LATechBanjo - Posted - 05/07/2025:  10:39:42

Hi, all. I'm looking for a new fiddle, and I need some guidance. First, I need to lay out a little storytime:

I'm a cajun fiddle player, but I came up playing mostly old-time about 15 years ago. I bought a $200 student violin at the time and started jamming with the bluegrass folks up.

Through those wonderful people, I was introduced to Mr. Hilton Lytle out of Monroe, LA, and I apprenticed with him in building a new fiddle. We finished it in 2011, and I've played it ever since. It's LOUD, has a great sound (to me, at least), and it has served me wonderfully.

I've started playing with some new groups playing in rock keys and am starting to seek out a good second fiddle, as my old student one just doesn't have "it".

I'd like something with character: ideally a 100 year old unloved thrift store find with battle scars that needs some setup, but I don't really know what to look for in the vintage instruments. I look at used ones for sale around me, and I just don't understand the pricing, and what makes a fiddle worth $1500 or $300. For all I know, the fiddle I'm playing now is worth anywhere between $80 and $8000. It's priceless to me. So I just have no experience as a buyer. Is there any guidance ya'll can give? Does that make sense?

Thank you!

pmiller510 - Posted - 05/07/2025:  11:11:43

It's really quite simple. Find one you like and can afford. Then buy it. (I'm kind of chuckling, but I'm also serious.)

The rest is hokum, until YOU can tell the difference when YOU play them.

farmerjones - Posted - 05/07/2025:  13:43:42

Find out where the kids are renting their violins. Chances are the renter knows at least rudimentary setup. Some keep a few cherry pieces for sale.  You built a fiddle so you know about violin/fiddle setup. Essentially what's of primary importance is setup. There will be more folks checking in with more details. The right hundred dollar fiddle with a two hundred dollar setup, can work very well.

Edited by - farmerjones on 05/07/2025 13:45:01

Lonesome Fiddler - Posted - 05/07/2025:  17:45:05

Travel to a major media metropolis like L.A. or NYC, where there are an array of musical instrument shops. Phone a few shops to see if their vibe emotionally suits you and then visit them. I'm telling ya, it's always a major treat to visit a place that has a zillion fiddles on the wall. Chances are they'll be happy to exit the room and let you go at 'em. Chances are even better they'll play the fiddles for you so you hear what they sound like when they aren't hanging from your chin. I bought all three of my fiddles this way, making my purchases at three different shops. None of my purchases broke the bank, either.

Edited by - Lonesome Fiddler on 05/07/2025 17:46:25

wrench13 - Posted - 05/08/2025:  03:48:09

If your going to play with rock musicians in that kind of setting, most likely the fiddle will need to be amplified. So its either mic'd or amp'd. Microphone or pickup. Mic-ing a fiddle to rock band volumes can get pretty tricky and frankly a real PIA to deal with on stage. Take 2 steps in the wrong direction and your fiddle might start squealing like a pig! Or there is using a pick-up and plugging it into an amp or the house sound system. Pick-up and electric fiddles are far less prone to feedback (said squealing), but are more dependent on the tone controls (EQ) of the amp for your 'sound'. Mics reproduce the sound of your fiddle, pick-ups can make it sound like anything. I have an old Barcuss-Berry fiddle, black, that has their pick up installed. I can let you have it for what I paid for it, $200 - I got too many fiddles anyway.

LATechBanjo - Posted - 05/08/2025:  07:58:32

@wrench13

Thanks for the offer, but I'd prefer to find something local. I'm in south louisiana.

I've used a piezzo pickup for many years on my current fiddle and it's worked really well. I sprung for the model with the onboard volume knob, which has been fantastic. KNA VV-3V. Its about $160 bucks but really easy on the stage. I plan on getting a second one when I find the right fiddle.

I appreciate all the advice so far! Sounds like I need to make a drive and find a good violin shop with some used instruments and go wild. I'm sure I can find something, but just need to make a day of it and have a budget that I will probably not be able to stick to. :)

ChickenMan - Posted - 05/08/2025:  16:39:47

Our local fiddle club often has folks with fiddles for sale, always very reasonable priced. Maybe there's something like that in your area.

JonD - Posted - 05/08/2025:  16:48:01

Check out Sola Violins in Lafayette. The shop owner (Anya) is also a respected luthier and a Cajun fiddle player. I only know all this having heard her on a podcast-- never been to Lafayette (although would love to visit). Good luck!

The Violin Beautiful - Posted - 05/09/2025:  04:26:16

Start with a price that’s realistic, keeping in mind the need for setup and the cost of bow rehairs and string changes during the year. From there find a shop/luthier you can trust to find you something good. Be careful with deals that look too good to be true—they just about always are.

Condition is important. Find something that’s solid or find something solidly repaired that a shop/luthier is willing to stand behind. Bad repair work can cost you thousands.

