Fake Labels in Violins and other String Instruments - Exposing Dark Secrets of the Violin Industry
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
- This video gives more information on Twoset Violin's recently video Exposing Dark Secrets of the Violin Industry.
Master Violin Maker and Restorer Olaf Grawert talks about the practice of faking labels inside stringed instruments. Don't fall for this trick!
One of the Dark Secrets of the Violin Industry...
(Most violin makers, dealers and teachers are ethical... But as you know... Unfortunately in every industry there are always those who are not honest)
You can see the Twoset violin video here: • Exposing Dark Secrets ...
Be fully informed when you buy your next instrument. Get Olaf's free 7 essentials when buying an instrument report here: olafgrawertviolinstudio.com/7...
00:00 Introduction
01:00 The practice of faking labels
06:00 Fake Instruments Horror Story
08:09 Summary
#myviolinmaker, #olafgrawertviolin
Website:
www.olafgrawertviolinstudio.com
Online Store:
olafgrawertviolinstudio.com/p...
Social:
/ olafgrawertviolinstudio
/ olafgrawertviolinstudi...
Olaf Grawert also features in some @TwoSetViolin videos
Wow, I really love that Twoset and Olaf are exposing those fake intrument sellers at the same time... thank you for bringing this topic up and raising awareness ❤❤
Perfect timing...
Indeed
It’s like you coordinate this with Twoset
@@manchunyu843 I know... I had no idea they were going to post a video about some of the things that happen in the violin industry
Are you guys sharing one braincell or something? 😂
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker hey Olaf who's the new character?
Olaf and TwoSet are in perfect sync
I am getting lots of comments on the crappy zoom feature... Sorry guys, I just discovered the feature on my editing software and got a little excited and personally edited a couple of zooms in... So anyway MJ will do a much better job than me in future videos and only use zoom for good, not evil 😀
lol that's so precious XD
I found the zooms cute XD always nice to see more Olaf
I found the zooms funny too haha
I guessed that it was that "other" guy that was in charge of the editing...
i just wanna thank you and twoset for being brave & exposing dirty violin industry secrets that not a lot of people know, especially cause the boys (and you in extension) have a population of newbie classical music enthusiasts and non-musicians who know absolutely nothing and could fall for these deceptions :>
this video is the perfect proof that olaf and twoset somehow share a braincell
Just the one braincell?
@@technicmachine just the one.
That gets switched back and forth between them?
The somewhat insidious thing about the violin market is that you're often depending on the seller of the item to verify the valuation of the very thing that they are selling.
You should make a video about how to spot more obvious copies/fakes. Like what should you look for when inquiring about an instrument. Having been burned myself that way, I would love a video about that on its own.
Yeah, I’d like to learn more.
All 🎻. 🎻🎻🎻🎻 Copies after the first one just as people.
The random zooms make me nervous....lol
Accidentally read this comment before watching the video and I was not listening at the end when it started sliding sideways as well haha
I feel like it was intentional to emphasize how disturbing the subject matter is.
Sorry guys... just discovered the zoom feature on my editing software. In the future it will be used for good, not evil 😀
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker use the zoom to accent a point :)
@@supernoodles908 I know 😀
Olaf, the master of disguises.
Also a luthier too, I guess ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My own violin has no label at all, and the reason is unclear, but possibly related to my great grandfather''s restoration of it.
He wanted to learn to play, and being a rather impoverished apprentice cabinet maker, found one broken in a bric-a-brac shop which appeared to be repairable to him. Now, as a novice, and a cabinet maker's apprentice into the bargain, he probably had no idea of the value of the label in scertaining the value of the instrument, but he went ahead and repaired it, taught himself to play to a moderate standard, and thoght little more of it. My grandfather had little interest, so he left it to my mother, who did play rather well, touring Europe in a youth orchestra in an age when touring was far more expensive than it has become more recently, so they were clearly pretty good. The violin was unused for many years as she persued her career as a maths teacher, and came into my posession when I became decent enough to warrant a good violin, becoming my property on her death. What I don't know is how on earth to ffigure out it's value? The only valuation in my memory is one done by a very good maker in Colchester, England, in the 1980s, which I was not party to, the violin still being my mothers property - but the paperwork has been lost and although i recall her being worried by the cost of insurance at the time, I have nothing to substantiate it. I do recall the maker in Colchester being reverent in his handling of it, and insisting on throwing in more protective case than the deteriorating carboard one with the valuation and restoration he carried out, as he was (rightly) appalled by the lack of protection it afforded.
