Hi Braves, my brother lent me (for the long time) a very old fiddle he picked up at an antique shop. It's in very good shape, and the inside has a small label that says "Made in Nippon". There is no year. It came with a very old wooden hard case that looks like a coffin. To me, that indicates that it was made in Japan, but would the fact that it says "Nippon" versus "Japan" provide a hint on the era? I'm thinking because of WWII, the word "Japan" might have been substituted by "Nippon" or something like that... Your input is welcome.
Funny you mention that Maz, I had given dad a fiddle for Christmas a last year that had that Nippon tag on it. You can find the era on it with a search. I found it but dont remember, some where from late 1800's to around World War I era. Pretty old.
It seems to sound pretty well. When I got it, it had no strings or bridge. I put an old set of strings I had and bought a bridge... It sounds ok, but this week, I'm gonna take it to my friend/luthier to adjust the bridge, which is way too high, perhaps put new strings if he deems required, and add tuners to the bottom part (I don't know the name of that part ?). I will use that fiddle as my "tuned-down" (FCGD) fiddle. My other is tuned standard.
Re: Re: Re: Question for the fiddle "connaisseurs"
About ten years ago I was reselling fractional violins for students when I ran across a very fat-profile Nippon Suzuki with a chrysanthemum trademark. The tone was superior. You may be in luck!
Things with the Nippon label predate the Teddy Roosevelt period. During that time, US law changed to label the country of origin on all imported items. including changing Nippon to Japan. For a brief time after WWII, the label read Occupied Japan.
Anmy chance of posting a a link of an MP3 to hear what it sounds like?
The requirement to change Nippon tp Japan officially went into effect by US customs in 1921. Teddy Roosevelt pushed for this as well as many other things, like English as the only spoken language, eliminating use of phrases. what he referred to as hyphenated Americans (Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, etc). But, as far as dating the fiddle is concerned, it has to predate 1921. The problem with the Roosevelt period, is both Nippon and and sometimes Japan was used. Foreign policy pressure - even though it wasn't illegal. Teddy was dead by 1921, but the political agenda was still strong, especially after WWI. Bully!
The part with the fine tuners is called the "tailpiece". I use a tailpiece with built-in fine tuners. Thomastik makes one, and there are other brands as well.
Much of the sound improvement will come from a properly TRIMMED bridge. The ones you buy are really blanks and should be sculpted to transfer the energy to the top efficiently. Of course the sound post will need a push and a tug. I fit my fiddles with Pegheds which eliminates the need for tailpiece tuners.
Love those Pegheds!
$30-40 for a tailpiece with built-in tuners is a lot less than "starting at $149" for the Pegheds. Of course the tailpieces with built-in tuners are metal, and some folks say that the metal tailpiece makes a difference in sound, but I think that's more of a concern for classical violinists than for fiddlers.
In the words of Norman Blake "I'm just a hillside musician, I'm not used to all this paraphernalia."
$80 for four pegs. I just paid $100 for five pegs for a banjo. Not much difference from quality guitar, banjo, or mandolin tuners. The tunable tailpieces do affect tone. Refitting standard pegs are "bread and butter" work for me, so I only put pegheds on the violins I build.
Don't know boss. When I called Chuck he quoted a lower price. Maybe his website is out of date and more sales volume has lowered production costs. Maybe its because I build violins. Give him a call. I originally called about banjo pegs since they didn't appear on his site. His line has expanded but not the website. He also has licensed his design out and must have brought his price in line with the other vendor and makes up the differnece in license fee.
The pegs are nice though.
Very interesting.... Pre 1921, I'm not surprise as it looks very old, and the case (coffin type) is definitely very old.
I should hear back from my luthier this week. If I knew how to post pics here, I would put one. How do we do that?
The April 2011 Dewey Balfa Cajun & Creole Heritage Week
