Violin ID / my picnic violin

[Carly R.]

Hello all!

I'm curious about any identifying info that folks can share about this violin.

I consider it my "picnic violin" — a cheaper fiddle I picked up at a second-hand shop for playing outdoor gigs on hot summer days. Nice tone, fun to play. With a slight crack running from the rightside F-hole down to the purfling. I've been playing it long enough, and enjoying it well enough, that I'm curious what its story might be.

I often think of a black crown on the button to be a mark of age, and it's the only violin I've owned that's got one... 

Anything you can share?

And YES, I'm aware of the unconventional bridge setup. A fiddler friend did it, and he's a big believer in string lengths/ratios. So he placed the bridge with that in mind, rather than the conventional placement.

[Blank face]

This looks like an autodidact violin, slightly irregular but nicely made. What’s the Lob?

The ff are set relatively high, the nicks are probably giving a body stop shorter than 195 mm, therefore it can be reasonable to put the bridge a bit lower.

The ebony crown seems to be a repair, the button was broken and glued back not very well.