It has been in my family for at least 140 years and was clearly not new then, in around 1880. After all, having been damaged, it was not burned as firewood or just thrown away, so clearly was not without some residual value even damaged, but ended up in the junk shop my great grandfather bought it from. There are no details on exactly what repairs he made, although family lore has it that involved the neck, but if they were extensive enough to put off anyone but a cash strapped apprentice with just enough skill with finer woodworking, they can't have been minor. He did, by the way, become a very fine cabinet maker and his son, (my grandfather) became a fine french-polisher, commissioned for restoration of pieces in the private apartments at Windsor Castle.
All I remember of his work is the smell of his workshop - I can sniff out a real french polishing expert to this day from half a mile off!
Best I can get is German, Probably Saxony, and it has a beautiful warm, mellow tone and the best I can describe the varnish is a dark honey colour.
It does not stand up well to modern string tension, so I use Pirastro Eudoxa strings to avoid straining it (it would pre-date standard A=440 tuning, so that is not very surprising).
Any ideas?
You’re going to have to take it to a luthier to open it up and take a good look inside of it more than likely. Unless you have pictures of it that you can link in this, nobody can tell based off of the story what your violin is, especially if it was “tampered” and restored.
However, I wish you the upmost best of luck and good fortune that you find the origins of your violin! That’s a family heirloom like no other and it totally deserves the money and insurance and case from a professional luthier. Good story, it deserves a good luthier and authentic protection.
✨⚜️🤍⚜️✨
@@AngelAura8011 Sadly, I can no longer afford the work the instrument really needs, and I'm not even sure how to find a good enough luthier to entrust it to within travelling range.
The worst part is that none of my children shows any musical aptitude, nor have any grandchildren appeared yet who might - and of course, even when grandchildren do come along, it will be a decade at least before they could physically use a full-sized violin even if they show an ability to make good use of it. It deserves to be played by a good violinist and treated well, so I feel it is rather a burden to me as I feel the weight of being the custodian of such a fine instrument. If that means its time in my family has come to an end, that would be the right decision.
Just its tone sets it above most others, but I don't know (and probably can't know, in the absence of any label) if that is a happy accident due to its being maybe the one really nice one a poor maker made, coupled with its repair history, or if it is the product of a real master violin maker.
I feel responsible for finding a way to unite the instrument and a player that are worthy of each other. To me, that is far more important than any financial value it has.
I came across Olaf's great videos by accident. I'm a mid life learner of the violin. I already have a 20yr old Gliga III but I went on Ebay & won the bid on a Sebastien Auguste Deroux 1899 made in Paris violin. It arrived from Melbourne in what looks like it's original beat up case. The violin looks age worn appropriate, has no spits or cracks only scratches. Label looks authentic, no photocopying cross marks, & the violin's depth in sound is just beautiful! I didn't pay much for it but it's priceless to me. Keep the videos coming Olaf they're Great !!!!!
Hi, Thank you for commenting... I would love to see some pics of your violin. Sometimes you can find some real gems. When I was working in Germany someone bought a real Vuillaume violin for around $5,000! total bargain. at the time it was worth $500,000!
I see the props department keeps growing 👏👏 😂
I always appreciate all your efforts in making your videos very informative and entertaining! Thanks Olaf!
I like your new character, Olaf! lol
Those professional magnifying glasses look super cool!!
You must be use it when you repair some detailed things.
Hello Olaf!, love from Indonesia :>
And from 🇵🇭
same here!
Ah! Another Indonesian fellow!!! Hiii
I'm so glad we got Olaf back. That first guy was a little scary 😬
I inherited a violin from my grandfather that has a label claiming its a Strad....my sister, just like me, is a realist, so we are not putting a lot of stock in what it claims. Best case scenario that we are hoping for is that its a faithful reproduction but won't be surprised if its a violin shaped piece of crap. She needs a lot of TLC and hopefully when we get the funds to do so will get her restored if possible. Thank you so much for getting the word out about fakes. You are greatly appreciated.
I own a violin labelled "Pollastri" which my parents bought about 50 years ago. But then, they got a second opinion before buying it - and according to this it was a good east-German instrument. They got it for half the price asked for originally. It is a good violin and has served me well for many years.
I love that Olaf and TwosetViolin work together somehow.
