More eBay Knockoffs - Now Violins

[tweedlesinpink]

there was a little article in the local paper about the "late-period" Solomon ex-Lambert Strad just auctioned off by Christie's yesterday. a corresponding NYT article on the same instrument: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/03/ny...ei=5087%0A on another note, i have been using a metal tailpiece (with four adjusters) on my instrument for awhile. is there a significant benefit, sound-wise, to changing to one made of wood and with only the E-string adjuster? a few years ago i was not in the habit of tuning with the pegs--since then i have gotten used to peg-tuning but not made any changes to my tailpiece.

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by tweedlesinpink

I have been using a metal tailpiece (with four adjusters) on my instrument for awhile.

Sorry! I'm not laughing at you... it's just that anything more than a single adjuster for the E string just reeks of beginner student! Never never never never have more than one adjuster... please. And yes a wooden tailpiece will sound much better than a metal tailpiece. However it depends on your instrument... if your violin is basically crap, then switching to a wooden tailpiece and losing three adjusters won't help much. If you are a beginner and you don't take private lessons and you can't do spiccato and you can't do left-hand pizzicato and you don't know what an artificial harmonic is, then the four adjusters/metal tailpiece combo on your Chinese-made violin may not be such a bad combination. And by no means is this meant to be disparaging. So if you don't want to look like a total dork, please get rid of the bottom three adjusters.

 

[antirabbit]

I second that, there is no point in up-grading your tail piece if the fiddle is worth a few hundred. If it is a fantastic violin, then you should immediately get a boxwood tail piece with matching tuning pegs and a great chin rest....
Speaking of chin rests, what style of chin rests do you all use?
Also, do you use a shoulder rest? If so, what kind?
Mine is like 15 years old.....

 

[amerikajinda]

I use a Kun shoulder rest and a Guarneri chinrest... I used to use a Play-on-air shoulder rest for many years... got it in 7th grade and still have it!

 

[antirabbit]

hehe, Playoniar...I always broke mine or got holes in it.
I use a Willy Wolf Secundo, which works fine, it is a klunker and not so pretty but doesnt color the sound.
There are the new ones, with different metals that supposedly lend to the tone of a violin, anythoughts on those?
What kind of bows are being used? I find bows to be of the utmost importance, as is bow technique.

 

[amerikajinda]

Haven't heard about the metal shoulder rests... hope they're well padded!
As for bows - yeah, they're extremely important... and can cost up to $100,000!
Since I'm not a pro, as long as it's made from pernambuco wood and is valued in the four figures, I'm fine... I do tend to prefer heavier to light, however.

Here's a decent one on eBay, although it's a fake:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Fine-Violin-Bow-...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[antirabbit]

French, German, Swiss, or American?
I had a really nice Pfretchner bow in High School, I sold it and a 1 piece back 1921 Roth violin to buy my wifes engagement ring.
Now I have 3 very nice French bows and a carbon fiber bow for playing in the band.
I dont really like German bows, and I like a mid weight bow as I play pretty heavy and I go through the hair like kleenex....
My trademark is my bow technique (and consequently tone).

 

[antirabbit]

Here are some links to the maker of my fiddle
http://paulkaul1936.tripod.com/
http://finestringinstruments.com/pag...9_French.shtml

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by antirabbit

French, German, Swiss, or American?
I had a really nice Pfretchner bow in High School, I sold it and a 1 piece back 1921 Roth violin to buy my wifes engagement ring.
Now I have 3 very nice French bows and a carbon fiber bow for playing in the band.
I dont really like German bows, and I like a mid weight bow as I play pretty heavy and I go through the hair like kleenex....
My trademark is my bow technique (and consequently tone).

French, of course!

Although the second-best bows are made by the English (W.E. Hill).

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by antirabbit

My trademark is my bow technique.

Have you ever played Saint-Saens' Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso?

 

[antirabbit]

I have, the passages I think you are thinking of are totally dependant on right hand finger dexterity, which my teacher taught very well.
Things like a fly spicatto on an up bow, is fairly well done by most, but a flying spicatto on a down bow is a whole other story!

 

[tweedlesinpink]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

Sorry! I'm not laughing at you... it's just that anything more than a single adjuster for the E string just reeks of beginner student! Never never never never have more than one adjuster... please. And yes a wooden tailpiece will sound much better than a metal tailpiece. However it depends on your instrument... if your violin is basically crap, then switching to a wooden tailpiece and losing three adjusters won't help much. If you are a beginner and you don't take private lessons and you can't do spiccato and you can't do left-hand pizzicato and you don't know what an artificial harmonic is, then the four adjusters/metal tailpiece combo on your Chinese-made violin may not be such a bad combination. And by no means is this meant to be disparaging. So if you don't want to look like a total dork, please get rid of the bottom three adjusters.

heh, heh all in good time, i suppose! while i'm not a beginner, i'm nowhere near good, not by a mile (or twenty). would it be rude to ask you both for your ages, even roughly? just out of interest... my violin is by emile blondelel, any history on the maker? i've been trying to find out more about its provenance and the maker, out of interest, any text like the Grove's Dictionary of Music that i could consult on this subject? it isn't fantastic, but i think it plays better than its price might suggest. i've tested out some instruments around and slightly above the 100K range, so i've a bit of an idea of what a better instrument might sound like (in my hands--using the player as a constant) i'm also looking for something to read up on bow hand technique, the trouble with etudes is that they often don't explain in detail the muscular movements, direction, etc involved, and the trouble with teachers around here is that a good one is hard to find.

 

[antirabbit]

I think those are fairly decent!
Get a better tail piece.
I am 33, I started when I was 6, from the age of 10 I was practicing at least 4 hours a day (2 of which were scales and etudes, the other 2 were concertos and other pieces). Once in highschool it was 6 hours a day through college and grad school. Now, I dont practice much.
For bow exercises, there are many that are great and can be done with out your violin. Mostly to strengthen and sensitize you small muscles in your hand and get some muscle memory for fine movements that enhance your tone and makes tough passages easier.
If I find some time, I will describe them to you. I was taugh by Yfrah Neaman, whom is at the Guildhall school in London, he is a bow master!

 

[amerikajinda]

Antirabbit - your fiddle must be awesome - I loved the pictures of other instruments your maker made (sorry that was awkward).
Tweedlesinpink - I'm 37 (but still use words like 'awesome'

) and started playing the 'cello when I was 8, and then picked up the violin two years later (because the repertoire for violin was so much greater - not that I exhausted the entire 'cello repertoire between the ages of 8 and 10, but...) and then throughout middle school and high school took private lessons once a week in both instruments with violinists from the National Symphony and a retired cellist from the National Symphony (the late, great Franz Vlashek).

The best way to improve your bow technique would be to get a really good private teacher! You might even have to commute to NYC or somewhere once a week (I had friends in HS who did that) since the teachers aren't so great in your area, but you really can't just read about it... just like you can't read about how to perform surgery and then expect to be able to do it (sorry for my tone today -- I'm really sounding a bit snippy, but rest assured, I'm not trying to be mean!

)

 

[antirabbit]

No worries, mine is a beauty, mine is a one piece back....and the tone....

Yeah, get a good private teacher, the bow technique is one that takes many years to develop and can be a little painful as the progress is slow and take alot of practice!