Hey all. It's going well. I'm progressing with a local instructor, one who is very positive, which is nice. She's been helping me a great deal with my mechanics, and has really been a godsend. You don't know what you don't know until someone shows you what you don't know. 

As for details, I'm not sure what you want to know. I'm 41, played violin from the time was 7 until 14, earning first chair, first violin in the school district orchestra at 11. At 12 I transferred schools mid-year to a smaller district, was placed in last chair second violin, and in classes all we did was play the music, not work on technique, theory, etc. Was a REAL surprise to me, because the classwork in my previous school was very much about improving technique. At the new school, if you wanted to progress as a violinist, you paid the teachers for lessons outside of regular classes. Coming from a single-parent, low-income family, that wasn't going to happen, and no mid-year auditions were allowed. The instructor also didn't look fondly upon students who used school instruments, either, so I had a few strikes against me going into my first year of high school, and due to continued unpleasant encounter with this instructor and no real education going on, I quit playing at age 14. 

After that I got a summer job detasseling corn, earned enough money and bought a bass guitar. I began playing that, learned the instrument and started playing in local bands. I play in one of the areas more interesting pop/rock/dance bands, and enjoy it immensely. 

A few years ago, I started really thinking about what a shame it was that I wasn't able to continue learning to play an instrument that I worked so hard to get better with. I rehearsed 5-6 hours a day after school and longer on the weekends. Drove my mother nuts until I started to get good at it. 

Finally, I decided to see if I could find a violin that I could afford, that wouldn't be a foolish purchase if it turned out that I wasn't able to really pick it back up. And that's when I found Fiddlermans video on the Cecilio. I was familiar with the brand because my daughter plays a Cecilio clarinet. I was impressed enough with how it sounded and his review, that I bought it (the ebony one, a bit more).

So, I've been working on it here and there, and every now and then, my fingers and hands get my brain to shut up, and they remember what they were supposed to do in the first place, and there's a slight glimmer of what I used to be able to play. 

I've got a few upgrades to do, beginning with a set of Helicore strings (I use D'Addario Chromes on my Jazz bass, so I love the brand), and I have a couple cakes of MagicRosin coming, and then I'm going to check into getting a luthier to set it up with a better bridge, although my instructor said that she was surprised how bright the violin sounded, and how much volume it had with a factory set up. Maybe I got a good one. LOL. 

I have a few things I want to nail down first and then I'll post a video. Promise. I just have to find the time between work, band rehearsal, new songs, violin and freelance work. And the horses. And the leather work. And the kids. And the wife. 

Anyone got some Calgon???