dpappas

There is also a Joseph Curtain violin from 2003. A traditional, not one of his ultralights.

The wittner geared pegs fit in using friction, so it’s reversible. There are two strad violins with wittner geared pegs in them. That article you mention is just pointing out people are slow to adapt. If you want tuning stability and built in fine tuning, then install wittners. They are great.

Interesting work. Your data could be better presented by going metric, and then also by using the scale function on your graph. The length data is something I'd like to see closer, as the 0-15" scale compresses any variation. There is no reason to have the origin at zero, there are no zero-length violins. Sorry for nitpicking, I just thought it might help.

Thank you to all who replied. I trust David's advice, I'm going to spend the time practicing, rather than fretting over a dirty bridge.

Thanks, Don. I planned on doing it the next time the strings are off or if I get a string jack. I appreciate the advice, as I don't want to go near my instrument with any solvents (I'm a chemist, I know what will happen).

Andreas, If you mean the varnish on the top plate, it's pristine. I'm pretty religious about wiping down my instrument and keeping the top clean. It's just the bridge that has gotten surprisingly dirty. I wonder how much of it is rubber markings from my old practice mute.

Thank you for the suggestions so far. To be clear, I'm happy to leave it as is if cleaning risks the sound.

I searched, hoping this had already been covered, but found nothing. I have a violin with a bridge that has a bit of darkened rosin built up and perhaps marks from a rubber mute on it. I could replace the bridge, but I like the sound I'm getting from this instrument. Are there any safe tricks for cleaning a bridge? Since it's unvarnished I wasn't sure if it's possible.

Sorry to raise a thread from the dead, but has anyone thought more about this subject. I have boxwood fittings that keep darkening form oil and sweat and I’d like to seal them to prevent it, if possible.

Thanks! I have ordered from them before. They are sometimes hard to get a hold of.

Hello, I am trying to hunt down boxwood tailpieces, French-style, in 110 mm. Does anyone have recommendations for a good vendor? I’m looking for 1-2, so not wholesale or bulk. Dimitri

It's also a reflection of the iconic music that was written, recorded, and played with that instrument. More people have listened to Pink Floyd than can be counted. There is a strat (not strad) owned by a record producer and guitarist of Le Chic, that is called "hitmaker" because it has been on so many albums that it's tied to over a billion dollars in record sales. I suspect "hitmaker" will also fetch a pretty penny.

I usually buy local, to support my local shop, but when Shar has a 20-30% string sale, I have to admit I sometimes order from them (especially cello strings, which my shop carries in limited supply).

Kreisler’s main violin was the 1730 ex-Kreisler, which he “donated” to the Library of Congress after owing a lot of taxes. https://tarisio.com/cozio-archive/property/?ID=40400

Agreed, I have the FineTune pegs and I use the peg box only and no fine tuners in the tailpiece. It freaks people out at first.