New Old Violin

Devon has finally outgrown his 1/2 size violin, so this week I went on a search for a good 3/4 size for him. I was ready to plunk down some decent cash on one since he is a relatively serious student and is doing well. At Wausau Music Center, Neil had about 30 in stock to choose from. Though I initially wanted a nice, shiny, new one......I ended up with something rather unexpected. He asked me to keep an open mind and showed me one he'd taken in on a trade - a 1979 E.R. Pfretzschner 3/4 violin in questionable cosmetic condition. I took one look at it and thought "forget it" - until I played it. It had a wonderful tone - better than those five times the price! Still, I hesitated - and tried a bunch of others they had in the store. But I ended up with the vintage fiddle anyway, and only spent $100 on it. He'd had a $195 price tag on it but gave me the deal since my mother has been one of his longest running customers. I wasn't sure what Devon would think, but he loved it as soon as he tried it. It's a Stradivarius copy that sounds simply wonderful. His teacher looked it over and gave it the thumbs up. Here is a photo of Devon's new old violin. :)