Stradivarius Violin (rep?) - Restoration?

[NoPulp]

My grandma is moving into a home and we were cleaning out the garage. She mentioned she thought her father's violin was somewhere out there. She thought it was a Stradivarius but remembered it wasn't in good shape because other family members tried to "restore" it a long time ago.

Anyways, we finally found it... in a pile of trash under a work bench. Everything appears to be in the case, but its not in good shape. Some moron removed the finish and put on a new finish a long time ago... and an even bigger moron put paint on it! :banghead:


Looking inside the violin it does say it is a Stradivarius.
Edit: looks like likely a sears replica, would still be valuable to her knowing that since she worked for sears for many years.

I know its probably a fake, but it would still mean a lot to her to get it restored. Where could I go?

Thanks!

[mazdavirgin]

99.9% sure it's not real... See this for why:

http://www.fiddleheads.ca/writings/stradi_dud.htm



All 650 of the surviving Stradivarius instruments have been accounted for. Discovering “The Red Violin” of Stradivariuses is pretty much impossible. Shucks.

How do so many people discover Stradivariuses in the attic if they are all accounted for? Hundreds of thousands of violins have been made which copy the Stradivarius design and bear labels that read "Stradivarius."

This practice once was a kind tribute to Stradivari and his remarkable craftsmanship as well as a way of specifying the model around which an instrument was designed.

Recently, however, the confusion generated by the false labels has led to commercial gain for scheming crooks. A sly seller can deceive an inexperienced buyer with a battered old fiddle with a label and phony certificate of authenticity. Many collectors have paid large sums of money for fake Strads. (Talk about bad investments; forget depreciating houses and crashing stocks when you can buy dud Strads for hundreds of thousands of dollars).

Most buyers today consult an appraiser to avoid being swindled. Other times an appraiser isn’t necessary since it is obvious the violin is a fake. One of my violins has the usual Strad label and date, followed by “Made in Germany.” Identification such as that was required by United States regulations on imported goods in the late 1800s.

It’s not a real Strad. #@*%! Dang it.

[NoPulp]

That's all the information I can find, is that the only time Violins with Stradivarius names were produced?


Do old fakes hold any value?

[EK 2.0]

There is/was a Violin and Music shop on 16th Ave N.

A few doors east of Mopac...not sure if it is still there, but couldn't hurt to look them up for what you are looking for...

[mazdavirgin]

Originally posted by NoPulp
That's all the information I can find, is that the only time Violins with Stradivarius names were produced?


Do old fakes hold any value?

The only ones worth a ton of cash are the ones made by the man himself. Everything else is knock offs of differing value.

Instrument restoration is not cheap and likely to cost you far more than the value of the instrument. Read thousands of dollars especially if someone did something like paint the damn thing.

http://www.hillsfinestrings.com/
OR
http://www.aeolianstrings.com/

You're looking for a luthier.

[NoPulp]

Thanks. I'll look into those.
I know it would cost a decent amount to fix the disaster, but if its affordable/possible we'd do it. I guess there's another violin as well, but it doesn't have as much value to her. She thinks that one is in better shape though.

[xrayvsn]

I would probably bring it to Nigel in Banff at Wilder and Davis Luthiers. They do excellent work.

http://www.wilderdavis.com/en/contact

Locally, you can bring it to Aeolian strings on 17th Ave. I have not had good experience with VA Hill, so I can't recommend them.

[NoPulp]

Great, thanks.
Could maybe hit 2 birds with 1 stone and take her on a trip to banff.

I'm assuming that a Luthier could play the instrument a bit for her as well? She would enjoy hearing it again.

[xrayvsn]

Restoration could be costly and may not be worth it for a replica. We have used all of the mentioned Luthiers in Calgary, and the most expensive (but not the best in my opinion) would be Hill.

I also know a guy in High River who repairs and restores string instruments. He specializes in guitars, but he has worked on my son's 1/2 size violin and I was happy with his work. I can dig up his contact info and PM you if you wish.

[carson blocks]

I've got a similar dilemma with a '67 Gibson Special SG I inherited. Someone has varnished it and done a poor job, and it needs new pickups, pots, etc. A proper restoration would exceed the value of the guitar (not that I'd ever sell it), so I'm leaning towards a DIY stripping and refinishing (it's just wood, right) and replacing the parts myself. If that all works, I might get a luthier to re-fret it as I don't think that's a DIY job.

[NoPulp]

Yeah I understand it's probably not worth fixing, but it would mean a lot to her and she wants us to have something from her father. So if it's affordable we'll do it. My grandpa was hiding a good chunk of money from her so she would probably have no issue spending it on that.


