a "ladies' violin"

Pirate luthier adventures continued ...

I won't be going on about every single violin that passes through my pirate workshop, but this one is a bit unusual and I already promised I would present it. It's the second of the pair of skylarks I found on gumtree, and it is a tiny bit smaller than the one I presented here. Precise measurements revealed that it is a 7/8 size, and so is the bow and the case. A website on violin sizes helpfully explains:

“A ⅞ size violin is 57 centimeters (or 22 inches) long and is geared towards those with an arm length of 57.5 centimeters (or 22 inches). ⅞ violins are sometimes referred to as the “ladies violin” because they are just ever so slightly smaller than the full size and therefore thought to be more suited towards women (but men can use them too!). Adults may choose to try a ⅞ size instrument if they experience any pain or discomfort when playing a full size, and children who are too big for a ¾ but not quite ready for a full size may also benefit from using a ⅞. ⅞ violins are not very common, so you may have to look a little harder to find one.”

source

Apart from the size it is very similar to the other skylark, has the same label with a different model number, and the varnish is a little bit cheaper but otherwise it looks and sounds ok.

The bridge is very clearly not Chinese, as it is marked "BAUSCH" which is a famous name in the bow-making world, but I'm not sure if that reflects on the quality of bridges or anything else.

In any case, this bridge was also a little bit warped, not as badly as that on the full-sized skylark:

... and I wouldn't have minded playing it in that state for a while, but as I included this one in the bunch of violins I rehomed via freegle, I cut a new bridge for it too. (The warped bridges of both skylarks were very much on the small side, so I'm wondering if somebody went overboard in removing too much material and thus made them vulnerable to bending.) As it happened, one of the respondents to my offer was looking for a violin for a small sized teenage player who had her 3/4 violin stolen, so this "ladies' violin" may actually be just the right size for her.

The four violins I included in my offer have now all left the premises, plus a half-sized Lark which I didn't include because it sounds quite bad and probably can't be improved, but it too found a new family. As I mentioned in the previous entry, the offer led to another violin being donated, for which I also found a new home, so all sorted for now.

Previously in the pirate luthier series:

violin 1) is the one my late aunt had since the 1930s, which got me started. After restoring it in November 2022, I played it almost every day for 14 months, until number 5) showed up.

violin 2) is a Stentor student 1 (a very widely used brand of cheap fiddles available everywhere and still being produced). It has a fault that is probably not worth repairing, see the blog entry on number 3) below. After stripping it of some accessories and spares, I am now inclined to keep it in a semi-functional state to try out experimental repairs, i.e. use it as a wooden guinea pig of sorts.

violin 3) came from a folkie friend who moved away. I put the soundpost back in its place and it has now found a new home.

violin 4) is a modern Chinese one which I bought from one musical friend and sold to another, no work needed.

violin 5) (donated by a friendly freegler) is my new favourite and the one I currently play in folk sessions.

violin 6) is the half-sized Lark which has now found a new home.

violin 7) is a skylark from 1991 which I bought on gumtree for £ 10 and fitted with a new bridge. Good enough for folk I would say. It has now found a new home.

violin 8) is the 7/8 skylark described above

violin 9) is the one which needed a new bridge and a tailgut and turned out to sound quite lovely on the E string. It has now found a new home.

violin 10) is the broken one with traces of multiple repair attempts. I'm still gathering courage to try and fix that one.

violin 11) is the 3/4 sold by JP Guivier & Co Ltd. in the 1950s but may actually be older than that. It has now found a new home.

violin 12) is a full-size Lark which a freegle user kindly donated and delivered after seeing my offer.