Great video, Olaf! I knew you were going to make a video on this after Brett and Eddy did! 😊
Funnily enough I made the video before they posted theirs!! Great syncronicity
@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Haha that's funny! :)
Interesting, my mothers violin was won in an gamblers lottery in the Swedish Navy. My great uncle was the winner and gave it to my grandfather who brought it to the USA in the early 1900s. My mother played it until she fell and cracked it in the 1980s. It has a Stad Label. She had it looked at and the label was fake. Before the crack it has the most beautiful tone.
Such a cool story.
I have a lovely 'strad 1725' replica - but I've always wondered if some of the scuffing was on purpose - I mean, I can't imagine why it's fairly dinged up, but not in a way that messes up the playability. And the varnish (and the color) goes on top of a number of the scuffs. There are also some long cracks, also with color in them, but those might be real. But the real zinger is the label - it's ripped around the edges, and yes, it does look like it was dipped in tea. So funny. I've wondered if it might have been a decent violin that was picked up by a luthier to repair the 4 large cracks in the front and then resell, and then the luthier got fresh with it and made it look all old and strad-like. For me it's just part of the story though. And I love it's sound, so that's ok. I'm about to have a luthier take a look at it and let me know if those cracks are real, and if they've already been seen to. (You scared me into going. I don't want the crooked tailpiece to destroy my baby! Terrible video, that.) Anyway, violin history is so funny.
I kind of saw something like this happen online recently - in NZ our local buying site is called TradeMe, someone on there was clearly uneducated on violins, and they had a bow for sale that was marked Dodd, they said they'd seen one similar online for $3000 so they were selling it for $2500 so people could find a bargain..
I'm still a beginner violinist, but I knew I'd seen that name before, so I scrolled back through the listings, and sure enough, a Dodd violin bow, in similar condition to the one with the high price, being sold for $80 - they specifically stated in this post that they'd had it valued at $100.
Now I don't know if this high priced bow wasn't genuinely worth that amount, it could have been a genuinely wonderful bow for all I know, but I commented on the listing and linked the other bow and said I hoped they would have it valued as nobody would pay that much for a bow without it having been examined and valued by a luthier or violin maker, but buyers can choose to answer questions or not and they won't appear on their page without them answering it so my comment probably never saw the light of day but it's just sad how many out there want to make fast money out of nothing.
This is extremely useful!!!!
We went to a small luthier shop in the rocky mountains...
They had a beautiful violin restoration that they labeled as "old German"... he had a few scars on his face, but his tone! Beautiful!!! The restoration was well done... but because of his not new pristine look he had been gathering dust so to speak. Well fredric came home with us and he is well loved 😊
Very helpful video. I love what you said in your closing. :)
You are just hilarious! I am so entertained!
I wish there was a central violin authenticity authority that could inventory the kind of fakes that exist:
1) crap old violin - fake label
2) good old violin - fake label - unknown maker
3) good old violin - fake label - known maker (relabel?)
4) good new violin - fake label
5) crap new violin - fake label
5) was good violin - crap fix - real label
etc
given that much power, bribery could probably run rampant
I don't even play the violin, but I still find all of this fascinating. Keep up the great work!
Oh, wow. That opening! Hahahah! Love it. Great video as always. 😊 Cheers from the US!
My antique violin didn't even have any label in it.
Instead of it having a label it had an engraving piece of metal on the original case to say where it was made. My luthier recognized immediately where it was made before he had even seen the engraving. The engraving says Jerome Thibouville lamy Paris. He recognized that it was French before he saw the engraving on the case.
I have found in my 72 years that labels don't mean much. One of the best violins I ever owned had no label but was obviously made before WW2.
Hi Olaf! I came here just after watching Twoset’s video on the same topic! You and Twoset have AmaZInG synchrony if I do say so myself 😂
I really appreciate that u discussed about these industrial secrets as there’re prevalent as heck. I wanna share my violin teacher’s experience with this specific phenomenon ( as I’ve also shared in a comment under Twoset’s video ) ->
My violin teacher is a distributor for a specific string instrument brand in Indonesia, so he often discusses about these sorta topics with me. Though he never talked about the “secret commissioning system”, he usually gives insights about his experiences with fake instruments ( mostly violins ). Apparently these sort of things aren’t actually well discussed in the string instrument community despite its prevalence.
He often receives violins that needs to be repaired in his shop and those violins can be worth over tens of thousands of dollars and yet sound shittier compared to the $600 violins that he sells. And about teachers selling violins at higher prices, it happens here, A LOT.
