The Fiddle is an original HOPF instrument.
HOPF was a German company that produced
violins from the 1700s to the late 1800s.
This fiddle is most likely around 150-200 years old.
The most interesting part is that it belonged to Levi's great, great Grampa.
Great, great Grampa Sam bought the fiddle in about 1890, and it wasn't
new when Sam bought it. This fiddle was one of Sam's most prized possessions.
Sam brought the fiddle with Him when He moved from
North Dakota to Alberta in 1907.
Music was a big part of Sam's life and he passed his musical
ability and his love of music on to future generations.
After Sam's passing in 1958, his fiddle went to his son Frank's place.
It was there that it suffered water damage as the roof leaked and the
drippings landed on the fiddle case. The fiddle became useless because the
glue joints came apart on the lower end of the fiddle. Both the top and the back
were separated from the sides.The fiddle remained at the home of Sam's son
Frank until Frank's passing in 1984.
After that it sat at Levi's Grandpa's place in
disrepair. Grandpa (George Larsgard) had tried taking it
to a violin maker to try and see if it was possible to restore
it, but it turned out to be far too expensive and he decided to
just let it be.
Then Levi had a dream.
He dreamed that he went to Grandpa's and got that fiddle.
Once he got it home, it was of course in bad shape, but in the
dream Dad/Darin was examining it and he said "I don't think
you need a fiddle maker to fix that". With that the dream ended, and proceeded to become reality.
Levi phoned his Grandpa the next morning and asked "Where is that old Fiddle?" It was of course in the same place it had been since Grandpa had inherited it, still in the same state of disrepair. So Levi took the quad up to his Grampa's house, got the fiddle, and brought it home in the quad box.
Later that evening Darin was home from work and was looking the fiddle over. It became evident that we didn't need a fiddle maker to fix it. The main problem with the fiddle was that it had been exposed to water, and drastically varying temperature; the top of the fiddle was starting to lift off as the glue had disintegrated. It happened that Dad was on fire watch at the time, so he actually brought the fiddle with him to work, bringing along various carpentry tools and glue, and did the main repairs in the shop on standby. After it was sanded and glued he put it in his truck to let it dry as it was a hot day.
That evening when he was home, he had to manufacture a few parts.
When all was done, we put strings on it. Dad often says in reference to the first few notes Levi played on that newly restored fiddle, "I could hardly keep the water out of my eyes!".
Levi has been playing the fiddle ever since and everywhere we go it attracts a lot of attention. He says he has never found a fiddle yet that really sounds better. It has a very deep low end in its sound with a lot of bark and volume, as well as a very rich sound on the higher strings.
