Violin Q & A, Part Three

by Michael Darnton

Originally published in American Lutherie #25–#33, 1991–1993 and Big Red Book of American Lutherie Volume Three, 2004



What can you tell me about the violin in these pictures?

When I look at these pictures I see several things:

▶ The outline of the back has high shoulders and is pointed under the button.
▶ The upper corner blocks are missing; the lower ones are fakes.
▶ The grain of the top converges strongly towards the ends of the top and the upper block does not fit against the top.
▶ The insides of the ribs are marked with tracks from a circular saw used to resaw them out of solid wood.
▶ The neck has been held on with a screw through the top block.
▶ There is an idiosyncratic bass bar.