Sacrilege!

[John Craton]

Only passing mando content here, but I just had to share it. The parents of two of my violin students (sisters) recently bought their girls new violins. They's told me one was blue and one was red. I had assumed they had purchased a couple of the new carbon-fiber instruments which do indeed come (for whatever goshawful reason) in an assortment of colors. When the girls arrived yesterday I found that these were regular violins that the shop has spraypainted blue and red! One can imagine the wonderful tone the instruments now produce. Not only that, but the bridges were set up incorrectly, and I dared not readjust them for fear of scratching their "beautiful" finish. The girls and their parents were very proud of their new violins, and I didn't have the heart to tell them what a tragic mistake they'd made as I know the shop where they bought them and am extremely doubtful they'd allow a return. If I had enough hair to do it, I'd pull out handsful. The only kind thing the shop did was remove the labels, so I have no idea whose work they so desecrated.

I guess my question is, have any of you ever seen such a thing done to a mandolin? Is this a growing practice of music shops to spraypaint instruments? Should luthiers now be required to take a course in auto-body repair? Good grief!

[John Craton]

Please post pictures of these colorful instruments.

I didn't photograph them, but just imagine taking a can a spraypaint and carelessly covering the surface of the instrument. (And be sure to give it several very thick coats to improve the tone!) Even the taping was done poorly (at least they didn't paint the necks or fingerboards). One can also see where the paint went through the f-holes to the inside of the instruments.

I regularly take photos of my students and put them in a gallery on my website, but those are all B&W. For the girls' sakes, they too will appear in B&W when I next update and add their pix. I'll try to remember to post some color ones of their instruments here when I do that.

[Tim Conroy]

Hey, #if it's good enough for Frank, it's good enough for me.

Just make sure they bake them in the oven too.

[John Flynn]

I say mandohack started it with his blue mandolin!

Maybe there is method to the parents' madness. I'll bet those violins don't put out as much volume when the girls are practicing!

[Bob A]

There was a thread a few years ago wherein someone posted photos of an old Embergher bowlback that her father had liberated during WWII; the poor thing had some serious problems, not least of which was being spraypainted red. A real shame. In decent shape these things bring a couple grand, but I doubt she got 10% of that.

[Paul Kotapish]

Gliga violins has a whole line of custom painted student violins. These are relatively inexpensive, entry-level instruments, and they've apparently had great success getting young beginners to bond with their instruments using this hokey approach.

They've got every imaginable animal theme going, plus some solid colors, too.

Gliga "Artistic" Violins

[oldwave maker]

Sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do- top and back rubbed on winsor newton oils over shellac, finished with a coat of deft, sides green alcohol colortone on bare wood with a coat of deft. My frien Bonita sure gives good rind!

[John Craton]

Cute mando! Would that my students' shop had opted for deft. Instead it looks like your K-Mart variety Krylon. (Then again, at least it doesn't resemble a zebra. If my wife sees that photo, she'll want me to paint mine like an armadillo. )

[JeffS]

How does Rigel color some of their mandolins? I've seen white, black, spiderman. Can't be paint.

[devilsbox]

Most of the cheap violins already have an excessively thick coat(s) of finish, I doubt a thin coat of spray paint will make much difference. If this approach gets a kid into music its a good thing!! I certainly would not agree with random painting of a quality instrument! Poly-urethane being the worst offender, at least on a violin.

[violmando]

Actually I have a blue violin that I bought inexpensively to use with my elementary orchestras; it is actually some kind of stain, because you can still see the wood grain. With decent strings, it sounds OK, but nothing special. I have no problem with the painted instruments as long as they are set up Ok and are used with the younger folks for motivation....

[WaywardFiddler]

Gliga violins has a whole line of custom painted student violins.

In truth, my daughter (5 1/2) has requested a dinosaur violin -- Scroll carved to be a T. Rex head, with stegosaurus tuning pegs. This is no joke. I'd happily get a decent 1/10 violin, strip the finish, and go after it with an airbrush.

-dave

[bmac]

My father had an early Gibson which someone had painted the face a color I would best describe as the color of a pumpkin. It took a lot of sanding but I finally got it down to the natural wood. It really looks nice but my father never really appreciated my efforts. I later inherited his Steinway piano which someone had painted black... Man that took some effort but now it matches my dining room chairs. It is amazing what sandpaper and a little wood stain can do to ugly painted musical instruments.

