1900s Stainer "Devil's Head" (German-made) 4/4 Violin
I do like the odd old Stainer fiddle. This one plays well and has grand tone but that's not its most appealing trait -- that's at the "scroll" on the headstock. In place of the scroll is a carved "lion's head" but this "lion's head" has horns! So - what is it? A demon? A devil? A lison? I'm skeptical of the originality of the horns but I've seen plenty of Stainers with the lion's head "scroll." I'm guessing that someone popped horns in it for fun later-on.
This was previously-owned by a fellow who knew fiddles and even toted this (and another nice one) around in a double-fiddle case for shows. I owned one of those for a while, too... though I still don't know fiddles, my gosh.
It arrived in good order and I just needed to adjust the soundpost and set it up. It has an even, warm, "rustic" tone to it that I find a lot of old-time fiddlers tend to enjoy whenever they're in the shop and a Stainer is around. Mind you -- this is stamped Stainer on the back but it has no relation to the "original" Stainers. These are late-1800s/early-1900s "copies."
This one's made nicely and has a one-piece back that's a little dull-looking but good quality wood. It's crack-free and has a lived-in, charming look to it.
Repairs included: fret level dress, setup, etc.
Top wood: solid spruce
Back & sides wood: solid maple
Bridge: maple
Fingerboard: ebony
Neck wood: maple
String height: fiddle-style/lower
Strings: looks like Super-Sensitives
Neck shape: slim C, medium-thickness board
Neck relief: straight
Scale length: 12 3/4"
Nut width: 7/8"
Body length: 13 7/8"
Body width: 7 3/4"
Body depth: 1 3/8"
Weight: 1 lb 1 oz
Condition notes: while it shows plenty of mild usewear throughout (and a lot of faked "aging" done at the factory when it was made -- this was popular back then, too!), it's in good order and appears crack-free. The tailpiece is a Wittner-style metal unit with four fine adjusters rather than wood, though.
It comes with: I included a photo of the two-fiddle TKL case that it came in, but I can supply a single-violin hard case instead.
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