Violin from great grandma

[kalli]

I was given this violin from my grandpa before he passed away. It was his mother's and besides that I have no information. I don't know anything about violins so just want to see if there is any information about this that I should know or not.

There isn't a label inside but the writing looks to say D Mullaney. 

 

 

[FiddleDoug]

You really need to follow the photography guidelines in the post at the top of the forum. I’m going to guess “the usual”, German cottage industry violin. The back does remind me of an early 1900s Japanese violin that I have here.

[GeorgeH]

Hello @kalli, welcome to Maestronet. You violin is a very inexpensive, mass-produced, and cheaply-made low-grade "student" violin. Sorry not to have better news.

[Brad Dorsey]

George is correct, and his comments apply equally to the bow.

The name written inside the violin is not the maker.  Since this violin was mass-produced it is not the product of one person.  The crudeness of the script suggests that it was written through the F hole.  Perhaps this is the name of a previous owner or of someone who did a repair.

I suspect that any knowledgeable person here would say that the valuer of this violin is so low that it is not worth trying to make it playable; it only has value as a sentimental wall decoration or as firewood.

[kalli]

Thanks for the replies. That's fine if it's inexpensive as it is the one thing I was left from my grandpa. I kind of expected that from my families past but i just wanted to know what it was for my own knowledge.

I appreciate the feedback everyone.

Edited December 11, 2022 by kalli

[Greg Sigworth]

I am not an expert on used violins but it appears to be all that has been said but also it is not showing any cracks and she probably gave it reasonable care. I would tune it up, put some rosin on the bow and see how it sounds. For a student's violin it may have a decent sound. Be careful when tuning it that the bridge does not flop over, especially if it is way out of tune. If I was given my great grandmother's violin I would want to put a bow to it to see how it sounds. Good luck.

[Mat Roop]

On 12/11/2022 at 6:37 PM, Brad Dorsey said:

.....I suspect that any knowledgeable person here would say that the valuer of this violin is so low that it is not worth trying to make it playable; it only has value as a sentimental wall decoration or as firewood.

Sorry Brad, but I fully disagree.  The sentimentality of a dear grandfather is not a monetary issue. Made playable with student quality strings for a starter student or kitchen party fiddler would be rather inexpensive (in fact it might be playable as is) and could be the nudge that starts the OP on a musical Journey that he can also pass on to his heirs. Neither would I hang it as a wall decoration.... but at least I would hang it as a wall decoration In a playable condition, someone sooner or later will surely see It, and play it... and that just might be the beginnings of a wonderful journey.

Cheers, Mat

[Bill Merkel]

^Of course, plus it's no "cheaper" than 99.5% of the violins in the world.  It doesn't shame her family   

[Jeny Mahon]

52 minutes ago, Mat Roop said:

Sorry Brad, but I fully disagree.  The sentimentality of a dear grandfather is not a monetary issue. Made playable with student quality strings for a starter student or kitchen party fiddler would be rather inexpensive (in fact it might be playable as is) and could be the nudge that starts the OP on a musical Journey that he can also pass on to his heirs. Neither would I hang it as a wall decoration.... but at least I would hang it as a wall decoration In a playable condition, someone sooner or later will surely see It, and play it... and that just might be the beginnings of a wonderful journey.

Cheers, Mat

That's exactly how I embarked on this madness!  I saw a fiddle hanging on my friend's apartment wall, a previous roommate left it.  I decided to take it home and "learn to play" by which I mean, I taught myself through many hours of playing by ear in our basement in 1996 using whatever tab I could get at the time (no internet...).  Turns out it was a 3/4 so when I bought a full sized VSO at an antique store, I thought I'd be a virtuoso in no time, it was so much easier to play   That didn't happen but what did happen is when I took it to get set up and re-strung the person who did the work noticed the "Guarneri" label in it and told me I should look into that.  I was off to the races.  A few years later I had a mentor with a shop, and bombarded him with eBay finds (looking at my old inventory, yes one could get better stuff on eBay back then) while he patiently taught me how to ID fiddles.  I've had a blast, got a few nice things by sheer accident, and I'm still at it.  These days there are no more "beginner's luck" finds, but I've been able to retain at least a little knowledge and I've always had fun learning and searching.  Sometimes all it takes is a fiddle hanging on a wall to spark a 26 and counting year adventure