Three13

I have seen instruments from places other than France with cleats that appeared to be original, so I'm thinking that #1 will lead you astray.

I'm in your camp on this one.

Loar's L-5s (most of which were made with birch backs rather than maple) aren't as desirable for players as the late '20s/early '30s iteration. Having owned a pristine 1936 Super 400 and a bunch of 17" L-5s over the years, I can tell you that bigger was not better. Kind of like violins that way, I guess...

You should try and play a wide variety of better arch tops to see what you like. My experience has been that truly successful examples are wonderful, but they’re few and far between. If nothing else, try and play a few 20s/30s 16-inch L5s (probably some of the most consistently great arch tops out there, although they vary A LOT), and a smaller D’Angelico if you can, in addition to any modern builders you can find. If you like the idea of exploring a more violin-inspired arch top, try to find a Wilkanowski. He was a violin maker from Brooklyn who made a relatively small number of gu

My experience has been that arch tops are more percussive with a faster decay than flat tops, and they seem to have a stronger fundamental, although there’s a ton of variation from instrument to instrument.

This reminds me of a dinner I had around 20 years ago. I had three medical students from Ireland staying with me for the summer. One Sunday, I brought them to dinner at my father’s place. After the meal, my idiot brother-in-law turned to one of them and said, “I just have to say - you speak English really well!”

I’m guessing that the easiest way to find out would be setting up an ordinary violin left-handed.

I think we should all get together when the world goes back to normal and organize a double-blind shootout judged by the MN members who are most engaged in these debates.

I'll keep that in mind. Regardless of what it's called, I miss it...

Bockwurst! I rarely if ever see any of that on the west coast of the US...

Pure genius.

In the early 20th century, an antique dealer named Fred Chaminer set up a workshop in Budapest that cranked out forgeries of old Italian violins - many of the better Hungarian builders evidently worked there.

The dark wood with open pores reminds me of the stuff that I've seen referred to as ironwood. I suspect fiddlecollector will know...

Bust of a deaf composer by a blind sculptor?

There've been a few zombie threads lately, so I figured I'd raise one I liked from the dead (the Andrea Guarneri pictures make the whole thing worth reading). Here's one that some people might find un-lovely or garish initially, but I like the Brescian influence...