German Fiddola Receiving New Neck

German Fiddola Receiving New Neck

November 2014

 

I’ve had this old student viola kicking around for years. It has very wide set f-holes, and originally had a screwed on neck with a very narrow fingerboard. Perhaps it was a child’s viola- it is the size of a violin. I could have restored it back to a violin, but it was odd and seemed destined to be a 5-string. So it’s finally getting there. The original neck was too thin and odd, even if it were to be a violin again. And the pegbox was thin. Not a worthy candidate for a neck graft. The perfect candidate for a new top block (original one was split in two) and a new neck and scroll. It is an unlabeled instrument; I’ve been calling it the German Fiddola.

Before neck setting

Neck setting in progress

5-string neck set and ready for varnishing