Im taking my violin to be appraised by a luthier this weekend. Just wondered if anyone has any ideas of what this will cost so I dont get a shock? I should have asked really but when he asked if it was for insurance purposes and I said no, just for curiosity and to see if what I had bought privately was any good, he said oh just bring it in and I'll take a look. I also want him to have a look at its set up as I was told by the previous owner it was set up for folk and he said I may want to change that. Im now worrying it could cost me hundreds??
I played to grade 8 standard 20 yrs ago and wanted to take it back up without spending a fortune on a violin incase it was just a phase I was going through, anyway Ive been practicing for a few weeks now and am arranging to have some lessons again. It seems a nice violin, its an Amati copy and Im guessing about 100 yrs old.
Any advice on cost, what to ask etc.
Thanks for any replies.

It depends on what kind of appraisal it will be - he may not even charge at all. As for the set up, if it was set up for a decent folk player, playing high level trad stuff, it's unlikely you'll need to change it - the classical set up is standard these days - perhaps with the exception of changing the strings to something more suited to the music you're playing. The days of folk fiddle set up being different are firmly over (at least if the player is any good!).

As for advice, be as honest with the luthier as you can about how you want the fiddle to sound - there's an amazing amount that can be done to change the sound of a fiddle, so be precise about what you're looking for (more brillance, deeper bass etc.)


Let us know how you get on.

Allan

I took my Dad's violin to a well known violin shop and the 'buyer/expert' there had a good look at it. He played it and looked up the maker and gave me a verbal valuation on the spot. He then sent me the valuation on headed notepaper for our insurance purposes.


He didn't charge a penny. Although I did buy two bows when I was in the shop

He said if he'd had to take it in to do any work there would have been a charge but just to look at it would cost nothing.

BTW my local luthier charges £12 an hour for working on bridges etc. and looking at set-up work.

So I think you should be fine - good luck with playing again

Thanks for your replies.
I forgot to mention when I first played it I felt the strings were close together?? but then thought it must be me as I havent played for so long. I have my original (dont laugh ) Skylark violin, regretfully sold my Stainer copy when I gave up so I compared the two and the bridge is wider on the cheap skylark. Is the bridge smaller on a folk set up?
Ive also booked my first lesson and cant wait, thanks for any help.

No. Previously, when players wanted easier sounds and only played in first position, then the bridge would have been lower (to help with the execution of fast ornamentation) and flatter (to make double and triple stopping easier). Nowadays, though, good players have a standard classical set up to keep power and projection and work around things like triple stopping.

However, it's possible that the bridge on your new fiddle is simply a better quality one than the skylark (probable, even) - cheap fiddles often have big, lumpy bridges, whereas good fiddles have fine, well cut ones in good maple stock - they can seem smaller.

most violin makers are lovely people, and he may well not charge you anything to take a look at your fiddle. A bottle of plonk for his troubles probably wouldn't go unappreciated though

Thanks for your replies.
I took it today and hes a lovely man, said my violin needs re setting up. We chatted about the quality and the issue of spending £200 + and decided that the viloin is sufficient to get me going again but I may need to get a better one once I get going again. He is fitting a new bridge, tail piece, strings, sound post and chin rest so Im hoping it will sound much better. He said it is poorly set up at the moment with an off the peg bridge.
So I better get saving up, or rather re mortgage as I was shocked at the prices of the violins.

A lot of violins (even the cheaper end of the market), once set up properly with decent pegs, bridge, strings and tailpiece, will sound a lot better.

As for the price of violins, yes, the prices have shot up dramatically in recent years. One reason is that people are no longer buying into pensions, they buy a violin instead and use that as an investment for the future. Chances are it will be worth more than a pension plan, but you can never be certain. I have a real gripe though with rich people buying up old violins/violas/celli and then sticking them in the cupboard for the next four decades. They simply don't realise that a string instrument must be played from time to time, to be kept in optimum condition.

Start saving for your next instrument, but you may also be able to part-exchange your exisiting violin - and it will be far more marketable once it's in good playing condition.

He did mention changing the pegs too but the cost was going up and up and he said although I hadnt been ripped off that my violin was a bottom end german trade violin from about 1880 to 1920 and that I have to way up spending too much on it as I will end up spending more than it is worth (including purchase price).
Do you think the pegs make a massive difference?
He let me try one of his cheaper violins at £1500 and a bow that was £500 (wow) but to be honest I prefered my violin! Got to admit the bow made a massive difference, I was suprised at that. He was in no way trying to sell me a violin and was very honest and was just trying to show me the difference in quality. He did say I could get a new violin but of decent quality for a few hundred pounds but for some reason I want an old one.

Sorry for the waffle, I really wanted to ask if changing the pegs makes a difference and if it would cost much more. I really need a new bow too but honestly thought I'd get something for about £100, more fool me

If the pegs aren't slipping or sticking, then keep them as they are. There's no need to change.

As for bows, you'd be surprised! 500 UK is still relatively cheap for a bow - they go into the many thousands when you start looking at fine bows. 100 UK will get you something decent in carbon, or a basic student level wooden bow.

Someone once told me that you should spend between one third and half of the value of your violin on a bow - and that seems a reasonable amount. I recently commissioned a handmade bow from a local bowmaker and have been delighted with the result - it plays like air, feels like it 'drives' itself and it draws the most amazing rich tone from my violin - it set me back a few months salary, but all in all I'm very happy.

If you do bow shop, though, make sure you take your fiddle with you - you may be surprised at which bows work on it really well and which ones don't - sometimes the most expensive isn't the best.