Hi MrYikes (and others).  Another looker.  

What are you using on the top surface of the chin rest?  It looks to be bubble wrap (which I think would be hot and uncomfortable).

By my calculation, there is only a 321 difference in serial numbers between our two violins.  That does not speak well for obtaining another example.  

You like your shoulder rest to be positioned in a similar manner as I do.  If you ever want to install a Isny, let me know and I can machine grooves in your existing chin rest to accept the Wittner mounting system.  Get a viola model as it provides longer mounting hooks. 

Hi MrYikes (and others).  I have been reading good reviews about the Huayin (chinese) cello strings, which have a synthetic core.  Looks like they go for about $30 a set.  I also found that opera viola strings are only a few dollars more than a violin set.  I have several "e" strings already, so I think that I will get a few sets of the viola strings to have a couple of synthetic "c" strings for cheap.

Hi MrYikes (and others).  I hope that the bottle did not break.  The bottle is filled with gell water spheres.  The top cap has a window of goretex (tm) fabric.  Remove the aluminum foil before use.  It is a violin case humidifier (home brew).  Goretex passes water vapor but retains liquid water.  The spheres act as a secondary safety feature to make sure that you do not have a case full of wetness.  Once spent with water, the spheres become small.  You can regenerate them by placing the spheres in distilled water, or they can be replaced inexpensively at a dollar store.  I am finding that a full bottle will humidify a violin case for about 4 months.  I am currently experimenting with larger bottles for guitar and cello cases.

I chickened out from sending you some of my home brew peg drops.  I use 1 oz booze "nip" glass bottles and I thought that everything else in the box would be ruined if the bottle broke in transit.  Next time for sure.

I am sorry that it took you so long to post the message.  No need to return the CD.  Pass it on to someone else if you do not like it.  

Let me know if you like the roasted violin bridges and I will send you some more.  I just got 50 to roast.  I am looking to obtain some "Cinderella" Chinese bridges but I don't find any on eBay.  It looks like I can obtain them from the manufacturer but the minimum order is 500 at a cost of about $0.20 each.  I am tempted.

Hi MrYikes again.  Look at my post on the second page of this thread (above where I posted the photos of the MV650).  In it, I describe how I now configure the bridge.  It is easy, looks great, and does not require using a chisel or a plane.  If you find it confusing, please let me know and I will start a separate thread with photos.

Hello MrYikes.  You play the same range of reeds that I used to play (I played 1-1/2 on a Bari).  I will send you an "experimental" set of reeds of unbored, unbored but roasted, bored, and bored and roasted (2 or 3 each since there is some variation among reeds).  

I thought that I would not like to play the clarinet but the one I have has a wonderful, woody, tone.  It is too bad that they don't make a similar instrument with the fingering of a sax/flute.  

At one point, I wanted to buy a flute pitched to either Eb or Bb to be consistent with the pitch of the sax.  I believe that I found some on eBay that were pitched to Eb, but I never purchased one. 

I have not miked the violin sound posts yet but they were represented to me as for a 4/4 violin.  They certainly look like tooth picks next to the cello sound posts.

The video I mentioned showed a versi tone producer.  I gather that they were patented in the 1920's by a violin manufacturer (versi, which I never heard of).  In thinking about it last night, the mass and the inertia of the thing would tend to reduce vibration in the top plate, which I don't think is a good idea.

I am currently on eBay purchasing various styles and materials of 3/4 violin tail pieces.  Amazing how few of them are auctioned. I want to use them on 4/4 violins to see what they sound like.

Just purchased a MV500 that may look better than my MV650.  Will report back upon receipt.  Will wonders never cease!

To MrYikes (and others).  Further thoughts on the diameter of the violin sound post.  I read a couple of books on the physics of the violin a few months back.  In one of them, an analysis was performed on the loading of a violin sound post using strain gauges.  As I remember, only a few pounds of load was placed on a properly fitted violin sound post.  Since it is acting in compression, a very small diameter spruce sound post would be capable of this load.  

Of greater concern are the thin top and bottom plates, which act in shear.  Obviously, good contact is required to equalize load as much as possible.  I thought of using 4 mm diameter carbon fiber thin wall tube with larger diameter spruce end plugs (for better plate connection points).  I purchased the material (which is very inexpensive from China because it is extensive used in hobby radio control planes) but never got around to trying it.  

Hi MrYikes (and others).  

First off, I did receive your kind package.  Many thanks.  

I purchased two acoustic cellos in need of sound post repairs.  The first has a small crack in the maple back plate.  The second has a plywood top plate with a hole right through it.  I am going to take some photographs on my attempt to repair the second one since it is going to be interesting (I saw nothing on Youtube for guidance on this repair).  In both instances, I am going to make use of a very thin (perhaps 1/32") 2 ply maple "plywood" material that I obtained in the local Woodcraft store as an internal patch.  It is made by the Sauer & Company and is packaged in 3 each sheets sized 8.5" by 11" and costs $16 US.  I got both cellos very inexpensively on eBay but I had to waite a long time and watch the long march of lowering price points (about 1/2 year in each case).  I got both from the same seller (music store shipment returns).  It is interesting to me that no one else was interested to do this type of repair for what looks to be very nice student cellos.    

I am not going to take a plate off the cello in either repair.  If I were, I think that it would be rather easy to epoxy a layer of carbon fiber reinforcement in the sound post area.  The resulting surface may be too slick for the wood post to wedge against, I don't know without experiment. 

Good luck with your octave key fabrication.  I always wanted to try "lost wax" investment casting, but never had a suitable project.  My reed instruments were Couesnon, which used an extremely thin layer of lacquer that did not like heat.  Every solder touch up caused a large blemish in the lacquer.

Good news from Wittner.  They immediately responded to my request and they are sending me another Isny shoulder rest base and support clamps (for free).  They seem to be an extremely responsive and nice company to deal with.

I am going to do some roasting today for your reeds and my violin bridges for the MV 500.