Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.
Check out our 2023 Group Christmas Project HERE
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
(0 votes) 
Member
Offline
Hi all
I first found out about this site from the utube; Hall of the Mountain king by Fiddlerman and I followed the link and just about blew my ear drums out when I clicked on the Violin tuning tool whilst I had my ear phones in. My Brain is still firmly tuned to the D note 
....
I just started playing the violin, I have always wanted to learn but never got round to it. Years ago I used to listen to a busker in Brisbane once a week, she was so beautiful and played the saddest songs, she broke my heart every time I heard her play.
I just bought what the local shop tells me is a Stradavari replica but...... it has double perfling and I haven't been able to find a picture online of a strad with double perfling... so I think he has been pulling my leg but thats ok because thats not the reason I bought it.
It is old and has been refurbished but it sounds great compared to the new violins around the same price.
The D string was out of tune every time I picked it up but in the last week it has started to hold its tune, is this normal?
It is winter here at the moment which means it is cold and very dry, two cracks have started to develop from the F holes all the way to the base /cry.. I will get a humidifier next pay check. And I plan to move house in 3 weeks, hopefully the new house will be more violin friendly...
I long to play the songs; Sad Romance and a violin version of Suil en Ruin.... all things in good time 8 )
I looked at the music sheet for Amazing Grace last night and just about fell out of my chair, I have not seen notation like that before.... how do you play two or three notes at the same time? (If that is what the notation means). I can understand it would be possible to play two notes at the same time if they were on strings that were next to each other, but three notes...... I must be mistaken in how the notation is interpreted?
I am very happy to be here on this forum and hope to make friends with you all on my journey to violin competence
Neo
Member
Offline
Welcome Neo, you'll enjoy it here.
Also, I believe playing two notes simultaneously is referred to as a double-stop, and three notes -- a triple stop. Fiddlerman has some videos where he introduces you to the technique of playing such combinations.
You don't go by Mr. Anderson as well, do you? 
Take care friend.
Members
Offline
Well, put up some pictures of your violin, Neo. I wouldn't know one type from another, but I know that some folks here are very knowledgeable on such things. A lot of us here just like looking at pictures of pretty violins anyway.
Now, for a humidifier.. Take a small plastic bag and any sort of a small sponge. Wet the sponge and shake it out until no more water drops come out of it. That should get it damp enough to help, but not so wet that it might get the violin or case wet. Cut a few slits in the bag, and put the sponge in the bag. Keep it in your instrument's case. Try to keep it where it will not actually touch the instrument, just to be safe. Check the sponge every couple of days to see if you need to wet it again. Your instrument may "drink up" a lot of the water for the first couple days, if it has gotten very dried out. The sponge can be any size from about the size of a small bar or soap to a large bar of soap, it is not critical on size so long as it fits easily somewhere in your case.
It is not pretty, it is not fancy, and you can buy fancier ones on your next pay check if you like. But it will work, and help keep the dryness from further harming the instrument. I have used that method for decades on assorted wooden acoustic instruments, when winters here get harsh and dry.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
Regulars
Offline
Being a copy of a Stratavari doesn't really have much to do with the purfling. It has to do with the shape of the violin, the arching, the f holes and the graduation of the top and bottom. There is a maker that is famous for his double purfling however right now I can't think of who it is.
The Strings when new can take a long time to settle in and will eventually stop needing to be tuned except for slight tuning to compensate for weather.
WELCOME ABOARD
Member
Offline
Welcome Neo! Shame about the cracks on your violin 
I would do what danielB suggests with the sponge. I'm in Australia also 
It's so cold here in Queensland ... I'm freezing as I type this lol! Looking forward to see your progress.
James.
Honorary advisor
Regulars
Offline
Kevin M. said
...There is a maker that is famous for his double purfling however right now I can't think of who it is...
Welcome, Neo! Maggini was noted for his double-purfled fiddles as well as for the longer length and more gentle c-bout curves. Some say his violins were used by Stradivari as inspiration for his Long Strad designs.
Mary in Springfield, Oregon http://www.thefiddleandbanjopr.....dpress.com
Regulars
Offline
Thank you Mary, I was leaning toward Amati.
Regulars
Offline
Welcome to the forum, Neo! I'd love to see You playing Sad Romance. I like this tune, thinking of making a video of it too.. =)
Member
Offline
Wow thanks for all the comments guys!! and thank you for the warm welcome!
@ M8 ahhh thanks for the info re: double stop and triple stop. I had no idea what it was called, I shall watch the tutorials tonight 8 ). No I don't go by the name Mr Anderson hahaha but my name is actually Neo Griffin 
@ DanielB Thanks for your humidifier advice I will make one tomorrow! I have been using moist baby wipes, but I have been putting them in contact with the violin which I shall rectify straight away thanks again!
@ Kevin M Thanks for your comments Kevin. I have so much to learn, as for the shape, arching, f-holes and graduation 
they all look similar to me at the moment ha ha. I googled Amati but google didn't reveal any with double perfling, that's not to say he didn't make them just that google isn't showing any.
@ James Your not on the Gold Coast by any chance are you?
@ CatMcCall Cheers Cat, by Maggini do you mean Giovanni Maggini. I found many pictures of his beautiful creations and thought that mine looked more similar to his than Stradavari's. 
but I don't know what to look for...yet. I will put a photo up soon.
@Mad Wed You should definitely make a video and put it up on Utube! let me know if you do 
I shall endeavour to post a photo of my violin soon 
I made it all the way through "Sad Romance" last night for the first time, haha it sounded nothing like the actual song, but I am happy that I can get through all of the notes for now 
I will work on timing and note duration later. For now I am just focusing on recognising patterns in the music and learning to read and play at the same time. (and trying to memorise the notes....)
