Reconditioned long violin

This violin is a bit of an enigma for us. It is well made and very nicely finished. However, the neck stop measures 133mm (usual is 130mm) and string length is a whopping 132mm. There is no label in this violin.

Perhaps a copy of a long Strad model? Or maybe an experiment, some old Italian makers like Guarneri tried different sizes of violin. This violin could be a copy of Il Cannone by Guanari that Paganini played.  It does have some similarities, for example the colour of the varnish and the long string length.

We would not suggest this would be a good purchase for an aspiring student, as it is different and a little difficult to play when going from a standard string length.