I haven't added anything here for a while now. The other day I got my copy of The Strad, the last one unless I change my mind, and there was an insert from Bishop Instruments. I like looking through them. The Vuillaume looks great!
The f holes look really cool, and seem even larger than del Gesu's do. The upper corners seem a little too long, but it is a winner. The Sgarbi viola catches my eye too. Wanna talk "barrel shaped"?
Then there is a Guadagnini viola. Huh? That doesn't look like the poster I have. That one is absolutely frumpy looking. This one is earlier from his Milan period; back when he made them cool looking. His later ones do nothing for me. I think he started listening to everyone telling him what he had to do, instead of just doing what he did.
I took a piece of paper and held the pamphlet up to the window, and drew the outline of the purfling, and the f hole in ink on the paper. Then in pencil I drew it up, recreating the lines. I came up with all kinds of connecting points, but it was just a sketch, and many times they don't materialize in a real drawing.
Convinced that it will work I get a 11" X 17" piece of stiff paper, and start drawing. I wondered if they have a full shot of this thing? I googled it, and was shocked! It was butchered!
Well, maybe butchered is a harsh word, but it is close to what I was thinking. The text on the site says that it was made shorter at one time. Why? Want a shorter instrument? Make one. Ah, then it was made longer? I bet it was the name that drover their frenzy. "Short violas are in, let's make this puppy shorter. Then we can make a killing on it." "Guad's are all the rage. Let's tweak this one a little, and say it was re-constructed. Then we can make a killing on it." Yeah, I'm a cynical guy.
This is what I have so far:
I will go with the original f hole I drew. It gives about a 360 mm string length. Maybe on the short side, but it should make it more comfortable to play. The longer one puts the lower hole in a more conventional place, but this isn't about convention.
We'll see what develops. I may lower the upper hole some. It is higher than the original, but all the lines converge on it. The eyes are still 51 mm apart.