If you’re looking at new violins, find something that’s set up well by a professional luthier or buy with the cost of setup in mind. Remember that if you resell, it will be compared to its peers that are brand new. A shop will only pay what the violin costs them, which is usually half of the retail, or in the case of many new factory instruments, often much less, so you can expect to get less than that if your violin isn’t pristine.

If you’re looking at old violins, the same ideas apply, but you also take into account historical significance, authenticity, collectibility, region, and the era of making in pricing. A violin made in a good period by a highly esteemed maker in a major violin making area of the world that has been kept well and is easy to identify will be on the higher end. The more hands that are likely to have worked on it, the less it tends to cost. Here are some examples of pricing:
1) a violin made by a single maker in Cremona at any period will be valuable, but the closer to the Golden period of Strad and Guarneri, the higher the price will typically be. The better its condition, the higher its price will be in comparison to its peers.
2) a violin made in France at the turn of the 20th century will be moderately expensive, and its price will depend on the reputation of the maker or shop from which it originated. If it came from a bigger shop where production was higher and there were likely several workmen making any given violin, the price will be lower. The quality of the wood will also affect pricing, but not quite as much as the shop that made it. If it can’t be identified as coming from a particular shop the price will be lower.
3) a German violin that’s very old (pre-industrial era) will often be moderately expensive because it will often be made by a single maker or family and will show the distinct handwork of a maker of a particular region. The better the condition, the more its value. If it can’t be fully identified, as is often the case, it will be less expensive, but its age and regional style will still add value.
4) a German violin made in the heyday of German violin making (industrial era through the 1930s) could go several ways. If it’s a highly recognized shop and the violin is easy to identify, the value could be fairly high. Violins at this time were made by multiple hands, so they mostly don’t command quite the prices of French or Italian violins by smaller shops or single makers. If the violin can be identified by region but not shop, the price will be much lower. Violins at this level were made to fill several train boxcars every day, so the number produced was astonishing and the amount still surviving is very high. I have been told that, as large as the Chinese violin making operation is today, it still doesn’t match the output of Markneukirchen around 1900. Violins in this range are the sweet spot for most players because they are affordable, and despite being made quickly, the bones in them are good enough that if they don’t sound good, they have a lot of room to be improved. One that has been revoiced and set up well can be worth 10 times that of an example that doesn’t sound good and hasn’t had any work. In recent years the market for these violins, which used to be quite modest in price, has exploded. Violins that were $1000 for the last 30 years have started selling for upwards of $5000-$10000. As the violins hit the 100 year milestone, value tends to go up quickly.
5) a German violin made during or after WWII will be far less valuable because at that time the makers were either involved in the war efforts or they were killed and replaced by far less skilled makers. Quality dropped off the cliff everywhere at this time, and it’s seen in pricing for all violins. Germany continued production, and the materials were decent, but it never fully regained its foothold in the market. Even before the war, Czech workshops were competing at the low end and driving some of the German shops out of business. Postwar, new violins made in Germany tended to be at the entry level mostly and players tended to prefer older violins in much higher numbers than before. For this reason, a violin made even in a well known shop will be worth far less than one made at a better time, where there will be better workmanship and tone. These violins are harder to sell because they weren’t as desirable when they were new and have never become much more so. Eventually the rising tide will raise these boats, but they will remain at the same position relative to other violins of the same region.
6) an American violin will typically be inexpensive unless it’s a new maker. This is because American violins are all over the place—some were made by very good makers who came from abroad and continued their trade while others were made by makers who saw a picture of a violin in a newspaper and whittled one out of whatever wood was at hand at the time with whatever tools they had. Over time a few regional American styles have become recognized (mostly originating from a maker or group of makers in one city who trained others), but expertise on American violins remains limited. There are no official American violin experts, just a few people who know a lot about makers and have seen a lot of violins. If the maker was highly skilled already when coming to the U.S., the value will be fairly high, but you’ll see that the price of the violins will be drastically lower once the maker emigrated even if the quality of making is as good or better. American violins often get a bad rap, so prices reflect that. In recent years, a few collectors have done more to highlight some of the best-known examples of American making, and prices for those makers have increased. But for lesser known old makers, the prices are still quite low and many shops don’t want to touch them. A well made one can be a good bargain for a player so long as resale isn’t important.

These are just some rough examples and they don’t cover the whole market, but they provide some of the reasoning behind basic market trends among old violins.

With the Cajun connection, going to see Anya Burgess makes a lot of sense.

pete_fiddle - Posted - 05/09/2025:  12:57:04

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Violin Beautiful

Start with a price that’s realistic, keeping in mind the need for setup and the cost of bow rehairs and string changes during the year. From there find a shop/luthier you can trust to find you something good. Be careful with deals that look too good to be true—they just about always are.



Condition is important. Find something that’s solid or find something solidly repaired that a shop/luthier is willing to stand behind. Bad repair work can cost you thousands.



If you’re looking at new violins, find something that’s set up well by a professional luthier or buy with the cost of setup in mind. Remember that if you resell, it will be compared to its peers that are brand new. A shop will only pay what the violin costs them, which is usually half of the retail, or in the case of many new factory instruments, often much less, so you can expect to get less than that if your violin isn’t pristine.



