Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in good condition, with lots of dents, dings and scratches overall. There is very light to moderate wear to the edges. No cracks or repaired cracks. This one has the pitchpipe endpin (plays an A for tuning purposes). Top is fine-grained spruce, with lightly flamed maple back, sides and neck. I would classify this one as loud in volume with a bright tone quality. Full sound! Great for bluegrass, folk or Irish!

Overall condition is excellent. Original varnish is in excellent condition, with virtually no dents, dings and scratches overall. No wear to the edges. No cracks or repaired cracks. Top is medium-grained spruce, with nicely flamed maple back, sides and neck. I would classify this one as medium in volume with a warm, sweet tone quality. Very forgiving tone quality that would be perfect for the beginning player of any style!

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in good condition, with numerous dents, dings and scratches overall. There is moderate wear to the edges. There is a tiny, 1/8" tight saddle crack in the top over the block. No other cracks or repaired cracks. Top is very even, fine-grained spruce, with a nicely flamed maple back, sides and neck. The neck is slightly more narrow at the nut, so string spacing is better suited to smaller hands. I would classify this one as medium loud to loud in volume with a bright, clear tone quality. Great for bluegrass, Irish or folk.

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in very good condition, but the top has been revarnished. It matches pretty nicely, but there are scratches and swirls underneath the varnish. Scratches, dents and dings overall, with moderate to heavy edge wear. It looks like there are three repaired cracks in the top, including two repaired cracks extending upwards from the bass f-hole about 1" each, and one that runs down from the bass f-hole about 3". It is difficult to tell cracks from scratches, but I believe this is correct. I don't see any other cracks or repaired cracks. Neck angle is slightly low on this, but it is set up perfectly and plays easily. Top is fine-grained spruce, and the back, neck and sides are beautifully flamed maple. I would classify this one as loud to very loud in volume with a nicely bright tone quality. Very smooth playing and responsive! Even across all strings. Great for bluegrass, Irish or folk!

Overall condition is good. Original varnish is in good condition, though it does have a lot of chips, dents, dings and scratches. Moderate to heavy wear on the edges. There are two well-repaired cracks in the top, including a repaired saddle crack on the treble side that is about 3-1/2" long, and a repaired 2-1/2 crack to the left of the fingerboard. No other cracks or repaired cracks. One corner of the top on the bass side has been chipped and is missing. This will not affect the tone or playability of the instrument. Instrument is solid and ready to play! Nice flaming on the maple back! I would classify this one as medium loud to loud in volume. It has a bright, clear tone quality.

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in very good condition. Very light wear on the edges. Very few dents, dings and scratches overall. There are two repaired cracks in the top. They are 3" and 1-1/4", and both to the right of the tailpiece towards the outer edge of the top. Top is very even, fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are lightly flamed maple. I would classify this one as loud in volume, with a bright and clear tone quality. Great for bluegrass!

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in good condition, but it has lots of dents, dings and scratches. Moderate wear on the edges. I don't see any cracks or repaired cracks. The number "21" has been engraved into the button. See Heel picture. Top is even, fine-grain spruce, and the back, sides and neck and nicely flamed maple. This one has a nice, thin neck, which can make it easier to play if you have shorter fingers! I would classify this one as loud in volume, with a bright and clear tone quality. Great for bluegrass!

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in good condition except for the back, which is in poor condition. I suspect the instrument got very hot either in an attic or car, and it melted the varnish causing the back to stick to the case. Even so, it still has its original varnish and other than looking bad, it is in decent condition. There are some creases in several of the ribs from where the wood was originally bent. See Pic 2. These are not cracks and are completely stable and original to the instrument. There is a slight gap where the ribs meet at the end seam, so I suspect this has been reglued. It also looks like the back seam has been reglued on the lower portion. I don't see any cracks or repaired cracks. "Ernest" is painted in script on one side. See Pic 2. Top is fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are nicely flamed maple. I would classify this one as medium loud to loud in volume, with a moderately warm all around tone quality. Even across all strings! Great for all styles of music! Great price for a nicely made, vintage American instrument!

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in very good condition with dents, dings and scratches overall. There is a 3-1/4" repaired crack in the top extending upwards from the treble f-hole. There is also a repaired 4-1/2" crack in the top under the chinrest that extends from the bottom edge to the bass f-hole. I see no other cracks or repaired cracks. Top is medium to wide-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are maple. Purfling is etched. I would classify this one as medium loud to loud in volume, with a moderate all around tone quality. Even across all strings! Neck is slightly more narrow at the nut, making this more ideal for smaller fingers. Great for all styles of music! Great price!

Overall condition is excellent. Original antiqued varnish is in excellent with virtually no dents, dings, scratches or wear overall. No wear on the edges. No cracks or repaired cracks. Top is fine to very fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are lightly flamed maple. I would classify this one as loud to very loud in volume, with a full, all around moderate tone quality. Nice depth, not overly bassy, and even overall! Great for all styles of music! You will fall in love with this one!

