chiaroscuro_violins

It is generally against etiquette to comment on the work of a living maker/shop. However, on a cursory glance, they seem to be nice looking fiddles and I'm not seeing any red flags. Just remember, you get what you pay for, and on ebay you usually get less.

To quote a former violin teacher: I think you miss the point.

Putting in a second soundpost should work for now, but most repairmen in the future won't be able to make head or tail of it if it moves/falls. I might consider this a temporary fix.

Temperature should be hot enough that a drop of water will ball up and skitter around on the iron. Hotter than that is unnecessary. I only use water and a strap to bend the rough curve. For touching up, I use a wooden block to press on certain spots with a lot of patience. You have to get your hands pretty near the iron so be careful! I try to get the ribs to fit the blocks perfectly so I can set them in place and they will make full contact with the blocks/mould at all points. You can fix sloppy bending by clamping really hard, but it's better not to have to.

If your 11 year old is in love with playing the violin, she will treasure it and treat it with care. If she is not, you should not be spending that kind of money on an instrument she isn't going to care about.

This sounds like a bit of a fallacy to me. Advanced young musicians need quality instruments. Chances are if you're at the level OP's daughter seems to be at, you're primarily playing outside the school music program. Yes, expensive violins ought to be insured. A backup violin is always a good idea, but if you only use your nice fiddle half the time, what's even the point?

Perhaps she meant it was "strong-willed"

What part of this do y'all not understand?

If an adult can play a viola, an 11 year old can play a full size. There's plenty of tall kids out there too.

I've been misconstrued! In your previous comment, you implied that playability is proportional to price. With the exception of violins on the cheap end of the scale, I have never seen any evidence to support that. Of course a student shouldn't have to play a difficult instrument.

Many of the famous Cremonese instruments are notoriously difficult to play. People like them because it's possible to get an extremely good sound out of them, but not because it's easy to do so.

Let's not underestimate the importance of the bow. It's better to spend $3000 on the fiddle and $3000 on the bow, than it is to spend $6000 on the fiddle and $500 on the bow. But again, whenever you're buying an instrument, you HAVE to try out as many as possible so you know you're making the right choice.

Agree you should not do the chip repairs, but cracks and open seams must be dealt with immediately.

Based on where the shop put the post, I suspect so.

An interesting violin indeed! I think the unusual edge work suggests the use of a router.

You can trade off some flexibility and connection with your instrument in exchange for a more repeatable, precise technique. It's not for me. I'd rather work with the fiddle than expect it to meet me where I'm at.

Why would one go to the trouble of converting a viol to a viola, when one could surely save time by simply building a viola? Then you can have a viol AND a viola? I just don't get it...

What was the story with JS-1 through JS-90?

They're a primitive type of mechanical pegs. If I understand correctly, they're some type of friction bushing. I haven't encountered a set that works as well as a well-fit set of ebony pegs, but they were fairly common on the "usual" instruments.

Had the ribs not been set into a groove, I would've expected to see a much flatter gluing surface. But idk

Well you can't put it through the end pin hole, but my teacher uses an old hacksaw blade with one end sharpened into a chisel. It works beautifully once you open the lower bout to sneak it through. Unfortunately it wouldn't help a cello.

I'm sorry but the sinking in the arching is just awful, it excludes everything but amateur or factory work. I do not think those points mean what you think they mean. Absolutely definitely not.

That's a great idea! The beech is for restoring an old wooden plane so it makes perfect sense.

Do you think a musician who makes a mistake is oblivious to the fact they made a mistake? The only time it's appropriate or productive to call it out is if you're the conductor or principal player, and the mistake happens more than once. Otherwise you're just being a jerk.

Hello woodworkers, I require some small pieces of wood for some non-violin restorations I'm doing. Because I make violins exclusively, I don't have any scraps of mahogany or beech. I need small pieces, less than 3" in all dimensions. Grain orientation is important, and the mahogany must be 100-150 years old. The beech needs to be well seasoned, but the exact age is less important. Does anyone know where I can obtain the wood I need? I imagine a guitar or cabinet maker might have the stuff just lying around, but I don't live near any who do. There are also no local wood suppliers carrying what I need. I am happy to provide more details if anyone can help. Thanks!