The Trash Violin

An old German violin, rescued from a kerbside collection and restored

Some instruments come to me with a story. This one arrived with one of the best I have heard.

A client found this violin on the side of the road during the council’s kerbside collection, put out with the hard rubbish. She rescued it, and brought it to me with a simple request: “I just don’t want it to go to waste. Do something with it.” I am so glad she did, because someone had thrown away a genuinely lovely old violin.

What it actually is. Its label reads John Baptist Schwitzer, but like many thousands of instruments of its time this is a trade copy rather than the master’s own work. It is made in the Eastern German style, and I believe it dates from somewhere around the 1870s to 1890s. Part of its charm is that it was built to look far older than it really is. Antiquing was already fashionable in the late 1800s, and this maker leaned right into it, even down to painted-on “cracks” and a decorative neck graft that were never real. Look closely, though, and there is real craft here: unusual five-strip purfling instead of the usual three, beautifully cut f-holes, lovely fluting, and an extra winding on the scroll. It was made in numbers, but it was made with care.

The restoration. When I opened it up I found the marks of a long life: several cracks, including the common ones by the f-holes, and some old repairs that had not held. I glued every crack, saved and refitted as much of the original wood as I could, because the original timber is sacred to me, and reinforced the inside with cleats and a specially fitted insert so those areas should stay sound for another hundred years. The old bass bar was in the wrong position and far too heavy, so I removed it and fitted a new one from beautifully seasoned wood around eighty years old, which makes a real difference to the tone. Then I tap-tuned the plates and set the whole instrument up to a soloist standard.

How it plays now. The transformation is the part I love. It has come alive with a deep, warm voice, a wonderfully rich and singing G string, and a lovely tone right across the instrument. When a couple of experienced players came in to try it, their reaction said everything. This is a characterful old German violin with genuine warmth and depth, well suited to an advancing or serious player who would rather have an instrument with real history and soul than a shiny new one.

Fully restored and set up by Olaf, including:

• All cracks repaired, original wood preserved, and the interior reinforced with cleats and a fitted insert
• A new, well-seasoned bass bar, tap-tuned for the best tone
• A new French bridge and a soundpost, fitted and adjusted for a soloist-level sound
• Fingerboard planed true, with a new nut and saddle
• New boxwood pegs, fitted and finished, a new tailpiece with a fine tuner, and one of my branded chin rests
• Evah Pirazzi Gold strings
• A full clean, polish and varnish retouching, keeping that lovely built-in antique look

Specifications

• Type: Violin, full size (4/4)
• Origin: German, Eastern German style, circa 1870s to 1890s
• Label: John Baptist Schwitzer (a period trade copy, not the master’s own work)
• Condition: Fully restored and set up in the workshop, ready to play
• Included: [instrument only / full outfit with case and bow — to confirm]
• Price: $5,880

Watch the full restoration. This is a rare listing where you can watch the whole journey, from the dusty violin that came out of the rubbish to its very first notes.

Every instrument includes Olaf’s Master Set-up

My instruments are easier to play, because I personally carry out my Master Set-up. Many string players struggle simply because their instrument has never been set up properly and will not do what they need it to do. This can cause problems with playing in tune, and in extreme cases even RSI. It is just not worth the risk of a badly set-up instrument.

• The fingerboard is planed to a professional standard, giving it the same shape as the instruments you hear in concert halls around the world.
• I fit a professional-quality French bridge, crafted by a master violin maker with specialised acoustic knowledge, so the instrument sounds the best it can.
• I fit a professional-quality soundpost to bring out the rich tonal qualities. There is a reason it is called the “soul” in many languages: it takes a master to fit and position it just right to make an instrument sing.
• I fit great-quality strings for that rich sound.
• Each peg is carefully refitted so the instrument is easy to tune.
• The tailpiece is checked and refitted into its best acoustic position.
• I check and recheck the string height and spacing until it is absolutely perfect, because a violin is only easy to play when the string height is right.
• I play each instrument and adjust it until I am so happy with it that I would want to keep it myself. This way you can be sure that when your instrument leaves my workshop, everything about it is perfect.

Buying with confidence

• Free shipping Australia-wide and internationally
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Every instrument hand-set-up by a master maker, not a player with a shop
• View Olaf’s Instrument Care Guide in the link below

Let us know if you have any questions.