GeorgeH

Broken f-hole wing tips seem fairly common in old violins, but I can't understand why. I am curious as to what the luthiers have learned about the common causes of broken f-hole wing tips.

In my limited experience, I have not seen a crack in the center above the saddle without the presence of a locater pin. I don't consider them saddle cracks per se because they can happen even with a properly fit saddle. I have seen the center seam open without the presence of a pin, but that can have different causes. Interestingly, I have also never seen a locator pin open the center seam; it always seems to crack the wood on one side or the other. Saddle cracks seem to occur mostly on either side of the saddle. Again, in my limited experience.

That is a locator pin crack. The locator pin was part of the original build. They are very common in Markie violins, and they are caused by the spruce top slowly shrinking around the pin over time.

@jezzupe There are plenty of other sites to post your political rants. This is not one of them. Thank you.

Cleaning synthetic core strings with alcohol is absolutely the wrong thing to do. Studies have shown that alcohol dissolves the rosin on the outside of the string, and then it soaks down through the winding into the string core, dries out, and deadens the string. So it achieves as the opposite of the intended outcome. The same study showed that rubbing the string with a cloth, like a microfiber cloth, removes greater than 90% of the rosin on the outside of the strings. https://www.warchal.com/faq/what_is_the_best_way_to_care_for_our_strings.html

If you blow-up the pictures, it actually does not look "very new." It looks like it is in very good condition, but there is some natural wear along the edges and scuffs here and there. It would be nice to see the scroll and bottom rib.

That's what happens to violins when kids don't practice.

As others have said, this is a typical "Hopf" model mass-produced violin without significant commercial value. You should take pictures as described here and post them if you want to get some opinions about the condition of your violin. You should also use these types of pictures if you decide to auction it on eBay. Also, although the bow is an inexpensive commercial bow, take pictures of both ends as it may still be serviceable. In regards to your local violin shop buying it, it depends on the price and condition. They likely already have many of these types of violins in their inventory, and may not want any more, plus it is going to require some work and cost to get into salable condition. Good luck!

You might be able to have it glued tight as @Nick Allen described, and then replace that peg (or all the pegs) with geared pegs as an alternative to a cheek patch, etc. and a conventional peg. If you decide to go the cheek patch route, since it is a student cello, an external cheek patch would likely be easier and much less expensive than an internal patch in that area.

But was it still in tune?

Look inside the indentation under the treble bridge foot. Is it cracked? Maybe. If it isn’t yet, it probably will be shortly after it is set-up. That is what I meant. But sound post cracks can also develop from cracks that start in other areas and then grow until they reach the sound post.

Did you look at the pictures?

So what are you going to do after spending $350 to confirm that it sounds awful? Because it will. There also appears to be a sound post crack developing in the top. Sometimes a violin should be put out of its misery.

Roth & Lederer violins in good condition can be quite nice trade violins. This one, for example, is nothing fancy, but it was well-made with good wood, is in an excellent state of preservation, and is a very good player.

Put the best ones in the cases with Stretto Cello humidifiers. That should keep them somewhat humidified if it doesn't freeze.