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Found A Fiddle Repaired by A.M. Batchelder. Glorious!

7/27/2018

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Every now and again,I wander the used fiddle section of Ebay,and usually looking is all I do. However,I stumbled (or was rather guided) to one listing in. "Antique fiddle" it said,with a repair tag inside that stated,(according to the seller) that it was repaired by an A.M. Batchelet".
  So I opened another window on my computer out of curiousity,and looked the name up. Turns out the seller didn't do their homework,and also mis-spelled the name. I found,thankfully,a whole website dedicated to Batchelder violins, who were a father passed on to son violin making team. Starting the the late 19th century the father,Edwin,taught his son,A.M., violin making at a tender age. A.M.,passed on in 1968. He built and repaired violins. They worked out of Maine.  I did ask the seller about how old the fiddle was,to which I got an "I don't know" as a response,which was rather odd as the seller had a lot of used fiddles listed,many that were in the hundreds of dollars range. I got this one as a BIN for under $60. It's a 3/4 size,which is the right size for me.
    I tuned it up after humidifying it briefly,and this fiddle plays like a dream. So easy,lots of volume and a good tone. I want to take it to a qualified fiddle store to find if this was built or simply repaired by A.M. It's a very basic built fiddle as far as looks go. No rich expensive looking wood on this one,but the tone and the playability are absolutely wonderful. I really wish a previous owner hadn't replaced the tail piece.  That's my only complaint about it.  I would love to get an idea as to how old it is as well. There is a repaired crack on the backside on the lower bout....looks to have been a heat crack from what I can tell,but am uncertain on that.
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    Sherrie is a multi instrumentalist,writer,
    arranger with a quick wit and a passion for studying how music plays a role in healing.

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