THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. TO BROWSE MY ENTIRE VIOLIN AND VIOLA COLLECTION, PLEASE CLICK ON MY USER NAME AND THEN FILTER BY CATEGORY.

RARE: "Special No. 3" Violin - Suzuki Custom Shop, Nagoya, Japan - Signed by UMEO SUZUKI

Expertise level: Advanced.
Signed: Umeo Suzuki (鈴木梅雄), also stamped with Suzuki-san's personal seal.
Year made: 1967.
Serial #: 914.
Materials: top - select tight-grained Ezo Spruce; back/ribs/neck - deeply flamed Maple.
Varnish: artfully shaded in the Cremona tradition; hand varnished and hand rubbed.
Fittings: Ebony.
Strings: brand new Dominant by Thomastik-Infeld, Austria
Condition: very good vintage condition - structurally, defect-free; cosmetically, there are minor traces of prior use.

Case: premium Toyo Gakki "Shell One" lightweight wooden core case with nylon shell, made in Japan, in very good vintage condition.
Bow: brand new - unused, unrosined - Brazilwood octagonal bow (please see Upgrade Options below)
Accessories: KUN "Collapsible" shoulder rest; unused Hidersine Deluxe rosin (England).

The Special No. 3 was one of Suzuki Violin's top models during the 1960s and targeted professional musicians and advanced players. (The "Special" series included five models, from the No. 1 to the No. 5, with the No. 5 being the highest). The senior models - No. 3, 4 and 5 - were crafted at Suzuki's Custom Shop by the company's top luthiers using the highest quality tone woods. Because of these models' very high price, their fractional versions -- particularly in the 1/2 size -- are very rare.

This specific violin is signed by Master Luthier Umeo Suzuki and stamped with his personal hanko seal (in red color at the top of the label). Umeo Suzuki is the oldest son of Masakichi Suzuki, the founder of the famed Suzuki Violin Company of Japan. Umeo's brother Shinichi Suzuki is known as the creator of the world-famous Suzuki Method.

Umeo Suzuki is a figure of significant importance in the violin making world in Japan. A talented and highly regarded violin maker, after the war Suzuki-san became the company's de-facto chief luthier and in the 1960s was named its President. He is the recipient of many distinctions, including Japan's Medal of Blue Ribbon and Order of Sacred Treasure. His instruments are sought after by collectors and command high prices.

This violin is built with a flawless perfection. It is light, responsive, and resonant. The tone is complex and well balanced across the entire range. At the same time, it preserves good separation and clarity. For a 1/2-size instrument, this violin's sound quality is nothing short of exceptional.

The violin features a beautifully flamed two-piece back and a tight-grained Ezo Spruce top (Ezo Spruce - or "the Northern Spruce" - is a slow growing Spruce familiy species from Japan's northern Hokkaido island and is currently a restricted species). The violin is artfully shaded and hand-varnished in the Cremona tradition.

The violin is in very good vintage condition. There are no cracks, repairs, seam separations, or other structural defects. It is in very good condition cosmetically. The violin has been maintained: it has new pegs, new tailpiece, and new chinrest; it is equipped with a brand new set of Dominant strings. 

Upgrade Options:

I can offer the following modifications to this listings - if you have interest, please feel free to inquire:

• The ebony tailpiece shown in the images can be replaced with an integrated Wittner "Ultra" tailpiece with four fine tuners (+$15)
• The Dominant strings can be replaced with Obligato (warm) or Evah Pirazzi (focused) strings (+$30)
• The Brazilwood bow included in this item can be upgraded to one of the more advanced Pernambuco bows I currently have available ($45 credit towards the purchase of the advanced bow)

V312