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AGP #429 - ''Bernie'' (7)

AGP #429 - “Bernie”
3 String Vintage Violin Case Lap Slide Guitar
Scale : 577mm/22¾ inches
Strings : .044NW/.030NW/.020NW/
Tuning: G D g

Was gifted this lovely old Violin Case and a Violin by a generous old friend, by the name of “Bernie”, who said it belonged to his Father, have tried to determine its age, but with not much success.

I Resisted the urge to turn the Violin into a 3 String Fretless Cigar Box Guitar Type Build, but not so the Case, which was in a bit of mess, due to some water damage at some time in its life, hence you will see a bit of Warping and Cracking in its cleaned up state.

My guess is the Case is Spruce Pine, originally coated with some type of Black Satin Stain? or Paint?, which was of course sanded back to reveal the original Timber, a Tulip Poplar through Neck and Mahogany Laminated Tulip Poplar Fretboard were added, along with a Forest Red Gum Bridge, all given 3 coats of a Brush On French Polish, the thin Brass Fittings were given a bit of a Buff, and a 3k MGB Micro Single Coil Pickup is hardwired to the Output Jack, then grounded to the Stainless Steel Strainer Tailpiece.

The Violin was given a clean with some “Orange Oil”, a new Maple Bridge, and New Strings, (which were missing!), were then added, but it’s probably destined to be a “Wall Hanger” for a while, apart from having no idea how to play the thing, I am also having trouble Tuning it, I think the Friction Pegs may be a bit worn, and will need replacing at some time.

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Comment by AGP # on June 14, 2021 at 1:04pm: "Thanks Ill Green", not sure of the age, probably around 100yrs plus ??? :-)

Comment by ILL GREEN on June 13, 2021 at 5:51pm: Looks ancient. A+ man.

Comment by AGP # on June 8, 2021 at 11:09am: "Thanks UJ", The Violin is just that, a Wall Hanger at the moment, but it may get a little bit more attention sometime in the future, and become a Player once again, but not sure if I'll be doing the playing?.

After looking around in Charity Shops and Ebay etc. ever since I started this CBG Building Caper, for an old cheap broken down Violin to convert into a 3 String Fretless Git, I did take your advice from an earlier post, and purchased a new cheapish Ebay Violin ($80AUD/$62USD), it's sitting beside me at the moment, but has me pondering about how I'm going to go about converting it into a CBG type Git, I'm sure the Light Bulb will click on soon, I have come to the decision that it will have to be a through neck build, but my dilemma at the moment is getting the Violin Neck off, without damaging it, (what I would do with it if I could, I don't know!), so will probably just get hacked off & discarded. :-)

Comment by Uncle John on June 8, 2021 at 2:44am: PS: if you really want a fiddle fretless 3, buy a cheap new one or stop by and I have one you can have.

Comment by Uncle John on June 8, 2021 at 2:43am: Oh my. That came our great. An extra large good on you, AGP. Maybe the fiddle is meant to be a player again and maybe it is okay as a wall hanger.