time so I won't lose much. I think, tho I'm still not certain, that the phisher was on ebay. I was trying to buy a dvd and recall going to email the vendor with a question when a screen popped up saying something about there being a new rule that before a vendor could be mailed, the mailer had to have credit information on file. I wasn't completely paying attention, it looked like an ebay screen and, since I thought ebay's software was too robust to allow a 'cowbird page', I entered my card's info and only came to my senses after it was far too late. As far as I've been able to find out since, there is no such rule and never has been. So just a word of caution: be aware that the page you think is ebay's might not be.

*snork*

It looks like a typical German factory 'Maggini', or perhaps a Chinese copy of one. (edit) It also looks re-varnished.

quote: Originally posted by: Jeffrey Holmes quote: Originally posted by: bean_fidhleir I would feel fine paying $45 for a well-done closure of an open back seam. While we don't know what "caliber" instrument is being worked on, I would think $45 is fine. Bean, if you're paying $45 for a back joint repair, I would wonder if it was being done properly. I agree, Jeffrey. When I replied I said I'd feel 'fine' but I probably should have said 'lucky' or even 'overjoyed' for a good job on a back seam at that price. $45 isn't much money even if the luthier has done so many that s/he isn't slowed down by having the cat help.

The photos have been heavily doctored, and there appears to be some sort of major, badly repaired or perhaps unrepaired damage to the lower treble rib.

Isn't that what long-footed planes are used for?

The arching looks south-German to me. As far as improving the nasty finish, one option might be to get several half-sheets of MicroMesh in various grits up to 12000 and start sanding down the thick parts of the overcoat, trying to make everything blend together better. The dollar investment wouldn't be large, and as long as you don't sand right through to the wood I shouldn't think it could do anything but help.

(dupe)

Is it really dumb to want to think the best of people, though? I don't think it is, anyway. The people who are dumb as far as I'm concerned are the ones who applaud the growth in untrustworthiness and predatory practice we've been seeing for the past 25-30 years. They rejoice in the licence it gives them to steal and think they're big-time predators when they occasionally score for a few pennies, all the while being too dim to notice that they themselves are being taken for dollars every day. Will you wave a lawyer at that seller, do you think?