1997 Rudolph Bayerle "Sir James" 4/4 Violin

July 26, 2021

1997 Rudolph Bayerle "Sir James" 4/4 Violin

Rudolph Bayerle was a small builder from North Wilbraham, MA and his son brought-in three of his violins. All are made from good materials and are a bit quirky in their details and build style but very interesting.

This one is titled "Sir James" on the label and is the fanciest and prettiest of the lot. It features fine woods throughout with quite curly maple for the back and sides. The fittings are all high-end save the synthetic tailpiece with fine tuners.

Tone-wise this one is bright, forward, loud, and snappy. It'd make a good lead-voice instrument and has nice, "vintage-violin" handling at the neck. It reminds me of holding an old 1900s-era German fiddle -- slim and quick. The top and back have high arching in an almost Amati-like style, though the plates feel a little thicker.

A local, respected shop did some setup work in the past but they missed a small backbow in the fingerboard -- oops! I leveled that and then set it up and it's ready to go.

Repairs included: fingerboard level, setup.

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid flamed maple

Bridge: maple

Fingerboard: ebony

Neck wood: maple

String height: fiddle-style/lower
Strings: unknown synthetic

Neck shape: slim C, medium-thickness board

Neck relief: straight to octave position, slight rise after

Scale length: 13"

Nut width: 7/8"

Body length: 13 7/8"