violinsRus

Kirbeelee, if you go back to the original online ad you will see that the seller didn't even try to spell Zygmuntowicz correctly in the fine print. And to me it appears that the Guarneri label and the Sam Zig label are completely different, perhaps done years apart, hard to tell. But anyhow, it's a nice looking fiddle, and may have decent sound. And you didn't over-pay; if I was in the market for that type of instrument I might have dropped for it myself. Funny that the seller would say that he swapped a documented Klotz for this, and then list it in some obscure site for $1,200! Stranger than fiction...

I was watching this instrument in the online market due to the fake 'Sam Z' label, and I was convinced it would show up here after the sale! :-)

Sounds expressive. I had the pleasure of hearing your Nannerl viola the other day, in an outdoor quartet concert. Brilliant, what a great instrument.

maybe they were trying to lighten the frog end...

perhaps there was a metal weight in there at one point? to change bow weight and balance...

the only benefit I can see is for practicing vibrato, as an assist in keeping the finger tip in one place on the board while developing flexibility in the tip joint of the finger. but that can be achieved in other simple ways. One thing that worked for me was to roll up a small piece of masking tape on the tip of my finger, just for a few minutes of vibrato practice daily, until the tip joints learned some flexibility.

I've hit similar roadblocks with practice, and my goto for the last few years is to hit Youtube tutorials. Nicola Benedetti, Daniel Kurganov, Augustin Hadelich, various masterclasses, and other finds have been very helpful. I always locate something that inspires me to practice! Maybe a bowing suggestion for better tone production, or a way to improve vibrato, or some study for finger independence. So far this has never failed to push me forward when my interest is flagging.

This is a very informative plot, thanks for posting, but to me it shows quite a bit of deformation along where the STL's are said to be. Or am I wrong?

where is @BassClef? this little gem should join his collection!

Ditto, same experience. Good strings.

relisted?? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Stunning-Old-Antique-Violin-Bow-tourte/265065219523?hash=item3db71e45c3:g:I~YAAOSwFdRgK1lo

which is the source of my question, would that be typical of cottage industry in early 20th C.

I agree that the inscription is a repairman in Sydney, but would the existence of a neck graft change the picture? I think I'm seeing one, and the flame on the scroll is different from the neck.

Well, they even got as far as convincing someone to list the instrument as the 1737 McKay Strad on Wikipedia. There's got to be pics of the instrument out there somewhere... Keep digging folks. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Stradivarius_instruments

I had wondered the same when I saw this article the other day, and assumed these are stock pics from somewhere.