[mad dawg]

Maybe there is method to the parents' madness. I'll bet those violins don't put out as much volume when the girls are practicing!

If you add a mute, will have a silent mandolin?

[PlayerOf8]

The only color I prefer is BLONDE!!!!!!!


G

[fmspinc]

Here are some painted fiddles I saw a few years ago in shop in Ashland Oregon. #No idea the story, always thought they were decorative - but beautiful, and probably playable. #Notice the pix of Vassar below.

[Blueglass]

I like the one with the butterfly has anyone seen some the the Martin painted guitars? I have a friend that has a martin with cowboys on the front.

[TommyK]

Wellll,
Jana Jae formerly of Hee Haw fame sports blue fiddles. It is, however a beautiful thing. Google her name to find her site. The last time I heard her she was keeping CDB on his toes. It's either a transparent color varnish or stained in the wood because the beautiful grain shines through. Kinda looks like the kid in the photoshop thread. You know, the spiderman kid... can't remember his name. Someone Blued the mando he was hackin' on and cleaned up the binding.. Sure looks purty.
Your young ladies in thier rustoleum painted fiddles are another story. If you're teaching them, do what you can with what they've got and get your money up front. They strike me as getting what they want when they want and if it was Case-IH Red and Ford blue they wanted then Case-IH and Ford blue they got! I hope i'm wrong but my guess is they next gew gaw will present itself and the red and blue fiddles will show up on a garage sale selling for exactly what they're worth.

[Bill Snyder]

Blueglass,
The Martin guitars with cowboys on them are not painted per se, They are made of HPL (high pressure laminate) commonly called Formica. It is the same stuff used on millions of kitchen counters across this great land of ours.:p
I used HPL on the back and sides of a mandolin I built. May not sound like a Loar, but a little rain or smoke from a campfire won't hurt it either.

[bratsche]

The blue and red (and white, black, pink, purple, green and just about any color imaginable) violin outfits are all over eBay for twenty-something dollars plus shipping. You can get fairly decent looking (by comparison - I know nothing about the sound!) natural wood ones with some flame figure in the maple for about twice that, so I don't understand the attraction at all. I thought the colored bow hair a few years back was a passing fad, and now they've gone to this. Kids!

bratsche

[Billiam]

Cartoonist Robert Armstrong did the artwork for the Cowboy Martin, and he's done a number of others:



Here's his website.

Robert Armstrong's Art and Novelty Hut

No mando's, but he did guitar for Collings so I guess a one could happen someday.

[mandroid]

Mr. Curious,
Note: a sandwich is a low pressure laminate.
Martin uses a Koa face on one of the Guitars My friend has , Its all wood, no plastic , process of top is a laminate, placed under high pressure,like a C clamp made to do one thing, compress a couple layers of wood together with a resultant engineered soundboard, made into an affordable guitar, with decent tone.

[Tom C]

I always liked Rigel's Killer Bee

[Bill Snyder]

Mandroid,
I don't doubt the accuracy of what you say after all Martin makes several models of guitars. My cheap Johnson mando has a laminate (aka plywood) top. Nice and stable even if it does not have the most wonderful tone.
All of the Martins I have seen myself with cowboy pictures on them have used HPL made from resin impregnated layers of paper, just like the good old kitchen counter top material.

[John Craton]

Okay, I'd promised to post pix of the instruments when I got round to taking them. The photo actually makes them (at least the red one) look better than it really is. Being slightly out of focus (I don't moonlight as a photographer), the red hue looks similar to some standard "red violins." The blue, however, is, well... blue. Not the I particularly mind the colors so much -- if it gets kids to practice more, I'm all for it, and some of you have posted some very imaginative and well done instruments here -- but it's the quality of painting that was done on these violins that troubles me. I honestly think someone at the music store took these into the alley and spraypainted them with Krylon. I've never had the courage to ask what they paid for them, but I have little doubt the store charged extra for the colors. Anyway, that's the end for this thread as far as I'm concerned. At least the girls are learning to play, and one is doing quite well indeed, in spite of Krylon