Overall condition is excellent, especially considering its age! Original varnish is in excellent condition with very few dents, dings, or scratches overall. Very light to no wear on the edges. I don't see any cracks or repaired cracks. Top is medium-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are nicely flamed maple. One-piece back! Things that are unique about this instrument include long "ears" on the large scroll, concave button (carved), and fluted edges overall, including nicely fluted f-holes. The MOST unique thing about this instrument is the "Lens Eye Endpin." It has a clear center that you can look through into the fiddle. This was done to help with setting the soundpost. You can see an original Iowa State Gazetteer and Business Directory advertising his unique endpins here. I would classify this one as medium loud to loud in volume, with a moderately bright tone quality. Not harsh or tinny, but not deep and full either. Great for all styles of music! Wonderful instrument to add to your collection or to play! Great piece of American history that you can actually enjoy!

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in good condition with lots of dents, dings, scratches and some wear overall. Moderate wear on the edges. There is one repaired crack in the top. It is 4-1/4" repaired saddle crack to the left of the tailpiece. I don't see any other cracks or repaired cracks. Top is medium to fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are nicely flamed maple. I would classify this one as loud to very loud in volume, with a full, slightly deep tone quality. Nice depth and even overall! Great for all styles of music! Another one of my favorites!

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in very good condition with some light crackling appearing when you look at it closely. Light wear on the edges. Some dents, dings and scratches overall. There is a tight crack in the neck almost 2" long. See Pic 1. There is also a repaired 1/4" crack in rib near the endblock. See End Picture. I also see a couple of tight pressure cracks from where the ribs were originally bent when this instrument was made. See Pic 2 and Pic 3. There is a repair to the f-hole on the treble side. See Pic 4. There is a 1-1/2" repaired crack to the top under the tailpiece. I see no other cracks or repaired cracks. Instrument is guaranteed solid and ready to play! Top is fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are lightly flamed maple. I would classify this one as loud in volume, with a full, slightly deep tone quality. Nice depth and even overall! Great for bluegrass! Another one of my favorites!

Overall condition is excellent. This is a nicely made instrument similar to Robert Dolling. Instrument has been completely refinished. There are scratches under the varnish, especially on the top, but the varnish is in good condition and is not cracking or chippy. Overall there are dents, dings and scratches. I see a well-repaired crack in the top to the right of the fingerboard that extends from the edge downward 3/4". The button has also been reglued (see Pic 1). I don't see any other cracks or repaired cracks. This has really nicely fluted f-holes (see Pic 2)! Light wear to the edges. Top is very even, fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are lightly flamed maple. I would classify this one as medium loud to loud in volume, with a warm, full tone quality. Good volume, great depth and bass without being overpowering! This would be good for any style of music.

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is antiqued and in good condition. It is hard to tell what is normal wear/dings and what was the original antiqued varnish. There are two nicely repaired edges to the top (See Pic 1 & Pic 2). There is a repaired saddle/soundpost crack that runs from the edge to within 1/4" of the bridge. There is a 3/4" repaired wing crack to the treble f-hole. There is a repaired 1" saddle crack under the chinrest. There is a tight crack or a grainline that runs through the G peghole. String is holding with no problems. I don't see any other cracks or repaired cracks. Top is even, fine/medium-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are lightly flamed maple. One-piece back. Nicely arched back and top, with 1-1/16" ribs. I would classify this one as loud in volume, with a full, mature tone quality. Nice depth! Perfect moderation between bright and bassy! This would be good for any style of music and one of my favorites!

Overall condition is excellent. Original varnish is antiqued and is in excellent condition. There is a touched up area on the back. No cracks or repaired cracks. Beautiful, one-piece highly flamed maple back, medium grain spruce top, and nicely flamed neck and sides. This has an ornate tailpiece with metal inlay. I would classify this instrument as loud in volume with a wonderful depth! More of a bassy tone quality without being overpowering! Even across all strings. One of my absolute favorites! Easy to play and very responsive. This would be good for any style of music. Please note: This instrument is on consignment from another violin shop and is not eligible for trade-in or return.

Overall condition is very good. Original varnish is in very good condition with dents, dings and scratches overall. Moderate wear to the edges. There is a well repaired crack in the rib near the endpin. See "End" picture. The top corners (bee stings) are all chipped. I don't see any other cracks or repaired cracks. Top is very even, super fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are nicely flamed maple. I would classify this one as loud in volume, with a clear tone quality. This would cut through any acoustic jam session very nicely! Great for bluegrass or Irish music!

Overall condition is excellent. Original varnish is in very good condition with dents, dings and scratches overall. I see a very well repaired 2-1/2" crack in the top to the right of the tailpiece (see Pic 2), and a tiny pressure crack from bending one of the ribs when the instrument was originally made (see Pic 1). I don't see any other cracks or repaired cracks. Light wear to the edges. Top is very even, fine-grained spruce, and the back, sides and neck are lightly flamed maple. I would classify this one as loud in volume, with a full, deeper tone quality. This would be good for any style of music. It is both a beautiful looking and sounding instrument!