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survey says

 
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jessupe goldastini
Member


Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 169
Location: sana' rafaela'

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 2:21 am    Post subject: survey says Reply with quote

how many of you actually play the violin....?

i would think that to want to make one you would also have to love playing them? no?...i would not be making hem if i did not play

and if yes....did you play then make or make then play?

and if you do not play.....how do you refine your instruments?....client feedback only?....
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Mat Roop
Senior Member


Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 911
Location: Wyoming Ontario

PostPosted: Sat Jul 21, 2007 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Seems to me I have heard that Stardivari did not play... Just made great violins!
Cheers, Mat
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jessupe goldastini
Member


Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 169
Location: sana' rafaela'

PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 12:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

regarding yourself.....i assume the answer to the qeustion, is no

the qeustion was not posed in a condesending manner, was it?

so why the clever response? i did not ask if stardivari played, again i was asking the various members of the board if they{you} play....

so matt, i assume that you do not play?....the answer and or information i seek is this....if no....how do you refine your instruments?....you build them, call them done...then have a compitent player play it?....do you pull the bow across open strings, kinda push down here and there?...sounds ok?....i'm just trying to gain insight into how one that does not play perfects their tone, action, neck etc....for individual players or themselves....it does however seem to me that one who builds and plays would have a distinct advantage over one who just builds them. simply for the fact that they can judge the various aspects from a musicians point of veiw{playability,tone,etc.} as soon as it is complete and during construction....ie adjusting in white prior to varnish....
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jethro
Member


Joined: 07 Apr 2007
Posts: 178

PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 1:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I never touched (or even looked closely at) a violin before I made one.
I allways assumed playing one was 1,000,000 times harder than I could ever do. After I made mine and set it up I started messing with it and convinced myself that I could learn. I have taken about 6 months of lessons and have gotten a little better. I thought the most important reason to learn was to understand what the prospective buyer was
seeing, feeling and hearing when he or she DIDN'T like an instrument.
Now I am having the same thoughts when I test play commercial violins.
I think It helps to be able to decide when to stop tweaking the setup-
that is how to know when you've squeezed out nearly 100 % of the
instrument's potential. ( if I EVER know that !!!!!!!! )
I love playing. I love making more though.
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Jack H.
Super Member


Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 346
Location: Israel

PostPosted: Sun Jul 22, 2007 7:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was forced to play the violin when I was a wee lad, but found a great excuse for stopping when my arm was in a cast at the age of 13.

I still pick it up and noodle about but it is not called playing.
I can produce a nice tone on a violin to help me determine propper set up.
for things more complex I ask a customer when he/ she is in the
shop to play on a violin here and there, they are more than willing to help out.

j
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Mat Roop
Senior Member


Joined: 24 Mar 2007
Posts: 911
Location: Wyoming Ontario

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jessupe... The reason I was vague was that in my opinion playing is a relative matter. Nor am I sure that it is essential to good set up, restoration or even making. No, I am not a professional or even regular player... Jack says he noodles... well, I fiddle around Smile
I got started with my son playing and I became the fixer, and his teacher saw what I could do and soon enough I realized I had a business! I do not however build violins... just set up, rebuild, repair and repair the unrepairable. I can assess the quality of a violin pretty well with my playing and I ask as often as possible for opinions from my clients, then compare that to my own. That is how I develop my opinions on sound and tone. But remember that even professional players' opinions often are quite far apart on the same instrument.
I will admit being a good player has its advantages, but if you spend your time playing, and playing well, when will you have time to to learn and experiment all that there is to learn about the violin family of instruments? I spend a lot of time finding perfect solutions... not just good enough solutions... for me, Its a matter of priority... fix or play.
Cheers, Mat
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Chet Bishop
Super Member


Joined: 23 Mar 2007
Posts: 678
Location: Forest Grove, Oregon

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 10:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would not comfortably say I play the violin-- I would say, more accurately, that I play WITH a violin. I can play by ear, most any tune I can hear. People tell me that I achieve good tone. Hard to tell, under my ear. I usually feel that most violions sound equally bad when I play them. So, though I enjoy the instrument, and would like to play better, I only have time for so many things, and becoming a great classical violinist (or even a great fiddler, simply isn't going to happen.

The bass is even worse-- I don't even know how to hold it correctly. So, for both violins and basses, I take them to professionals, who, thus far have been very friendly and helpful.

Chet Bishop
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bulerias1981
Member


Joined: 16 Jun 2007
Posts: 41
Location: Beacon, NY

PostPosted: Mon Jul 23, 2007 12:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love all kinds of musical instruments and all kinds of music. Classical of course, but also lots of gypsy music, Middle-Eastern, Eastern, South American and so on. I play Flamenco and Classical guitar. But making instruments is something that I always wanted to get into. Thomas Humphrey, a great American guitar luthier in my area, denied me for an apprenticship. However, a few years later I met with a maker in NY for violins and I jumped at it. Even though I am not a violinist, doesn't mean I cant love the instrument the same as my own.

I like this style of playing as much as I like classical violin...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qZznJn5MrY
This is a Turkish gypsy.. I saw alot of music when I was in Istanbul.
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"I only write the notes as written, it is god that creates the music." J.S. Bach
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