I have a good friend, Simon who makes his living behind the lens, back in the day he used to work on all the big name films (ask him about his ‘on the set of star wars story’…broke something he did), till he needed to stay put and raise a family. These days he does a lot of portraiture, but with a cinematographers eye for composition. I love this style because sometimes he doesn’t chase simplicity by avoiding complexity…he embraces it.
Simon took this photo of me in my workshop recently…I love it because it captures the essence of what I do, every day. I used to apologise to my customers for my messy workshop, especially if I was in the middle of a glue up…but you know what? they really seem to like it. I guess in the glitzy, fast paced work of influencers and chasing perfection there is something really honest about “here I am, just doing what I do, pull up a chair and try some instruments, if you like one take it home”
He also did this great little film as well. My mate John kindly played some guitar to accompany my fiddle playing of “Raglan Road” for the background. Forgot to wear my hat though , so its a bit shiny 😉
Restringing a violin is relatively straight forward and easy task to undertake. Usually about once a year is about right for the average violin players restringing frequency. Its a good idea to keep a spare set of strings on hand in-case one breaks so you can do it straight away, and then once the first one is changed check out the others, to see if they might need changing as well. You see, before a violin string breaks, usually its has started to degrade.
Tell tale signs of needing a strings change are :
1. Discolouration such as oxidation as a white powered on aluminium strings and rust on steel strings (particularly the E string)
2. The winding on the outer string is starting to unravel. This may occur at points of higher preassure such as the bend at the nut and over the bridge. Also common is the A string when the first few fingers go down
3. The ‘sparkle’ has gone out of the sound. That is over time strings stretch and thus lose their elasticity. once this is gone their ability to support the over tone harmonics is also diminished. ‘Sparkle’ is the technical term 😉
4. Just before a string breaks it loses its ability to stay in tune, make sure this is not due to to peg slippage though. Its the internal fibres of the string starting to let go.
If your changing the strings yourself (and you should learn to do this) also :
1. Make sure to ‘lube’ the nut and bridge with a lead pencil so the string can move easily.
2. Clean up the fingerboard underneath, if its grooved then get that seen too as this will effect the strings ability to vibrate properly.
3. Make sure the pegs still grip, and don’t creak or jump – this is a sure sign that a peg break is likely in the future – and need some lube or peg paste.
4. Make sure the pegs turn smoothly, if not the peg holes may be slightly out of round and need some reaming. Ebony is harder than maple and wears it away over time.
5. When winding the string on, wind the string on away from the peg wall for a turn then cross it over itself to lock it onto the peg and wind the string up to the peg wall its closest to on the nut, this helps stop the tapered peg from escaping the peg box a little. (If this doesn’t make sense ask someone that knows a bit more that you)
See changing the strings at 2:40s
A violin restringing is a bit like a minor service, so in addition to all of the above give the violin a good look over and a clean (nothing but a gentle cloth and the tip of your tongue to moisten it though). If it has any issues that need attending to take it to someone for an opinion.
Also make sure to pickup your next set of strings at this time to (though the old ones can be emergency spares for a while). You might also like to try another brand/make of string as well…they all sound different so depending on what sound you are looking for get some advice there as well (see Violin String Selection Guide…for Brisbane-ites and beyond )
This lovely old violin came my way recently in quite good condition and looks to be well made. However the neck is what let it down and it turned into quite a rabbit hole.
The button had at one stage been broken on the violin and been repaired with an internal button graft , complete with wooden pins. Higher up on the neck root signs of fracture, were plan to see. A neck graft was required…
On disassembly the reason for the fracture was plain, the screw holding the neck to the body had rusted into the timbers. This method of neck attachment, as a butt joint was common on older violins, especially baroque era instruments. Today it serves less well as there is a lot of strain placed on the button and end grain gluing of the neck root to the ribs is not considered sufficiently strong for modern higher tension strings. Originally the neck and top block would often be nailed together for strength, though on this instrument was likely replaced by a screw.
The solution for this instrument was to graft on a new neck root, ensuring plenty of parallel grained timber for strength as end grain gluing is not that strong. Also a modern neck joint was carved into the neck block to increase gluable area at the bottom of the neck root and mechanical strength of the joint as well.
Once this was undertake, neck angles set and the button graft attended to, it was time to finish the neck with sufficient traditional pigments and a bit of “splodge” to blend in better.
I’m looking forward to playing this instrument…but first the peg box needs some attention as well…so I need to be patient
Cello repairs on the numbers outweigh violin repairs, proportionally speaking. This is especially for student instruments. They are small enough they can be carried about by students, but large enough that it’s a bit clumsy to handle. One of the most common causes of injuries is the humble chair, against which a cello leans and inevitably topples when left unattended.
The most common injury from the toppling is the neck break (which I discuss on my Cello repairs page ). The challenge for student cellos is the fingerboard, which is often attached with “white glue” and thus more time consuming to remove and more likely to leave some scaring.
Cello fingerboard removal
Its desirable to remove the fingerboard to pin the neck across the break to give it further strength. However it is often necessary to undertake if there is a screw placed there at the time of manufacture (common among some student brands).
Cello neck break showing recessed hole where a screw was placed when it was made
Where this screw doesn’t exist, pinning through the fingerboard helps substantially reduce the time to repair…and thus the cost. While a ‘no-no’ for traditional instruments, its widely considered acceptable for student grade instruments though.
Whats best for the cello repair is highly variable dependance on factor like
How does a violin make a sound? How does a violin work? Here are some insights into the physics of a violin for an understanding of how it works. In essence a violin is a series of signal chains that create, transduct and filter the vibrations of the strings as they make their way to the tone woods of the instrument. The creation of the sound is both the mechanical properties of what makes up the violin together with the players input. Having an understanding of how the violin works can be a useful input into component selection of the instrument and of course technique improvement- which takes years and years.