There are a couple of teachers here that collaborate with “antique string instrument dealers”. So some of the instruments that their students use are from their collaborations. Those instruments usually range from 2 thousand to 20 thousand dollars. I’ve heard that one of those teachers actually started selling their own brand of violins. However, those violins were actually from a renowned violin brand that were relabelled as their own. Guess what? Those violins are sold at prices higher compared to their actual market price 💩
To be fair, most people don’t really care about who made their string instruments here as they don’t have much reference to know whether the instruments that they buy are worth their prices, but it’s still infuriating that these “antique string instrument dealers” don’t have the decency to inform their buyers that the instruments that they sell aren’t at all real.
I really can’t thank u enough for addressing this issue as there are simply too many sacrilegiously priced instruments out there. It kills me inside day by day, actually way more than Chloe Chua’s playing 🥲
Regarding the “secret commissioning system”, I’d like to think that my teacher isn’t involved with it as he’s an official distributor for that specific string instrument brand. It’s essentially hella illegal for him to sell the instruments at higher prices. I bought two violins and a bow from him, and they’re all market price ( checked from the official string instrument brand’s website and multiple shops selling those instruments ). Heck, he sometimes sells some of those instruments at prices cheaper than their respective market prices just because he feels that those instruments “shouldn’t really worth that much”.
I forgot to mention, that I actually got scammed once a few years back. It was also a Storioni but labelled a different year (1793), and was priced at an AmaZInG $500 USD. As expected, it sounds just like expensive firewood. I should’ve known better 🥲
You might be the funniest luthier on UA-cam (and off)
I love your wigs😃
My violin is labelled "Stradivarius" but it's a good copy. The violin looks beautiful and sounds good. The label is not important to me and I'm only interested in the sound. It's the violin of my grandfather and he had it for many years.
Great video. This was informative and funny.
At the end of the day it’s all about the sound that it makes. Anything else like a bit of history, a label or how it looks is a bonus
Thank for this. After seeing twoset, many should watch this one too.
There are still lots and lots and lots of falsely labeled violins from this time and area (around the "Erzgebirge" rsp "Krusna Hory" mountain range bordering modern Germany and Tzechia). In Germany this was and is still the best known centre of musical instruments production. Myself, I have two Jacob Stainer copies, the one trying to look like his lion head violins, the other very decently just copying his measurements and branded with his name to indicate it is "Stainer Style".
I was told many mass-produced instruments were mislabeld then in the 18th and 19th century, but it was an open secret. Most of their countless "Stradivaris" did not explicitely claim Authenticy, but you could misinterpret the label in this way, officially it was just promoting the fact the design was inspired by or copied of Stradivari. Others were outright openly cheap forgeries, and people bought them as a status symbol in the way you would buy forged designer handbags or sportswear nowadays. Only today peeps find gramps ole whining-stick in his attic and ernestly believe they are holding a true, venerable Stradivari in their shaking hands.
The missus brought back a violin from the market, no strings in fact just the basic, it had no fingerboard, rest, etc just the body, She paid two dollars, so just for a laugh I said it might be a Strad.So I got the torch out and lo and behold the label says Stradavari.
The label says Antonios Stradivarius cramanto anno 1728 or somthing like that its quite a long label. I might be rich!
lol so many spelling mistakes on the label
@@franceskinskij Thats cuz oim dyslickit
@@gringoanon4550 haha... I have seen lots of fake strad labels with the wrong spelling
olaf realllllly does the terrifying german scientist character very very well. he’s so extra and i love it.
Similarly, can bows be faked? How easy would it be to put a a famous maker’s stamp on a cheap bow? Does this happen? I’m wondering if we also need to be wary of imposter bows?
Absolutely...
Yea it's a mess, so concerning labels, 1800- 1920 are easier for me to identify, thanks brother 🌹🌹
I very much appreciate this video.
I wish you collab with twoset for this topic.. great content!
The zoom is rather uncomfortable Olaf, it makes it feel like a horror movie...
It is a horror movie for people who bought instruments with fake labels... But Yess... Too much zoom in weird places
OMG DIP IT IN TEA AND BURN THE EDGES
That's how I made rpg docs and letters since like forever xDD
props for committing to the bit
I got my violin for free. A father's colleague had it in house and no one knew to play it, so he gave it away. The professors did not say the violin I got was any exceptional, just I could get by with it. There had been times when I considered if buying better instruments but that was not realized.
