Just when I thought I was running out of ideas for new builds, Today I was gifted this Lovely, Dusty, Old Time Worn, Dilapidated Violin & Case, by a 75 year old friend, which originally belonged to his Father, but I have no idea how old it is, or who it was made by, looked for a Stradivarius Sticker, but alas couldn’t find one!After having thoughts of restoring it as a Violin, I will probably end up turning the Violin into my favourite style of build; a 3 String Fretless CBG Type Build, and the Case into a Lap Slide of some sort, will keep the Rustic look of the Violin instead of cleaning it up, but might do a bit of tidying up on the Case.
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The new Fiddle was $139AUD / $107USD, so if I were to convert it into a 3 String Slider, the final cost would probably be a bit short of $200AUD / $154USD, which is a lot more Dollars that this life member of "The Tight Arse Club" has ever outlaid on a Build to date!
But there are cheaper Violins on Ebay for around the $80AUD / $62USD mark, so that would be another option, have been trying to research the age and make of this particular unbranded Violin/Fiddle, but have very little information to go on, there was a small loose Sticker in the bottom of the case indicating it was purchased from "Lewis' Music Store P/L" 124 Russell Street Melbourne Australia, which opened its doors in May 1962, if the Fiddle was purchased new then it would make it 59 years or less old, but in my opinion I think it may have been a second hand purchase, age unknown, one thing is certain, I don't think it was "Made in China" :-D, but is in fact made in Australia by one of the many small Luthiers that were around a number of years back.
Have started cleaning up the Case, decided at first it was going to be a Lap Slide, but now leaning towards a Mountain Dulcimer Build, started by stripping out all the old Moth Eaten Felt, which was fixed with copious quantities of Hide Glue, and revealed that the Timber is almost certainly Spruce Pine, and the more I think about it, the Violin will probably be restored as a Fiddle, needs a Bridge, either a Chin or Shoulder Rest, New Strings and a bit of Tender Love!
PS: Unplayed fiddles make fine wall art. I think I would prefer to make this old timer look more playable and CBG the newer fiddle - unless you opted for more than a cheapie.
I understand on your violin purchase laying there. I have one out in the shed. It was a cheapie and the wood tuners don't hold the strings in tune well and the fiddles are HARD to play. I was thinking yesterday about putting geared tuners on it - probably 3 of them and adding frets to make it easier to play. Some folks use cable ties to make fiddle frets. My 2 string has 2 of those and could use one more and some improvements. I am in playing music, biking, yard and garden and walking my dog friend mode more than in building mode.
"Thanks UJ", the only thing that's stopping me keeping it as a Fiddle, is the fact that I did buy a new Violin about a year ago, and like a lot of the things I buy on a whim, it's still lying in the Box it came in, "Unplayed" :-D
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The new Fiddle was $139AUD / $107USD, so if I were to convert it into a 3 String Slider, the final cost would probably be a bit short of $200AUD / $154USD, which is a lot more Dollars that this life member of "The Tight Arse Club" has ever outlaid on a Build to date!
But there are cheaper Violins on Ebay for around the $80AUD / $62USD mark, so that would be another option, have been trying to research the age and make of this particular unbranded Violin/Fiddle, but have very little information to go on, there was a small loose Sticker in the bottom of the case indicating it was purchased from "Lewis' Music Store P/L" 124 Russell Street Melbourne Australia, which opened its doors in May 1962, if the Fiddle was purchased new then it would make it 59 years or less old, but in my opinion I think it may have been a second hand purchase, age unknown, one thing is certain, I don't think it was "Made in China" :-D, but is in fact made in Australia by one of the many small Luthiers that were around a number of years back.
Have started cleaning up the Case, decided at first it was going to be a Lap Slide, but now leaning towards a Mountain Dulcimer Build, started by stripping out all the old Moth Eaten Felt, which was fixed with copious quantities of Hide Glue, and revealed that the Timber is almost certainly Spruce Pine, and the more I think about it, the Violin will probably be restored as a Fiddle, needs a Bridge, either a Chin or Shoulder Rest, New Strings and a bit of Tender Love!
:-)
PS: Unplayed fiddles make fine wall art. I think I would prefer to make this old timer look more playable and CBG the newer fiddle - unless you opted for more than a cheapie.
I understand on your violin purchase laying there. I have one out in the shed. It was a cheapie and the wood tuners don't hold the strings in tune well and the fiddles are HARD to play. I was thinking yesterday about putting geared tuners on it - probably 3 of them and adding frets to make it easier to play. Some folks use cable ties to make fiddle frets. My 2 string has 2 of those and could use one more and some improvements. I am in playing music, biking, yard and garden and walking my dog friend mode more than in building mode.
"Thanks UJ", the only thing that's stopping me keeping it as a Fiddle, is the fact that I did buy a new Violin about a year ago, and like a lot of the things I buy on a whim, it's still lying in the Box it came in, "Unplayed" :-D