This is an overview of how the entire system is integrated – each one is a topic in its own right and rabbit hole to explore in the future.
The violin tailpiece in an integral part of the mechanical structure of a violin, a convenient place to tune your string or strings but also plays a big role in the sound production of a violin.
While you bow your violin on the other side of the bridge there are also vibrations happening on the strings and tailpiece on the lower half of your violin, in a sympathetic way.
Understanding this is a key to getting a little extra sparkle out of your instrument. I have seen many a fine instrument miss out on a little extra boost to its sound through poor tail piece setup, choice or a sole focus on aesthetic. All of these are easily rectified and can improve the sound and convenience of your instrument.
Choices in timber or modern materials, sound adjusters and the geometry of setup can all make a difference. So here is 10mins of your life you won’t get back to find out more
Almost gone are the days of using a tuning fork to tune your instrument. Actually I still have one in my case but usually I’m tuning to a piano. Enter the rise of violin tuners….
For the beginner a tuning fork takes some getting used to , its only one note (and its 440Hz but thats another story). There is an abundance of tuners out there today and they are great for young players to tune the violin too. These clip on tuners tune by vibration so you clip them to your violin peg and adjust the screen so you can see them. The violin tuners are more of a general instrument tuner, so if you see it advertised as a guitar tuner …relax it still works on a violin…and pretty cheap on ebay too!.
My favourite of these clip on style is the D’Addario one, its harder to find an a bit more pricey, but worth it because you can leave it on your instrument so really convenient. Clip on violin tuners are also great for a noisey environment, because as it tunes by vibration it doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing, thus especially useful in a contemporary band situation.
Violin tuners, as apps from your favourite smart phone store
At my workshop people ask if I sell tuners, I tell them they have one already in their pocket, which is good for a laugh. Yes take out your favourite smart phone, go to the App/ play store and search for instrument tuner and your goog to go… Your welcome, no need to buy one……unless the convenience of a clip on is desired.
It’s common to have people contact me with a broken violin neck, on closer inspection its not always broken though. The neck joint with the violin body is probably the weakest link in the violin in terms of stress and strain. In essence its a combination of woodworking joints including a thin dovetail joint, butt joint and rabbet joint all in one held together with hide glue. If the joints weren’t well made to start with its a bit weaker again. When an instrument experiences shock, through misadventure or where the violin is in a humid climate like here in Australia the joint is prone to come apart.
The first sign of a slipped violin neck (not a broken violin neck though)
A neck break is where the timber itself breaks along the grain line (see Cello Repairs Brisbane for how a broken neck is repaired) for some detail on that as its very common on cellos and the same technique aplies to violins. Also at the peg box cracks can appear as this is a source of preasure from the pegs (and perhaps poorly fitted pegs that are pushed in to hard ) , I’ll write about this in due course.
So regluing the neck joint is called a neck reset rather than a broken neck repair. In the best of worlds the surfaces are cleaned and reglued. Often however additional repair might need to be made to the neck block and some times the top plate of the violin if there has been tear out/ splitting of the timbers. Oft times a timber wedge needs to be carved and inserted into the neck block.
So a neck reset and glue up in theory is quick and simple, however care must be taken that the angle of the fingerboard is going to be striaght down the instrument and the neck projection (height above the body is correct) . Sometimes the bridge must also be adjusted afterwards to get everything perfect.
In many cases the fingerboard also needs to be removed and reattached, reasonably straightforward…its just time.
You might think student instruments this is easier…however sometimes its not so, student instruments are often not put together with hide glue (or worse someone has attempted repair with hardware store glue) and so dissembly can be a bit tricky leading to some visible evidence of a repair.
Above is an example of a poorly fitted student violin neck, where glue has been used as a filler, resulting in a neck slip over time (this must be cleaned out and a wedge inserted)
Bunnings recently launched a marketplace and I wondered if they sold violins. What the!!! they now sell bunnings violins, albeit it as a third party vendor. They look lovely, are good value for the price…just don’t expect them to really perform.
So while you can’t pickup a violin from Bunnings when you next buying some potted plants and a tin of paint…but you can oprder them on line. So what is a Bunnings violin like? well in essence they are no different to those violins sold on ebay, or amazon so have a look at my reviews ( Ebay Violin review , Amazon Violin reviews ). In any case here is what they are like on the inside. Essentially plywood with a veneer and a high gloss finish on the cheaper ones that i have seen – very hardware store 😉
This is not to be cionfused with a very fine European violin i recently restored, that have been painted ‘Bunnings Brown’ with a think layer of hardware varnish on it )see Violin Varnish restoration )
An Aliexpress violin, why not? after all most of the worlds student violins are now made in China so why not order a violin direct through Aliexpress and save some $$$. Here are my thoughts as a violin repairer who sees these instruments in the shop from time to time.
First up Aliexpress is your direct link to manufactureres and resellers from all over China, where the vast majority of the worlds manufacturing takes place. In any industry there is the good the bad and the ugly available for you to by…and find out a month later which one you have got. Its a good markplace though with reviews and the security of Paypal and dispute resoultion is very good.
With the vast majority of student violins now coming from China they represent tremendous value ( see European sounding Violin, but without the price ), so why not cut out the middlemen of importer, distributor and retailer and buy a violin direct? Indeed I have several customers who have come to me having done such and with sometimes quite nice instruments…but they have needed attention and tweaks due to transport issues, the differing climates or customisation. At the end of the day they have borne significant risk of buying a violin unseen, and unplayed and it often ends happily…though not neccessarily so.
So here is my Aliexpress violin review and thoughts…