I spend atleast an hour every night; retuning (trying to educate my ears), working on all of the natural notes, fingering the notes, bowing (bow hold included) before having a go at the song. Is there anything else I should be focusing on in these early days? (remember I only started two weeks ago)
Cheers again for the warm welcome
Member
Offline
Sorry the lighting is really bad and the camera is terrible, I used my laptop webcam haha, I will upload some better photo's when I get a memory card for my HD Gopro camera on Friday. It is actually 4/4 but the size of my hands makes it look smaller haha
Regulars
Offline
you're playing it Lefty?
Wow... that thing looks nice. Might check with a luthier sooner than later to see if fixing that crack(s) can be done easily and cheaply. Wait too long and it might be a disaster.
Sometimes if they aren't too long or wide, they can be fixed without seperating the halfs. Cheaper too.
Welcome and enjoy yourself.
If you research my posts, you'll find one I put somewhere... (I can't remember when) to make a humidifier from a 6" long piece of plastic tubing with cotton balls in it soaked in water, I put a cap on each end that I cut a 1/4" hole in for the humidity to come out. Total cost, about $0.85 I think.
I love that tailpiece with the mother of pearl inlay. Been thinking of getting one for myself...just can't decide which violin to put it on though. lol
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
Offline
Neo said
It is actually 4/4 but the size of my hands makes it look smaller haha
Welcome to the Fiddlerman Family. We love people with a good sense of humor here. Sorry about the cracks. Hope you can get them fixed fairly inexpensively. Let them go too long and they can travel.
Look forward to seeing your posts!
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regulars
Offline
Hey Neo,
you'll learn one day that the wise-"cracks" here, are worse than any you will encounter on your violin!
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
Regulars
Offline
Looks like a nice violin, beautiful =)
Nice hands too =) - no stretching exercises required
Member
Offline
@ cdennyb Hiya, no I am not playing it lefty, I don't know why it looks like the chin rest is on that side and I actually held it in my left hand so I could use my right for clicking the mouse button to take the photo but it looks like I am holding it in my right hand hey...gremlins in my laptop playing jokes on me maybe
Cheers for the compliment on my violin, the photo's really don't do it justice. But I am sure you have many that are far superior to mine 
Your home made humidifier sounds pretty easy to make, I will have a go at making one.
Yeh I like the tail piece too, it adds another dimension to it hey. I have seen some on violin supply websites made from ebony for only $20. I have to put a new fingerboard on soon and I am thinking about getting some purfling tools and carving a pattern into the new one for something different.
@Fiddlerman Cheers for the welcome and the advice re: the cracks... I would of let it go much longer if it wasn't for all the prompting. I am actually going to take it to the shop right now! I hope it won't take to long to fix, I have grown really attached to it.... but I am sure you all understand.
@ TerryT Hahahaha .......... was that a "Dad Joke"
@ Mad Wed 
Cheers hahaha I think I would be more likely to use a cello as a violin than have to do stretching exercises
I am sooo stoked!! Last night I learnt how to play DARTH VADER"S Imperial March!!!!!!!!
I wish I was as awesome as Vader so that every time I walked into a room I had that song playing hahahahaha
Member
Offline
I just got back from the violin shop.......
The cracks have closed up because I had been putting moist baby wipes over the F holes ( I have since stopped putting moist things in contact with it after Danielb told me not too). Although the cracks are still obvious and you can feel them with your finger the Luthier says they aren't cracks....wait for it......because he repaired them before he sold it to me..... The truth comes out. He refused to believe me when I told him that the cracks were open and closed up after I put humidity into it. He also told me a humidifier isn't necessary and to just put a cloth over it to keep it warm.
He seemed more concerned that I might be trying to get my money back for the violin even though I reassured him that I am not concerned about money, I just want to preserve my violin.
I told him that because he didn't believe me, I will let the weather dry it out again and that I will bring it back when the cracks have opened up again. But I think I am better off trying to find a better luthier... atleast now I know why I got it so cheap...
Regulars
Offline
Neo, Don't worry too much about cracks by the f holes. They are the easiest to repair. Your luthier my just not want to repair it. I would bring it to another luthier to check it out. With the cracks closed it will be easier to repair and cleats can be placed through the f holes with special clamps. If yo wait until they open up again the top will have to be clamped to pull the cracks together. Be careful with how humid you make your violin. The glue is water soluble.
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
Offline
Welcome Neo! Keep us appraised about the Violin.
Member
Offline
I just got back from running around town.
I took it to another Luthier, really long story short; he advised that I would be better off getting my money back. (he was really nice, but I didn't like any of the violins in his store.... well there was one but it was 4 times as much as my current one and I don't like it 4 times more haha. actually I like it less than my current one...)
I took it back to the shop where I bought it and was asked to come back tomorrow as he didn't have the money today.
/sigh now I have to find another violin... Maybe I can make one....... I have seen some really nice aged maple and spruce online but then it will be ages before I can make cool Darth Vader tunes again /cry
Regulars
Offline
Cheer up brother... it's like dating... remember when you thought you were in love and would stay together forever? 
Well, this is just another of your many 'friends' you'll have a relationship with and one day you'll meet that special one and fall in love again... and it'll be the "one" you been waiting for.
Might find it at a yard sale, a flea market, a dumpster, even a shop. Who knows, but she's waiting out there for you to find 'er right now, so keep looking. 
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
1 Guest(s)
Mouse
tonyluo
ELCBK
