Way Cool Fiddle!

I just finished working on a really unique fiddle and had to share the pictures with you. This is a German fiddle from around 1890, and was probably made in either Berlin or Dresden. It came to me with these unusual pegs and tailpiece. I figure this is something you will either love or hate, but regardless, they certainly ARE unique!

I bushed three of the four peg holes so that I could use the original tuners. Generally, these decorative fiddles don't sound very good. Story has it that they were made from poor quality wood, so they decorated them. I guess they figured if it wouldn't sound good, it would at least look good. This is not the case with this fiddle! It is very loud and has a lot of bass in it. It was quite a nice surprise.

The beautiful red varnish is original, and although this one has quite a few cracks in the top, they were already repaired when I got it. None of them are bass bar or sound post cracks, so that's also good. I had to glue some loose seams, clean and polish it, make a new bridge and soundpost, and give it a basic setup.

The decorative edge is made from mother of pearl and dyed pear wood. The design on the back is made from various woods and mother of pearl. The inlay on the fingerboard is also mother of pearl. The pegs and the tailpiece are yellow, marbled plastic.

If you are interested in purchasing this beauty, it is for sale. If you want to come by the shop and pick it up, it will cost $799. If you want it mailed to you, add another $30 for insurance and postage. If you don't want to purchase it but you want to see and play it, come on by!!!!

To view larger images, click on the pictures: