Loud, Muscular Tyrolean

No, it's not Arnold Schwarzenegger!
What we do have here is an old Tyrolean with a badly faked label stating it was made by Mathias Albanis (1650-1712) of Bolzan in the Tyrol in 1701. He was the son of the elder Mathias (1621-1673), a celebrated pioneer of early violinmaking who is assumed to have learned from Jacob Stainer. Having said that, I still would not rule out the possibility that it was made by the younger Albanis. Well, whoever made this fiddle certainly made it about that time or a little later. When I bought it, the warped bridge was about half the normal height. It had a modern fingerboard, but the neck, although firmly set, had a heavy 'hand' and was not pitched back at the modern angle. I had the fingerboard splinted to accomodate a full size bridge. I'm not sure of the wood on this guy - acorn wood? maple back and sides? If nothing else, it is an early violin by an anonymous Tyrolean luthier. The more I look at it, I'm thinking of Tyrolean makers like Jais or Thir from the later part of the 18th century. The tone is very strong, deep and resonant as one might suspect, but not sweet or greatly sympathetic on the whole.

The table is finely grained spruce, 20 rings/inch in the bridge area and 15 on the flanks. The back is of two well matched pieces. The varnish is a dark purple/brown over a light chestnut ground. Chin and beard chafing is apparent under the chin rest as well as other areas of the belly. The back is well worn where it made contact with the player's garment. The Maginni like 'f' holes are narrow and quite slanted in the Brescian tradition. There is no purfling front or back, but a set of perfectly parallel scribed lines where the purfling would normally be - although not inked in.

The narrow throat is in the baroque manner with a wide set eye but rather crudely carved.

When I bought it, the bridge was extremely low, and the action was impossible.
Since the neck/block connection was very solid, Frank Finocchio of Easton, Pa, a respected guitar builder & authorized Martin Guitar repairman and great overall mechanic, removed the fingerboard and splinted the neck to the proper height and inclination. The splint is purposely undisguised. The stove in rib was well repaired in another life and shows no sign of weakness.

Bridge is at optimal height for max volume and playability. All seems are holding well.

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This angle and lighting show the quick rise from the channel in the midbouts, forming zones that divide the interior air space into upper and lower chambers; an exagerated form of the high Stainer modelling -- and experimental concept that was ultimately abandonded.

MEASUREMENTS
LoB 359 mm. -- upper body 167 mm. -- lower body 208mm. mid bouts 111 mm. -- rib ht. 30.2 mm.

This now has a proper bridge height and string clearance -- but notice the lesser back angle and what appears to be a little shorter than usual neck length. The rib height is a beefy 30.2 mm.
This is Leviathan come out of the Alps --- one gigantic fiddle!

SOUND & PLAYABILITY

The tone is very deep and the noting is true and very pronounced, but not sweet enough to fascilitate playing in a classical or even a bluegrass idiom that demands fast, fluid, sympathetic double stops. Best used as a single noter -- strong throught all registers, although a little tinny or metallic sounding for my taste. Response is fairly immediate but nuance and sweetness are sadly lacking.

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