GrandPhuba

@Violadamore I haven't pushed through with the purchase yet, still waiting for more validation but from what I've been seeing it looks like that will never happen. haha @vathek yes I did see his other items, what makes you feel suspicious aside from those @Dr. Ludwig has mentioned? @jacobsaunders As a rough way of comparison, would you value the cello at 4k USD? I don't see violins as investment vehicles, but having an instrument with hi/story would be nice. I currently own a Czech violin that I got for around 1000 USD 5 years ago. It holds up but I think I'm reaching its limit. Unfortunately I'm in a country where violin shops are non-existent. Only place I can get one is through the net or when I travel.

hahaha I like the way you guys say it. @Violadamore yes, exact listing, I reckon that since no one bought it I could haggle it down to $4000. Seller quickly said yes

I have the opportunity to purchase an LA Ragot violin for $4000. I'm interested in knowing about the maker, and the winnerships branded inside the violin (photos below). Where do those credential come from and how do they affect the credibility of the luthier/violin? Here is the seller's description: Here are some photos: More photos here: https://imgur.com/a/VNImu

I asked the same question on Reddit, and they tend to go for B and C. I'm experimenting myself but as I don't have any teacher to ask, I was curious how it's actually thought in classical pedagogy, i.e. the general rule/framework, so I can have a good foundation vs acquiring bad habits.

Thanks Muswell is this the "standard" way of doing/teaching it in classical pedagogy?

How do you play fifths on higher positions where the strings are much farther apart, say A5 on the A string and E6 on the E string? Do you: A. Use two separate finger for each note B. Use one finger flattened to hit both notes C. Use one finger, and drag one string closer to the next one D. Some other technique Let's just say I don't have access to a good teacher in my country to help on this and I genuinely would like to know the different ways different players deal with such. Thank you

Can't you take advantage of eBay's buyer protection? If you paid via PayPal, you're twice covered too.

Why are violin necks tapered from the nut to the bridge instead of being straight like that of the guitar? Would it be harder to bow or finger if the strings were parallel to each other? I truly tried searching the forum and google for this but couldn't find a definitive answer.

Completely clueless, is the process of arching a violin a labor intensive process? Is the violin in question classified a highly or mildly arched violin?

Thanks everyone for sharing your input. Definitely will not buy a violin that sounded crap. I have experience playing a violin and so can decide on its sound. As for experience or know-how in "reading a violin", that I don't have. Seems to be unanimous that the label is not congruent to the violin. Given that, ignoring the label now, is the violin in good shape in terms of exterior build quality? Can we also rule out that this is a French violin (as the seller claims it to be)? I ask this because I have yet to visit the seller, and see and examine the violin personally. If you guys think it's inferior, I won't bother spending time to visit it.

Anyone?

Actually if you can also comment on the build quality of the violin, perhaps irrespective of the maker/history, I'd appreciate it

A violin is being sold from Prague, Czech Republic, with a Socquet Label. I've seen threads about this maker before, and have seen violins with the label similar to the one below. My concern, however, is that the exact year in on this label was not specified: see that there's a 17 there, consistent to the maker being from the 1700s, but the last 2 digits were left blank. Are there any red flags as to the authenticity and value of this violin's age and label? Personally I don't care if this is a high value violin or not, would just like to know if the label is genuine, and if it's actually from the 18th century and not a 'fake' modern antique-ized violin. Here are additional photos of this violin: