I have an old fiddle with a lot of sentimental value (my first violin, my dad bought it for me). Unfortunately, it was sat upon some years ago. I still have it, and all the peices. Have any of you had experiences with resurrecting a damaged instrument? I know repairs can be made, but have no idea if that's only for small cracks on extremely valuably instruments.
I realize a luthier would be the person to ask for a detailed analysis, but I'd like to have a reality check before doing so.
It depends how badly damaged it is, some bits may have to be replaced, or if it's really bad you might be able to salvage a few spares for another fiddle.....
A fiddle can almost always be fixed, it's really amazing how much damage can be repaired. Even if it's in pieces, it can probably be fixed.
The catch is that it will probably never be the same after that kind of damage and it will cost a lot to be repaired right, probably more than the fiddle is worth. But you can't put a price on sentimental value.
I had my mother's old violin restored by Brian Epp at Artisan Violin Restorations (http://www.artisanviolin.com/). I highly recommend him, his work is good and his prices are fair. He's especially good with varnish.
He can give you an estimate from photos, so send him some pictures of your fiddle and see what he says.
The question you may want to consider is the actual value of the fiddle after repaired. There are luthiers who will fix just about anything. How much are you willing to spend??
"it will probably never be the same after that kind of damage" - that doesn't exclude the possibility that a repair and rebuild may actually improve the sound of the instrument, which could be because it now gets set up properly with a decent bridge / soundpost etc for the first time in its life.
When I was in my teens I slipped on an icy road when carrying my cello, falling on it and breaking the bridge and a fair part of the belly. It was duly repaired, but in the course of the repair the luthier discovered that parts of the lining had evidence of woodworm - which wouldn't have been noticed otherwise - so the lining was replaced. Over half a century later I'm still playing that repaired cello in a chamber orchestra.
The leader of my chamber orchestra has a 1700 fiddle (not one of the "names", but still quite a good instrument), and it has had more than its fair share of whacks during its 300 years. The repaired cracks in the belly make it look like an aerial photo of a railroad marshalling yard!
a friend of mine who is an instrument repairer and fiddle player had a disaster to his own fiddle a few years ago when something heavy fell on top of it. He painstakingly restored it, (and I saw it when the belly was off , and how he patched it on the inside with lots of small patches) but it eventually sounded as good as ever.
I once saw a double bass that had been fully restored, and it was a superior instrument. When it came to the luthier's shop, it was all in small pieces inside a bushel basket. A good luthier can work miracles, and since it was a gift from your Dad, it's worth the expense. I spent way more than I could afford to have my grandfather's fiddle restored.
My thinking was, I could always by another fiddle, but I could never buy my grandfather's fiddle.
A few years back I bought a rare 8-string fiddle over the internet (yes, I know, never buy an instrument that way ...) and it arrived damaged. The tops was broken, bits and pieces everywhere and the neck was broken off the body, too.
I took it to a local (Hannover/Germany) luthier and she fixed it, it looked like if never had happened to it. Great job, lots of money but every Euro well deserved, she had spend dozens and dozens of hours with it. As somebody said above: almost everything can be fixed, it is just a matter of how much you are willing to invest into a sentimentality.
Ditto to anything's-possible, how-much-do-you-want-to-spend.
I have a baroque violin, c. late 1700s, plainly-made from economy-grade timber but well-used and treasured enough that it was taken it to a luthier in fragments after (probably) being sat on.
A full-length piece an inch wide was snapped right out of the back, there are long cracks and v-shaped crush breaks in most of the ribs and long cracks in the soundboard. Somebody talked a luthier into fixing it and paid whatever it cost (likely more than its initial value) but it was a good job and when I hear the instrument played (by someone else!) I understand why someone thought it was worth it.
I've had two fiddles stood on while in their case. Tragic yes but one of them sounds better after being rebuilt. Gerry O'Connor did a great job - he lives outside Dundalk and I'm sure google will find his contacts for you.
... and then there's the case of the young lady fiddler who played with a group of mine for a while who had a half-moon bend in her bridge and half-a-dozen other things wrong with her fiddle that you just itched to fix ... who took her fiddle on a camping trip where a Kombi van driver backed over the case ... like why it was lying on the ground near a van I'll never know ... but it forced her to take the corpse to someone who knew what they were doing and lo-and-behold, now it's fixed my fiddle's never sounded better, she says in wonderment ...
Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
I have an old fiddle with a lot of sentimental value (my first violin, my dad bought it for me). Unfortunately, it was sat upon some years ago. I still have it, and all the peices. Have any of you had experiences with resurrecting a damaged instrument? I know repairs can be made, but have no idea if that's only for small cracks on extremely valuably instruments.
I realize a luthier would be the person to ask for a detailed analysis, but I'd like to have a reality check before doing so.
Thanks!
Tracy
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by tracywag
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
It depends how badly damaged it is, some bits may have to be replaced, or if it's really bad you might be able to salvage a few spares for another fiddle.....
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by Freddy Frog
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
A fiddle can almost always be fixed, it's really amazing how much damage can be repaired. Even if it's in pieces, it can probably be fixed.
The catch is that it will probably never be the same after that kind of damage and it will cost a lot to be repaired right, probably more than the fiddle is worth. But you can't put a price on sentimental value.
I had my mother's old violin restored by Brian Epp at Artisan Violin Restorations (http://www.artisanviolin.com/). I highly recommend him, his work is good and his prices are fair. He's especially good with varnish.
He can give you an estimate from photos, so send him some pictures of your fiddle and see what he says.
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by Marklar
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
Is there anywhere you could post pictures of the damage? It may help others here to give some sort of assessment.
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by lazyhound
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
cross-posted!
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by lazyhound
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
The question you may want to consider is the actual value of the fiddle after repaired. There are luthiers who will fix just about anything. How much are you willing to spend??
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by leoj
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
"it will probably never be the same after that kind of damage" - that doesn't exclude the possibility that a repair and rebuild may actually improve the sound of the instrument, which could be because it now gets set up properly with a decent bridge / soundpost etc for the first time in its life.
When I was in my teens I slipped on an icy road when carrying my cello, falling on it and breaking the bridge and a fair part of the belly. It was duly repaired, but in the course of the repair the luthier discovered that parts of the lining had evidence of woodworm - which wouldn't have been noticed otherwise - so the lining was replaced. Over half a century later I'm still playing that repaired cello in a chamber orchestra.
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by lazyhound
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
The leader of my chamber orchestra has a 1700 fiddle (not one of the "names", but still quite a good instrument), and it has had more than its fair share of whacks during its 300 years. The repaired cracks in the belly make it look like an aerial photo of a railroad marshalling yard!
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by lazyhound
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
a friend of mine who is an instrument repairer and fiddle player had a disaster to his own fiddle a few years ago when something heavy fell on top of it. He painstakingly restored it, (and I saw it when the belly was off , and how he patched it on the inside with lots of small patches) but it eventually sounded as good as ever.
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by cathycook
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
I once saw a double bass that had been fully restored, and it was a superior instrument. When it came to the luthier's shop, it was all in small pieces inside a bushel basket. A good luthier can work miracles, and since it was a gift from your Dad, it's worth the expense. I spent way more than I could afford to have my grandfather's fiddle restored.
My thinking was, I could always by another fiddle, but I could never buy my grandfather's fiddle.
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by Greg the Piano Tuner
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
A few years back I bought a rare 8-string fiddle over the internet (yes, I know, never buy an instrument that way ...) and it arrived damaged. The tops was broken, bits and pieces everywhere and the neck was broken off the body, too.
I took it to a local (Hannover/Germany) luthier and she fixed it, it looked like if never had happened to it. Great job, lots of money but every Euro well deserved, she had spend dozens and dozens of hours with it. As somebody said above: almost everything can be fixed, it is just a matter of how much you are willing to invest into a sentimentality.
# Posted on June 23rd 2008 by PipersWineFiddler
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
Ditto to anything's-possible, how-much-do-you-want-to-spend.
I have a baroque violin, c. late 1700s, plainly-made from economy-grade timber but well-used and treasured enough that it was taken it to a luthier in fragments after (probably) being sat on.
A full-length piece an inch wide was snapped right out of the back, there are long cracks and v-shaped crush breaks in most of the ribs and long cracks in the soundboard. Somebody talked a luthier into fixing it and paid whatever it cost (likely more than its initial value) but it was a good job and when I hear the instrument played (by someone else!) I understand why someone thought it was worth it.
# Posted on June 24th 2008 by Tish
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
I've had two fiddles stood on while in their case. Tragic yes but one of them sounds better after being rebuilt. Gerry O'Connor did a great job - he lives outside Dundalk and I'm sure google will find his contacts for you.
# Posted on June 24th 2008 by iwerzon
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
... and then there's the case of the young lady fiddler who played with a group of mine for a while who had a half-moon bend in her bridge and half-a-dozen other things wrong with her fiddle that you just itched to fix ... who took her fiddle on a camping trip where a Kombi van driver backed over the case ... like why it was lying on the ground near a van I'll never know ... but it forced her to take the corpse to someone who knew what they were doing and lo-and-behold, now it's fixed my fiddle's never sounded better, she says in wonderment ...
# Posted on June 24th 2008 by Tish
Re: Damaged fiddle, any chance of fixing?
See a few luthiers. compare estimates and think whether it's worth it.
# Posted on June 30th 2008 by hauke