I've Seen This Movie Too Many Times
 

Happened to see "The Red Violin" playing on a cable channel and put it on for a while. I just noticed that when he finishes applying the "red" varnish, and hangs it up to dry, he had used the "speed neck" style with no varnish on the back of the neck. Who knew a 17th century builder would be accommodating bluegrass musicians.

I don't know about bluegrass speed necks, but the "no varnish" violin neck is in the tradition.
Actually, the neck is protected by the first uncoloured coats of varnish (which is natural resins dissolved in alcool or oil bases). The coloured coats are then applied everywhere else, then the neck is sanded to a mat finish, with very smooth transitions at the head and heel.
So the neck itself appears to be let raw, but no.

Yeah, there's just too much violins on TV...

I'm getting me coat.

I enjoyed the movie. Having that fiddle end up with Vassar Clements would have been the perfect final touch.

:lol:

................

Ah yes. The Red Violin was a bloody good film! ;)

That's pretty much the way all necks have been done on orchestral stringed instruments for a few centuries at least. Its also what I do (or have done while they're being built) on all my "keepers" whether they're used for bluegrass, jazz, folk, rock, etc.

:D

Well, it's got Samuel L. Jackson in it! You know it's gonna be bloody.

And the only one where he doesn't use the MF word 697 times.

Red Violin
 

I just read the synopsis of the movie on IMDB.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeew!" :eek::hmm::sick:

- and the sax is even worse... :cool:

Really interesting Thread
 

I'm finding this discussion really interesting, though I haven't seen the movie. The reason it interests me is that I just bought a La Patrie Concert, and, while the body has a beautiful gloss finish, the neck has a "matte" finish -- and I love it. My thumb is very firm, yet slides easily along the neck. I find, sometimes, with the more typical glossy finished necks, that my thumb will "catch" on the finish and make transitions between positions just a little jerky. As a grade-schooler many years ago, I had at least six or seven years of violin lessons (my father insisted) and always wondered why the necks seemed to have been unfinished. Now I know. Thanks. Oh, BTW, I was a really lousy violinist -- never had a real connection to the instrument. I could play the notes but not the music.

More my ignorance of bowed instrument history, over the past few years I come across particularly mandolins that have had the finish stripped off the back of the neck. I could sort of see applying steel wool to cut the gloss but stripping down to the bare wood seems excessive. I've walked away from buying a few just because of this.

My recent experience probably caused me to note the scene in the movie where Biscotti has finished applying the varnish and hangs it from the ceiling to dry. First time I noticed no red varnish on the back of the neck and I immediately thought of these guys stripping the sunburst lacquer finish off their mandolins.

With Samuel L. Jackson in it Ill pass on seeing it.

Ill also pass on sanding the finish off my guitars.