Violin hasnt been played since 1988, what happens to the sound

[yoyogogo]

some of you may have seen my thread on this violin. The luthier has put in new bridge, sound post, tail piece, and wondertone solo string.

I feel the sound is not as loud as open as I may have hoped. but at the same time, i found out it has only been played a few times here and there since 1988, which is 36 years.

So what happens to the violin sound during that 36 years period. I get told often that violins need to be played. How would playing this lovely vioin, with new setup and new string, help with the sound? I'm curious and curious to know what i should look out for as I play it.

I also got another french that has not been played for about 5 years, and a lovely Mansuy Viola that i bought by mistake that has not been played for well over a decades. So similar situation, what can i expect out of the sound now and what can i hope to expect as these get played more.

Thank you kindly for your advice.

[matesic]

I think you can be fairly confident that you'll get a better sound, at least in your own ears and possibly in others' ears too, after playing the violin for a period.

[GeorgeH]

How long have you played it? Are the strings broken in?

Unfortunately, many trade violins of this genre simply don’t have the quality of tone that good violins possess. I have found that these trade violins with this style arching and tiny corners tend to have bright pinched tones without much color and volume.

The tone may improve a bit as it is played and/or you may get accustomed to it and not notice it, particularly if you don’t play other violins. You could also take it back to the luthier after a month of playing to see if an adjustment might help.

Buying this violin or any trade violin you have not heard for $250 is always a bit of a gamble tone-wise, and the odds are not in your favor. Maybe there was a reason the price was so low and the tone was the reason it hadn’t been played much for 38 years. 

I hope it improves for you. Good luck!

 

[Andrew Victor]

Sound should be improved if you remove the tuners from the tailpiece.

Oh! - AND TAKE THE MUTE OFF THE BRIDGE!!

[Rue]

Sound is affected by many things, but an instrument will "play in" quickly, so don't worry/focus on that part, when considering overall sound quality.

A poor sounding instrument will always be a poor sounding instrument, even if "tweeked" for best performance.

...and yes...take the mute off.

[GeorgeH]

Those pictures are the old pictures when he bought it but before he had it set up.

[GoPractice]

The better the player ( and more aware,  ) the more controlled the break- in.

The duration depends on many thing, but abuse is not one of them.

[GoPractice]

The condition of the instrument looks fairly new, so one of my past shop owners would argue that the owner never " played " the instrument. It did not meet the instruments potential then. However sad that is, it will take a but more time to attain a level of playability.

Expectation is often a problem. Objectivity in the instance of value is very difficult. 

For the less experienced, do not let emotions get in the way of what it is that one possesses,

[yoyogogo]

my daughter is doing grade 5, so hopefully she will breathe some life into the various violins we have. i know for her current violin, it sounds much better now than we first got it, so there is hope

[Mark Norfleet]

I would question the set up work more than I would the fact that it hasn’t been played for a long time.  Instruments not being played isn’t the problem that a lot of folks with romanticized notions about them think it is.