After 5 decades, now I should not separate myself from my violin, no way! I exactly have the opinion about it's capacity, surprisingly well balanced on all 4 strings, more strong sound then melodic/harmonics, but also surprisingly well harmonics-full although not as some violines I heard at students posessions. Even surprisingly well responding.
A year ago or so I changed completely my way of playing and exercise, getting professional sound, peach and consistency. What a transformation, what a revelation!
My point: love your instrument, especially if you don't have any serious objections to it's possibilities. Consider yourself as if being with a beautiful, clever, skilled and devoted (to you) girlfriend: you have to respect and love her and improve yourself to be more close to her! Chances are close to 100% you do NOT use the full potential of your instrument.
Only higher class players have a somewhat more demands, 80% players probably don't deserve their instrument if measured by their playing abilities.
Pretty much every genuine antique decent violin will be accounted for. The ones that are not are usually with fake labels. People don’t just lose an expensive violin worth more than a car.
Thank you again Olaf. Labels sure can be deceptive.
I have a friend who bought a Stradivarius for $30 at a boot sale.
Of course he knew that the label was fake.
But for 30 bucks, the violin was a good buy.
Since these East German mass produced violins are probably the most common on the market (especially as source instruments for fakers) it might be an idea to do a whole video on how to identify these instruments. All the distinctive features, good bad and ugly.
love this content～
Came for the comedy stayed for the honesty.
I guess sears roebucks in the u.s. made a lot of violins with the Stradivarius label...my dad found one in the trash when he was a child...I don't play violin but I still have it in my dad's memory
Wow, those print dots! Wowwwww.
I've been helping to tune kids violins for a school ensemble. I can't believe the difference in sound and feel between instruments!
(Nb. I'm not a particularly good violinist - tuning is within my skillet, though 😉)
I have got a violin with the label Casper Strnad 1791. My great aunt bought it from a Gipsy before the WW II. Several luthiers confirmed it is a fake which was actually manufacturered in Bohemia sometimes around 1900 , It even is not as flat as real Strnad, but it has beautiful rich velvet sound.
I have a fake "Casper Strnad" viola. As far as I can tell, someone made lots of fake Strnad labels that ended up in Bohemian instruments around 1900. They didn't even try to make it resemble an authentic label. On mine, the 1791 date was altered by pen to read 1893, presumably by an honest seller who didn't want anyone to be fooled. Even so, mine was sold with a "certificate" by someone who was clearly incompetent to be authenticating instruments, as anyone could look up Strnad and discover that he had been long dead by then. Not to mention, there are many physical characteristics that give it away. It's a very nice viola, but obviously worth a lot less than an original would be.
For me personally I buy an instrument based on my perception of its quality and never the prestige of its story. If it wouldn't be worth it to me without the label then it wouldn't be worth it to me with the label. The best examples of this are with guitars. One of my nicest arch-top guitars is made of plywood and the maker is unidentifiable. It cost me £150. I doubt I could sell it for much but to me it is a treasured instrument. Obviously if you are buying instruments as an investment or collector then names and stories are important but as a player my question is "does it sound good and will it continue to sound good" if the answer to either question is 'no' then I don't want it.
Saludos desde México !
Just a note, Ha Ha. In the sponsored items while looking for this vide,o the entire ads were reproduction violin/instrument labels on EBAY in lots for $10.
Greathings from Czech Republic
When the guy selling you the Violin tells you to contact this phone number and you are receiving a call from an Indian call center...
I love your characters... If only the real baddies were as funny, it would make up for their evil deeds.
Thanks
When I (at some distant point in the future) by a quality cello I will ask my teacher to accompany me. I don't value the history or the age of an instrument. I primarily value sound and secondly looks.
I have been wondered since childhood. Why violinmakers stick these stupid paper labels and not burn the brand directly on wood?
i love the mad forger :)
Fakes can be a good way of keeping the industry truthfull, because if they are not quality and its all about the labels and brands and not the quality of the instrument, then they are bound to be falsified.
That’s another reason that I like my Violin Shaped Object: the Label does not tell me anything about where it was made, or when, or by who. And I don’t have to worry that someone tried to up the price.
the dots in the printing is called dithering, its how older printers did shading. A sure sign of a crappy copy. Early bubble jets did it like that, also if you touch it with IPA the ink will or run or bleed.
