1900s Strohviols Concert 1-String Phonofiddle

I didn't get a video of this and that's mildly unfortunate because it sounds quite a bit different from the last phonofiddle I had in (click here to check that out). That's because, unlike the other one, the horn on this is better quality and the resonator is actually mica rather than aluminum. I have a picture of that down the post, some, from when I had it open to clean.

This instrument is missing its original fingerboard, tuner, and nut but I made up for that by leveling the "fingerboard" area, adding position markers, and setting it up for the lowered plane of the neck. I think the effect is overall rather folksy and endearing -- which is what this instrument is!

Tonewise, compared to the aluminum-resonator phonofiddle, this one is warmer and rounder-sounding and sounds an awful-lot like a Chinese erhu. I was impressed! It has that weird, midrange "honk" that's got to be due to the horn/resonator setup, though, and allows it to cut nicely.