More than many other wooden instruments, fiddles "stiffen up" sitting unused and even when set up anew need to be played in to restore resonance and tone.
A good short-cut is to hang the instrument (properly set up and tuned up) on a decent stereo speaker and play music to it 24/7 for a few months. The musical vibrations will soothe the box and get it back on the road to good mechanical/musical condition.
I prefer a classical station...
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Harmony Sovereign H-1203
"You're making the wrong mistakes."
...T. Monk
Theory is the post mortem of Music.
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