A Violin made by Vincenzo Sannino with a Gagliano label is still about 100k! A fake label does not always mean it's a cheap violin...
I have a opposite story I can share. I purposely bought an instrument with a fake label.
The seller wasn't a private shop, but a collector. In my case, he was very aware that the instrument was fake, and had advertised it as such. So I'm a very proud owner of a fake Sebastian Klotz violin. It didn't cost much, and I think it's gorgeous with a lovely sound. We both suspect this comes from an era of imitators that made instruments to look like an original and put in fake labels to get the sales.
Hey Olaf!!!
I bought an antique violin at auction in Germany on a whim. I only paid 50 euros and it didn't come with anything (no case or bow). It seems like a proper antique from the era you describe, but it doesn't have any labels. If I saw correctly it does have corner blocks, but of course I'm a guitar player, not a violin luthier. Would something like this be worth restoring vs buying a modern violin? I absolutely love the way it looks.
So, what "red flags" should players look for when choosing an instrument to ensure we are not being mislead or swindled by a seller? (Other than print dots on the label?)
It's always worth expecting all labels to be fake first and get an instrument valued based on its look, style and workmanship.
Only if the label is close to matching that appraisal should it be taken into account.
*Question for Olaf* If a violin comes in for repair and you find it has a fake label, would you consult with the owner and suggest the label be *1:* removed from the instrument *2:* mark the label to indicate it as fake or *3:* just leave it be and hope that the next owner isn't fooled by it?
You should see the amount of fake labels available on ebay. The big problem is that they aren't photocopies they are actually printed labels and despite being reproductions most of them pass muster as the genuine label at least to the untrained eye.
In my world, sadly, $6000 is not "a little bit of money"! But I am working on it...
The same happened with high quality Made in Japan Epiphone acoustic guitars in the mid 1970s. The label said Gibson Made in Kalamazoo Michigan but the final tiny print saying Made in Japan was at the bottom of the label. Many cut that MIJ off with a straight edge razor blade. Truth is thet were very good guitars. I had one for 17 years and earned a great deal of money as a backing musician to some quite famous Australian singers. Nowadays you can buy a Fender licensed neck wth a Fender decal already glued on and that's from a reputable site. Who knows? Those neck are a perfect fit and all maple. I use them but choose to buy the ones without the decal.
LoL that was good acting Olaf.. I sense another career looming haha
May I ask your thoughts on the Ming Zhang Zhu versus the Lazzaro Zuchi? To try them myself is best but then again I am such a novice - the reviews are good on them - like you said. 3000 is my range
yesterday I borrowed a violin from my sax teacher (he also teaches violin but he wouldn't have taught me because I'm, in his words, "too old to learn it well", so he decided to lend me one of his cheaper violins so I could try and learn by myself - if anyone's curious, I can already make a clear sound on an open string, so so far so good)
its label claims it's a Strad from 174something
I hope you're joking. I mean, not about the obviously fake label, but your teacher saying you're "too old". That's ageism at its worst.
@@elissahunt as much as I'd like it to be a joke, he really believes I can't get good at the violin.
He borrowed me the violin to learn by myself because he didn't want to "waste time" on teaching a grown-up play the violin from the basics, because the violin has a lot of "unnatural positions" for the human body, while yesterday, right when I start practicing, I already had proper handling of the violin and the bow (though the bow slghtly less proper I assume)
I had never touched the instrument before but I knew the theory
@@JamieDNGN I would recommend doing some research in your area because there are plenty of good teachers who will teach violin to adults. Even though you might not become the next great soloist, there is still much you can learn as an adult. Better to learn from a teacher who understands this instead of one of these "all-or-nothing" types.
@@reepicheepsfriend I agree. Jamie should find a teacher who isn't biased about age.
I just picked up a Viola six months ago at the early age of 57. I may never play professionally, but by God I'll play. Six months in, I'm mostly in tune on all four strings, I have Amazing Grace down pat, most of the time. Working on The love theme from the God Father - people recognize it along with a couple other tunes.
I have old hands and some of the positions are very uncomfortable, and I need to stretch my hands and make sure they are warmed up before playing. A broken hand, and finger in my youth, and a wicked staph infection on my left index finger adds some challenges, but if the lady with no right arm can play a violin, the Viola should be a walk in the park.
Find a good instructor and go for it, get a decent instrument (I paid $600.00 for my setup), Different strings really changed the tone, love it now, I picked up a wooden bow and still have a carbon one.
