Stephen Fine

I can get around on a 17" viola pretty comfortably. If I was a very tall or long-limbed man, I'd be tempted to play something gigantic just because I could.

Did you play either of the "Testores"? I assume they were players for how well they sold.

Thanks for the info. I thought I'd say the size question is answered by her instagram bio which specifies 3/4 violin. Her soaring sound right at the start is very special. Getting a lovely sound up high on the G and D can be challenging on smaller and lesser quality fiddles.

Extraordinary sound for a 3/4 size, you're right. Wow. A round of applause to whomever did the setup on it. But her remarkable care with tone production is what's winning the day. Just wonderful playing... so fun. I had a N&H (supposedly) 3/4 violin that was nice... got the job done for me. But it (and I) couldn't do that.

I recently had cosmetic work done on my midcentury Carl Becker & Son violin by Paul Becker, visiting Florida this winter. He didn't finish all the work he wanted to do in the time he had for me, so I'll make another appointment if he's back down next year, but I would describe his polish similar to how you describe Pollizi's above. The worn areas were left matte, but he restored some varnish and added some sheen. I think a lot of the work was cleaning which would explain the increased sheen as well. I can remember the transition when I was a kid in the 90s from French polish being the standard to having luthiers tell me they'd do it if I wanted but that it was no longer considered best practice. And then they stopped even offering.

This is why I don't bid on these things. My first teacher, the daughter of a luthier, taught me to buy from a luthier in an established shop. She taught me further that it's worth paying a premium for quality. "He who buys expensively, buys cheaply."

Interesting. With estimates that low, surely they must either be bad or obvious fakes? I'm confused... It would be very tempting to buy a "Testore" with Hill papers for a cool $6,000 if the violin sounded good. Even in unplayable condition, a Testore would be worth the purchase... I'd think. But what do I know?

Cool looking violin. Neat bit of analysis, Violadamore.

Interesting maker... died as a young teenager?

Yeah. She credits her jewelers and engravers by name. I'm also intrigued by the Nehr bows as well. Dwight, that's a cool looking one!

I've looked quite a bit at the bows by Delphine Petitjean after a friend of mine bought one. I know she uses professional jewelers. Check out her instagram @delphine_petitjean

If it was set up well by a talented professional, looked good, and had the backing of a shop willing to offer trade-in value, it might sell between $2,000-$4,000. Especially if it sounds really good. On eBay, I dunno, closer to $800-$1,500? It looks like it needs a bit of work done. Work is expensive. But as someone who paid to have his great-grandfather's 3/4 size Markie restored mainly for the sake of nostalgia, I can recommend it. (Whenever possible take it to a "better" luthier. Worst case scenario, they're too snobby to work on it or you decide it's unaffordable. Best case scenario, the violin turns out sounding excellent.)

The Suzuki bow arm I learned in the late 1980s (which is no longer widely taught) was quite different from the Franco-Belgian bow arm I learned in college. I think the low elbow I was taught was evidence of Suzuki's own early 20th century German education, neither particularly Russian nor Franco-Belgian.

Yup. I'd never noticed one before (I guess I'm in the they don't bother me camp), but my friend Paula was trying out viola bows while visiting me here in Gainesville at David Forbes shop and she pointed out a wobble to him and he fixed it on the spot.

My understanding is that there was never an old standard before 440 Hz. The idea that there was a universal 415 A seems very silly and not backed by the research. (Or at least the research I was privy to 15 years ago in my performance practice research class in grad school.) Since Segerman was cited as an authority above, I'll link to this little pdf: https://www.fomrhi.org/uploads/bulletins/Fomrhi-119/Comm 1949.pdf In this brief article, he talks about how string players were "practical" about pitch which is my understanding. If it's a cold day, the church organ is sharp or whatever. If it's Easter, that soprano who can't hit the high notes is performing. One day you're tuning to Bob's horn, the next day to Rachel's sackbut.