| The violin business has many treacherous tales to | | | | Forgery knows no decency and it doesn't stop at |
| tell. With rare items selling at Christies for millions, | | | | false labels and a few scrapes. I heard of a |
| the trade can be highly lucrative for swindlers, | | | | prominent violin shop in England that used to keep |
| thus attracting unscrupulous salesman like fruit | | | | a drawer full of old dust bunnies they salvaged |
| flies to sticky paper. As in other "make money | | | | from violins coming through the shop on repair. A |
| quick" scams, such as the automotive industry | | | | profit-hungry luthier crammed these nasty little |
| and the current housing market, the violin industry | | | | morsels through the f-holes of violins for sale, |
| has attracted all sorts of scary salespeople, | | | | obscuring the label and adding age to the violin. |
| excluding of course yours truly. | | | | The buyer was tricked into thinking the violin was |
| Not all violin sellers are dishonest, some of us nice | | | | ancient enough to have accumulated such filth and |
| folks are helpful, hard-working people who just | | | | believed it must be authentic. |
| love all things strings. But with an instrument that | | | | (Really, I'm not making this up.) |
| is surrounded in powerful mystique and glorified | | | | Virtuous shop owners get our violins the old |
| by films like "The Red Violin," this high-profit | | | | fashioned way: We order them from a supplier or |
| market inspires many seedy entrepreneurs to | | | | maker, take instruments on trade or consignment |
| cash in on the rotting old relic in the attic or | | | | from customers and buy from other dealers. |
| snatch up "Lot No. Thirty" on auction to make a | | | | However some greedy wheeler-dealers sink |
| quick buck. | | | | pretty low and prey on the ignorance of the |
| Such shysters get their sweaty paws on a find | | | | violin's owner in their home, usually an elderly |
| and greedily examine the label, hoping they've | | | | person with a failing memory and an inability to |
| fetched a rare gem. But oh, dang. It doesn't say | | | | stand up for himself. The wheeler dealer |
| "Stradivarius?" | | | | practically takes the fiddle for a song (mind the |
| Sorry bub, but even if the label claimed to be a | | | | pun) and the seller catches on to the scam but |
| Strad, all the authentic ones have been accounted | | | | only too late. |
| for. You're ain't gonna strike it rich on another dud | | | | It's even been rumoured that some nasty violin |
| swimming among a pestilent sea of million copies. | | | | barterers even check the obituaries and contact |
| Ahh, but some cunning salesmen have learned to | | | | the next of kin of deceased violinists! But maybe |
| change the label to suit their bank account, | | | | that's a hair-raising story violinists tell their kids at |
| making fake labeling one of many infamous | | | | the campfire. |
| atrocities of the violin sales underworld. | | | | This next chilling story really happened. During |
| The creepy craft of label forgery has become so | | | | music college I was having a bow rehaired at a |
| rampant that it's difficult for most ordinary people, | | | | big city violin shop. The owner talked my bow |
| and even some experts, to tell authentic from | | | | down and said it wasn't really worth fixing up. This |
| fake. Some enterprising scoundrels photocopy | | | | is the typical ruse employed to drive the price |
| images of actual violin labels from old reference | | | | down. After this he casually offered me $100 for |
| books, usually those of rare and obscure makers. | | | | it in its poor condition. It was too darn fishy, so I |
| They then stain the paper with black tea and | | | | didn't take him on his offer. I've since learned the |
| craftily glue the impostors into cheap violins posing | | | | bow is worth at least $1000 or much more if it's |
| as the real McCoy. | | | | sold on auction. |
| Voila! The value of this old junk has just | | | | Another bloodcurdling story. Recently the host of |
| miraculously inflated by 800%! It's a ghastly and | | | | a house concert I was playing at brought out his |
| highly unethical practice, but it is unfortunately | | | | old violin for me to see. Well, it wasn't really his |
| done all the time. | | | | violin but an unwanted replacement. He had taken |
| I think some luthiers (violin makers/repairers) are | | | | his original violin in to some shop for repair and |
| like computer hackers. The shadier of the lot are | | | | the owner secretly swapped it for an inferior |
| remorseless show-offs who abuse their talents | | | | violin and probably made big cash on the stolen |
| and take up a life of crime rather than producing | | | | one. By the time the owner realized he'd been |
| honest work. Like the notorious "Mafiaboy" | | | | duped it was too late and the shop had |
| wrecking havoc on CNN's website for kicks, a | | | | conveniently closed. |
| similar deceptive creativity oozes from dishonest | | | | Are you spooked yet? How about this terrifying |
| luthiers as they spawn very convincing forgeries | | | | tale. |
| of master instruments. | | | | Before I knew much about violins I, too, was |
| This is the nastier practice of copies. Not only is | | | | burned. The dealer had an Italian violin worth |
| the label counterfeit, but even the violin is such a | | | | $8000, then on his written appraisal he claimed it's |
| convincing forgery that it stumps the experts. | | | | replacement value was $10-$12K. I got it for only |
| Case in point, the "Messiah Stradivarius" violin's | | | | $4500. Was it too good to be true? |
| authenticity has been disputed for years, resulting | | | | Yes. In the end it turns out the violin was only |
| in anything from chemical analysis of the varnish | | | | worth about $1000 and the "Italian" markings |
| and extensive grain examination. Some poor sods | | | | were indicative of a typical German school of |
| in lab coats spend weeks under a magnifying glass | | | | violin making. I had saved for years and taken on |
| counting the tree rings in the wood to determine | | | | several grueling gigs that summer to pay for it. I |
| the actual age of the timber then somehow | | | | got my money back less $1000 after much |
| compare it to the date on the label. | | | | arguing. I ended our business relationship and was |
| The final decision, if the experts ever come to | | | | what motivated me to learn more about violins |
| agreement, will make or break the assessed | | | | and eventually open my own shop so this |
| value of £10,000,000 so this science is | | | | wouldn't happen to my students again. |
| taken very seriously. | | | | There are many, many other spooky violin sales |
| Okay, it's not all lies and deceit. Some honest | | | | horror stories that will make your toes curl, but I |
| luthiers simply enjoy the challenge of creating a | | | | don't want to give you bad dreams. Just do some |
| reproduction for players and collectors who can | | | | research before buying or selling, ask lots of |
| never afford the real deal. It's actually an intriguing | | | | questions and if a deal ever feels fishy don't be |
| and specialized art to create a violin worthy of | | | | pressured to go through with it. Soon you will buy |
| the original maker. Simulated neck grafts, blurred | | | | and sell with confidence and you may even help |
| labels, worn varnish indicating years of wear and | | | | weed out the weanies. |
| intentional scrapes and dings instantly make a new | | | | As for me, I've built excellent business |
| violin more mysterious, adding to the appeal. | | | | relationships with reputable companies and dealers |
| Certain copies are just as good as the original and | | | | and I've made the personal decision to never burn |
| it's fun to look over a copy and appreciate the | | | | anyone. I'll never get rich off this practice, but I |
| detail the maker put into it. The difference here is | | | | sleep great at night and there are no monsters |
| that the buyer knows they are buying a copy | | | | under my bed. |
| and there is no huge hoopla when someone with | | | | Just old violin cases! |
| far too much money pays $3 MILLION for a dud. | | | | |