Blog - Page 5 of 11 - Fiddler Dan Violins & Workshop, Brisbane

Student Cello Repairs

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 — 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 repair — 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

The presence of the screw or other reenforcing,

The glues used in manufacture,

How clean the break is

How high the break is on the neck root.

How does a violin make a sound? And why it helps to know

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.

Violin Tailpiece and why it matters

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

Video breakdown (skip to the good bits)

0:00 Introduction to tailpieces

0:54 Sympathecic resonance in a violin

3:10 The other side of the violin bridge

3:20 Violin Tailpieces

4:00 Violin fine adjusters

4:45 Violin tuning at pegs and tail piece

5:10 Common tailpiece types

5:45 Tradition and tailpiece selection

6:30 After length and resonance

7:37 Fine adjusters

8:45 What you buy at generalist shops

9:30 A weak sum up and finish

Violin tuners

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 tuner apps from your favourite smart phone store — 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.

Broken Violin neck or neck reset

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 Violin review

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 )

Heres my video from Inside a cheap $99 violin

Aliexpress Violin Review

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…

Amazon Violin review – Eastar and other brands

Amazon is here to stay and now they even sell violins like the Eastar violin. So whats an Amazon violin like, well look you absolutely get what you pay for . Here is my review of violins on Amazon.

Amazon is here to stay and now they even sell violins like the Eastar violin. So whats an Amazon violin like, well look you absolutely get what you pay for . Here is my review of violins on Amazon.

Amazon is here to stay and now they even sell violins. So whats an Amazon violin like, well look you absolutely get what you pay for .

See inside a $99 violin review to see what you are getting. Esentially Amazon is a marketplace like ebay – where I also looked for violins often you see the same instruments advertised in both places. My suggestion buy one from a bricks and mortar store, otherwise by the time you bring your instrument to me you will find out just how much work it needs to be playable. The great thing about Amazon is the returns policy so if you have already bought one you can return it and then come see someone or evenme for a violin. Heres my little video where I go through a few Amazon different Amazon violins.

Ebay Violin review

Hey if your thinking of buying an ebay violin I thought you might like to hear my opinion…….don’t. I run a violin shop and repair shop in brisbane and get these instruments coming to my shop

Sadly parents think buying a violin on ebay is a bargin…and it is, what you get for the money is amazing,…its just not a violin worth playing.

Buying a second hand instrument is a different matter, there are some good ones there if you know what you are looking for. My advice , if your set on buying something on ebay, check out my expose on $99 violins . For something secondchand google the brand of the instrument, if reputable music shops sell it then it might be OK

Yes I can get ebay violins to kind of work, by the time and replacement parts are added up you are better buying a proper violin (see my beginner violins here) .

Heres my ebay violn review and walk through of buying a violin off ebay.

FIXED: My violin makes no sound

“Help my violin makes no sound” I have had a few people ring me with this dilemma, usually after buying a violin on line. Generally speaking with a wave of my magic hand I can make a violin work 😉

Whats this magic you ask, its a little piece of rosin that should be supplied with your instrument , it nees to be passed over you violin bow about 50 times up and down, this creates friction on the bow hair (sometimes its nylon though) and then it works, Therein you only need to put it on the bow maybe every second time you play.

FWIW all violin rosin it not created equal, it needs to have a slight stickiness to it to help the bow grip, some rosin with cheap violins come with a really hard rosin that doesn’t work to well. You can get the best out of it by scuffing it slightly with some sandpaper (or a nail emery board) to get rid of the initial shine.

Here is bow rosining in action, so your violin can make a sound. Of course there might be more complex reasons but this is the most likely.