If you’re looking at old violins, the same ideas apply, but you also take into account historical significance, authenticity, collectibility, region, and the era of making in pricing. A violin made in a good period by a highly esteemed maker in a major violin making area of the world that has been kept well and is easy to identify will be on the higher end. The more hands that are likely to have worked on it, the less it tends to cost. Here are some examples of pricing:

1) a violin made by a single maker in Cremona at any period will be valuable, but the closer to the Golden period of Strad and Guarneri, the higher the price will typically be. The better its condition, the higher its price will be in comparison to its peers.

2) a violin made in France at the turn of the 20th century will be moderately expensive, and its price will depend on the reputation of the maker or shop from which it originated. If it came from a bigger shop where production was higher and there were likely several workmen making any given violin, the price will be lower. The quality of the wood will also affect pricing, but not quite as much as the shop that made it. If it can’t be identified as coming from a particular shop the price will be lower.

3) a German violin that’s very old (pre-industrial era) will often be moderately expensive because it will often be made by a single maker or family and will show the distinct handwork of a maker of a particular region. The better the condition, the more its value. If it can’t be fully identified, as is often the case, it will be less expensive, but its age and regional style will still add value.

4) a German violin made in the heyday of German violin making (industrial era through the 1930s) could go several ways. If it’s a highly recognized shop and the violin is easy to identify, the value could be fairly high. Violins at this time were made by multiple hands, so they mostly don’t command quite the prices of French or Italian violins by smaller shops or single makers. If the violin can be identified by region but not shop, the price will be much lower. Violins at this level were made to fill several train boxcars every day, so the number produced was astonishing and the amount still surviving is very high. I have been told that, as large as the Chinese violin making operation is today, it still doesn’t match the output of Markneukirchen around 1900. Violins in this range are the sweet spot for most players because they are affordable, and despite being made quickly, the bones in them are good enough that if they don’t sound good, they have a lot of room to be improved. One that has been revoiced and set up well can be worth 10 times that of an example that doesn’t sound good and hasn’t had any work. In recent years the market for these violins, which used to be quite modest in price, has exploded. Violins that were $1000 for the last 30 years have started selling for upwards of $5000-$10000. As the violins hit the 100 year milestone, value tends to go up quickly.

5) a German violin made during or after WWII will be far less valuable because at that time the makers were either involved in the war efforts or they were killed and replaced by far less skilled makers. Quality dropped off the cliff everywhere at this time, and it’s seen in pricing for all violins. Germany continued production, and the materials were decent, but it never fully regained its foothold in the market. Even before the war, Czech workshops were competing at the low end and driving some of the German shops out of business. Postwar, new violins made in Germany tended to be at the entry level mostly and players tended to prefer older violins in much higher numbers than before. For this reason, a violin made even in a well known shop will be worth far less than one made at a better time, where there will be better workmanship and tone. These violins are harder to sell because they weren’t as desirable when they were new and have never become much more so. Eventually the rising tide will raise these boats, but they will remain at the same position relative to other violins of the same region.

6) an American violin will typically be inexpensive unless it’s a new maker. This is because American violins are all over the place—some were made by very good makers who came from abroad and continued their trade while others were made by makers who saw a picture of a violin in a newspaper and whittled one out of whatever wood was at hand at the time with whatever tools they had. Over time a few regional American styles have become recognized (mostly originating from a maker or group of makers in one city who trained others), but expertise on American violins remains limited. There are no official American violin experts, just a few people who know a lot about makers and have seen a lot of violins. If the maker was highly skilled already when coming to the U.S., the value will be fairly high, but you’ll see that the price of the violins will be drastically lower once the maker emigrated even if the quality of making is as good or better. American violins often get a bad rap, so prices reflect that. In recent years, a few collectors have done more to highlight some of the best-known examples of American making, and prices for those makers have increased. But for lesser known old makers, the prices are still quite low and many shops don’t want to touch them. A well made one can be a good bargain for a player so long as resale isn’t important.



These are just some rough examples and they don’t cover the whole market, but they provide some of the reasoning behind basic market trends among old violins.



With the Cajun connection, going to see Anya Burgess makes a lot of sense.

---

Wow!

DougD - Posted - 05/09/2025:  14:42:24

Unless you plan to spend $10,000 or more, traveling a long distance doesn't make much sense to me. Sola violins sounds like just what you need, and there must also be shops in places like New Orleans and Baton Rouge. With as many musicians as there are in your area, there must be places where instruments are bought, sold, and traded.
If you really want a "100 year old unloved thrift store find" you'll need to look in thrift stores, and all I can say is "Good luck!" I've been to lots of them, and have never seen a violin worth a second look. Also "unloved" usually means "uncared for" too, which often means "trouble."
Go see what Anya Burgess has in your price range. You may be pleasantly surprised.