More stuff I made, Violins

The one on the far left, and the one in a case on the floor, is a junk store rebuild, the rest I made.
The big one in the middle is a viola. It was my first attempt at violin making.
I got plans from the Seattle Public Library and, except for the selection of woods, followed them. The woods are cherry from a tree in the back yard (some kind of fake cherry, I'm told) and kiln dried lumber yard fir.
A real luthier would sneer.
The other normally shaped one has a maple back and a pine front.
The "scroll" is the head of some kind of monster I invented. I gave up on trying to carve scrolls early on.
The others are experimental shapes I designed after reading a 19th century book on the subject by Heron-Allen. They sound like violins to me.
The one next to far right is made of the proper woods (maple back, sides, and neck with spruce top)
The two you don't see were given to musicians who performed my music for me.
One was a trapezoidal viola with a cat's head and sparkly eyes.
The other was conventionally shaped but with a fist for a scroll.
It was made of oak and pine and my worst workmanship. Nontheless, the person I gave it to decided that it sounded better than her expensive, commercially obtained one. Go figure.



This is not a violin, it is a cello, based on the trapezoidal design.
It is made out of plywood and has a sea monster for a scroll.
This and the two trapezoidal violins and the trapezoidal viola played one of my pieces at the Composer's Salon at Soundbridge at Benaroya hall (terrible place, don't go there)
I played the cello.
I was awful.
There is also a string bass, or contra bass, who can tell them apart? (not a bass viol, though)
Made of wall paneling.
I don't have a picture, maybe later.





This is not a violin at all, it is a humongous fretless acoustic guitar.

Actually, it shouldn't have a tailpiece, (this one is titanium from Boeing surplus)
The strings should be fastened to the bridge so more sound is transmitted to the top.
I might do that some day.