1933 Vermont-made Clyde Hunter 4/4 Violin

Update #2: This instrument now comes with a fit bridge for fast, "fiddle" action height as well as a second "classical" fit bridge. It's currently setup for fiddling.

Update: Mr. Rolf sent me a wonderful email link to a Google Books entry on Mr. Hunter. Click here for that.

This violin/fiddle has the excellent history of being made in Lyndonville, VT by a Mr. Clyde H. Hunter in 1933. It was his 2nd instrument and has an excellent, punchy sound to it. It's along the lines of a traditional violin but the arching on both the back and front is very steep and so it has a deeper body than usual. It's interesting!

A while back it was setup and adjusted by a classical string luthier and it's maintained its well-setup state. All I had to do? Tune it up and hang it on the wall!

Apparently this (now-aged) natural finish is original to the instrument.

The top is of course spruce and the ribs/sides appear to be maple. I'm not 100% on the back -- it's either a "sandy" semi-curly maple or it's curly birch. It's very hard to tell with the general age-wear but I'll bet you that this is all local wood.

The pegs, board, and tail are all rosewood.

Well-fit pegs... and strings that're either rope or synthetic core. I can't quite tell, but they're not your average thin-sounding Super Sensitive steel-core sets I see fiddlers with all the time up here.

Pretty tail, huh? The 4 fine tuners make adjustment very easy.

It's hard to complain about a one-piece back!

This is entirely crack-free, too, save one very tiny (less than 1/2") hairline at the lower bout rear... that's been glued-up.

Yes, all the purfling is "the real stuff."

A nice Despiau bridge has been fitted.

This comes with a good, period hard case and a decent bow.

Here are the historical bits of interest...

...and the eventual conclusion of Miss Holly's studies on the fiddle!