Spelman

Did he exclusively use local woods? Weirdly looks like acacia or even olive to me. Acacia (not me in the pic): Olive:

Is it me or is the neck badly in need of a reset?

Ain't no such thing

Typeface is the proper term for what most people call a font

Sounds like you are wanting a more expensive fiddle

Tf?

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Say what?

Nope, thanks for the tip!

Dear Yinz All, I've got a student who just moved to Pittsburgh and needs to rent a violin. Any suggestions? She had been renting a Jurgen Klier that retails around here for about $2400. We looked at Resonance Violins but their nicest rentals were for $1000 violins and the lady I spoke with there said my student would definitely notice a big step down from her old rental. Can anyone recommend a shop that rents nicer violins in Pittsburgh or environs? Thanks!

It looks like you are trying to use a French bow hand but have more facility when you switch to a more Russian bow hand. You may want to see about trying out a Russian bow hand for all your playing and see what you think.

What? No. @hooman23, get a teacher. You're going to hurt yourself. You should never be in pain after playing. If you are, you're doing it wrong.

Wow, dude, you should really stop and get a teacher. Anyone as young as yourself who's having neck/back/shoulder problems due to poor violin positioning is really going to jack themselves up if you continue to pursue the instrument. Looking at your picture and reading what you wrote, I see a lot of things that worry me. I'll repeat, you should *really* go see a teacher and get some proper (read, painless) technique. The violin should *not* be uncomfortable and fatiguing to play, with all respect to others ITT. The positioning of your violin should not compromise your spine! When you are playing you should have a straight neck/back, straight and level shoulders, and no bending forward or backward or sideways. I tell my students their posture shouldn't look any different from when they are not playing. That is wonderful you like the violin so much! Let's make sure it loves you back and you have a wonderful lifetime of (painless!) playing.

It's the style of music you play. Some styles call the instrument a violin, e.g. classical, Jazz, Indian, Persian, etc. Some styles call the instrument a fiddle, e.g. bluegrass, Irish, nordic, etc. You'd never talk about Irish violining nor would you talk about Bach's Concerto for two fiddles. Quick one liner: "What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin?" "A fiddle is fun to listen to."