Psychic👁️Olaf
I have a copy violin that has the label "Nicolaus Amatus Fecit in Cremona 1672" passed down from my great grandfather who immigrated from Czechoslovakia. Now I know you mentioned that those kind of copies that were mass produced had a value of about $2000 dollars. Is there a chance it would sound good, and would it be worth it to restore it?
I recently got a new violin. I chose it for the sound but I have no idea whether the label is legit or not. The label is hard to read without a good flashlight plus, it doesn’t help that I’m legally blind.
That timing.
You crack me up olaf. 😆
Thank-you love the videos. I have recently been given a violin by my sister (she was going to learn but never did), which my uncle/ mum bought in a farm clearing sale in the 1980s, in a little town where my uncle who has now also passed, farmed, of about 80 people, for about $100. The violin used to belong to a lady who died aged 94 in the 1980s her name was Mrs Hall (sounds very English). It was bought for my brother who was having lessons at the time and would need to move up to a full size violin, he later gave uo and handed it on to my sister. When my mum got it done up in the 80s she was told it was a fake or copy, but it was still a very nice sounding violin. The label says Giovan Paolo Maggini brescia 16 (with something scribbled after that which can no longer be read). I would love to know its story more. Can you tell much about the violin when the label is fake? As a beginner I have no idea what a good vs rubbish violin sounds like. My violin teacher says it does sound very good, but she would like the d to be a bit warmer, she also said that she like how it feels as it has quite a thin neck compared to many violins, which is her preference. She suggested I get it valued. Her guess would be several thousand. I have no intention of selling it, so don't really care about the value, but I would like to know more of its story. So what types of things can you learn about a violin just by looking at it? It is brown slightly yellow in colour and has quite a bit of damage to the varnish near the bridge. I think the pegs where replaced in the 80s and there is no original bow. It fascinates me to know more of its history.
5:03 The tears alone look suspicious, whoever did the label way overdone it on trying to make the paper look old. Good catch on the pattern. The writing also seems to be copied exactly. The label theoretically can easily be checked for authenticity of paper and ink used, after all, art experts do it all the times for artworks. Could be as easy as finding out that the ink in hand written part is not iron gall, but a modern one. I doubt, of course, that any investigations like that would ever be done except for the exceptionally high priced sales (and then probably the object to which a label is attached to would give more clues).
Thanks for the informative video Olaf. I feel like I would rather spend a couple of thousand dollars on an intermediate violin made by a great modern day luthier like yourself than to spend even more on some violins that claim to be German-made antiques that I have no clue on the authenticity of.
My violin is a Ivan/Eastman but it had a cheap Eastman label with a pealing corner and noticed something bright yellow underneath, i carefully removed it with tweezers and there was an Ivan one underneath for someone reason?
A really nice video. Very informative and important.
But I think this very close zoom on the face is a bit creepy...
My cello says “chamber student 2018” 😂 def not fake, gonna get a better one soon but this one was still like 2000-4000 Australian dollars
Thank you sir. I assume your monitor is just off camera right. It is hard to stare into a soul less camera. Kind of makes me feel like your distracted by a pimple on my ear :)
Hi mate , I recently brought a violin, I cant find a label on it . How can I find information on it?
I almost bought a secondhand Romanian workshop violin from a small ads website, £1,800, value new £3,500. I emailed the makers to check it out, and they told me that details of date and name proved it was fake.
I'd rather support the local economy and look the maker in the eye, and ideally see the fiddle in the course of being made, as some makers even sell fakes of their own work. Your comparison of grades of instrument, to my surprise, did not mention the idea of buying a violin or bow visibly made by the person selling it.
My first instrument is the trombone. In terms of fakes and instrument prices, it's literally the best choice of (orchestral) instrument you can make. While beginner instruments are barely cheaper than other beginner instruments (~500 €/600 USD - though French horns and oboes only start at ~1.5k), professional instruments start at 3k and go up to around 11k. Compared to French horns, the entire woodwind and obviously the string section, that makes the trombones probably the cheapest instruments in world class orchestras. I don't know about custom-built extra stuff, but the point is that trombones are cheap compared to other instruments.
How can a beginner tell the difference between a reasonably good violin and a complete dog? Is it the flame on the back sides and neck, the tightness of the top plate grain, the quality of the symmetry of the carving of the scroll, the quality of fittings, they way the bridge is carved, the f holes, there must be clues that a beginner can go by?