Looked at the other one tonight it's a "Caspar da Salo in brescia 1524" so likely another fake or I'm unaware of the wealth my family has lol. It's in much much better visual shape but there's 2 large cracks in it. We'll look into fixing it as well but it's "display worthy" right now.

[xrayvsn]

I just realized you have your location listed as Lethbridge. I am sure there is at least one luthier in Lethbridge or close by, but I don't know of them offhand and only have experience with the places I mentioned that are local.

We went specifically to Wilder Davis to purchase a full size violin for my son on the recommendation of a few people. While we were in, he was working on a $750,000 violin and was going to let my son play it. We declined since that was out of our price range. LOL. He had just finished working on a $2.5 million cello several weeks before, so I would say they know their stuff and I absolutely trust them with any instrument we own. Before you go, you will have to call and make an appointment. They aren't a retail store type operation.

I understand the desire to restore your family heirloom and what it means for your grandmother and the connection to the past it has for you even. My wife is searching desperately for a violin that her great uncle had, and has gone missing. She would readily be willing to pay $$ to have it restored if we could get it back.

[raceman6135]

Originally posted by EK 2.0
There is/was a Violin and Music shop on 16th Ave N.

A few doors east of Mopac...not sure if it is still there, but couldn't hurt to look them up for what you are looking for...

Sadly, they are no longer in business as Al Gough (proprietor) passed away in June 2013.

[EK 2.0]

Originally posted by raceman6135


Sadly, they are no longer in business as Al Gough (proprietor) passed away in June 2013.

Oh, that's sad to hear...They had been around for ages from my recollection of driving that stretch of 16th...

[NoPulp]

There doesn't appear to be anyone in lethbridge, I was assuming I'd need to go to Calgary anyways.

[tirebob]

Hey man... I have a good buddy who is a luthier and a specialist in building and restoring violins and violas. If you are interested, message me and I will put you in touch.

[tirebob]

Here is his FB page... If you contact him, name drop me and he will take extra good care of you...

https://www.facebook.com/langdonstrings/

[NoPulp]

Awesome! I'll contact him and a couple others that were recommended once I have a camera to take decent pictures.

[xrayvsn]

NoPulp, this is the Luthier we used in High River who did some repairs on my son's 1/2 size violin as well.

http://shifflettguitars.ca/

[finboy]

Originally posted by carson blocks
I've got a similar dilemma with a '67 Gibson Special SG I inherited. Someone has varnished it and done a poor job, and it needs new pickups, pots, etc. A proper restoration would exceed the value of the guitar (not that I'd ever sell it), so I'm leaning towards a DIY stripping and refinishing (it's just wood, right) and replacing the parts myself. If that all works, I might get a luthier to re-fret it as I don't think that's a DIY job.

For a refret try Guitar O.R. By Chinook, I take all my guitars there

[NoPulp]

I took pictures yesterday. I'll post them later today.

Anyways the Stradivarius inside says "Made for the Gabson brothers Winnipeg Manitoba". And yes gabson not Gibson. I can't find any info on it.

[NoPulp]

Not sure if they're repairable, but we'll try.







"Stradivarius"



https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1459/25134724783_7f88547c1c_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ei52ZR)IMG_9737 (https://flic.kr/p/Ei52ZR) by Richard Brown (https://www.flickr.com/photos/130531646@N07/), on Flickr


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1556/25666154311_cfdd641365_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/F72KtV)IMG_9755 (https://flic.kr/p/F72KtV) by Richard Brown (https://www.flickr.com/photos/130531646@N07/), on Flickr

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https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1546/25460495130_4ceabdb764_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/EMRGaY)IMG_9758 (https://flic.kr/p/EMRGaY) by Richard Brown (https://www.flickr.com/photos/130531646@N07/), on Flickr




"Caspar"


https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1709/25666509371_4e48626639_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/F74z2D)IMG_9736 (https://flic.kr/p/F74z2D) by Richard Brown (https://www.flickr.com/photos/130531646@N07/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1540/25134975093_81681aeda2_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Ei6jpx)IMG_9738 (https://flic.kr/p/Ei6jpx) by Richard Brown (https://www.flickr.com/photos/130531646@N07/), on Flickr

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1567/25640468682_663e9434db_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/F4L73f)IMG_9747 (https://flic.kr/p/F4L73f) by Richard Brown (https://www.flickr.com/photos/130531646@N07/), on Flickr