Violin/Fiddle: Weather Affecting

Subject: Fiddle questions
Date: Sun, 21 Dec 2003 00:15:11 -0000

Dear Folk,

Greetings from west Africa! I enjoy your site and am enjoying even more a
Morgan Monroe madolin purchased from you last winter. I'm writing now about
a fiddle: I would like to purchase a one to learn on, but my main concern
is not so much tone and such, but DURABILITY. Everyone I talk to here says
violins will not hold up under the tremendous weather shifts we have here -
going from 10% humidity most of the year, to 90% for 3 months of the year.
They say I'd be crazy to bring a violin here. Well, perhaps I'm crazy, but
I really want to get your opinion on this. Is there a 'heavy duty' violin
you could recommend for such conditions? I was thinking of something
constructed mostly from plywood (sides and back) but don't see anything on
your site like that. My fear is that a finer instrument would be that much
more fragile. Do you think one the various $100 models you carry would
hold up for a few years? Any advice you can give will be helpful. I'm
planning to have someone hand-carry it over here in the near future. Thanks
for your help.

Brad Smeltzer
in Mali, West Africa.
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Greetings Brad,

Violins are far more sensitive to weather changes...and a new import violin in the 100.00 range will not do you justice.

If you can find a well-seasoned violin, one that's withstood many years of weathering, such as a 50-100 year old one, you may find it will do you better than a newer cheap import. Notwithstanding, it may still have problems, however, it will at least have a chance since it has had many years to settle in...newer inexpensive violins, with less-seasoned woods, and new joints, are far more susceptible to having problems in extreme environments.

Thanks for thinking of us on your second purchase, hopefully, something here has been of help to you...Mickey