Category: violin repair

Geared violin pegs, like Wittner geared violin pegs, are a great addition to any instrument where you would like to tune solely from the pegs at the scroll. They adjust as finely as fine tuner but can do a greater tuning range than just fractions of a semitone, so quite useful  as an all in one tuning solution.  They owe their secret to tiny planatery gears inside the peg itself which allow the spindle inside the peg box to turn slower than the outside by 8x or so.

Frequently I am supplying and fitting these pegs for a range of needs

• Older clients as they find are much easier to turn that conventional pegs and fine tuners alike.
• They are particularly sort after for fiddlers who like to use alternate tuning for some songs and thus might need to change tunings mid session. For example instead of GDAE an ADAD tuning gives you and instant D chord with drones! )
• Another reason that presents is if there is existing damage to a peg box it can form part of a repair solution that is less invasive to the instrument.

Conventional pegs hold in place by a friction fit with the peg box., the friction arises by pushing the peg in thus directing force outwards which tries to expand the hole (pegs are slightly conical in shape).

Geared pegs once fitted are no longer doing this dynamically  and only pull in the direction of string tension. Thus a peg bushing, rather than new piece of timber fitted to the outside of cheek on the inside can remedy all but the most severe of peg box cracks.

Fitting of geared pegs is similar to the fitting of normal pegs, with some minor tweaks. For Queensland conditions many luthiers (and I am no exception) like to use the tiniest amount of glue to hold them in place (PVA or poly urethane depending on circumstances) this helps the pegs which are plastic sit more reliably in the peg hole for our temperature and humidity variations.  Also for all but the smallest of peg boxes the turning part of the shaft needs to be aligned proximally to the string groove its feeding. 

Using geared violin pegs

Using of geared pegs is pretty simple though it takes a period of adjustment by the user:  

•  When putting the strings on some care is needed to make sure the string only goes on the turning part of the peg – which has a roughened/striped texture 
•  The string should be placed in the hole so that its not bent close to 180 degrees (this will make sense if you try to do this) to avoid string fatigue that would shorten its life.
•  Its no longer necessary for the string to be wound right into the side of the peg box as the peg no longer needs this to aid it staying in place
• The pegs have an 8:1 ratio, meaning it takes 8 turns to turn the peg once….so it takes a few more turns to put new string on it.

NOTE: While its no longer necessary to keep the fine adjusters on the tail piece they can be removed, however I don’t recommend doing this until after you have been using the geared pegs for at least  few months. You may find for the A and E strings in particular you might still prefer to use fine adjusters, rather than bending your left hand around the peg box mid session.

So why don’t more violins come with these marvellous pegs? I guess first is the cost as the pegs (sans installation) run close to $200 a set. Secondly though they are geared and made of modern materials and many want the feel and look of traditional pegs. The look being a pretty important cultural thing associated with the instrument, mind you we are happy to use synthetic strings and tail pieces and chin/ shoulder rests so maybe their time will come?.

Appraising a violin for value is a tricky business, with more than a few places not doing it? Violin appraisal is looking at the quality of the build of a violin, its sound and then also its historical value. Un-picking these three components of a violin during appraisal I find helpful in determining the value of a violin. But it’s not without its challenges. (See How much is my violin worth).

For modern instruments from a reputation brand or maker, appraisal is more straight forward and google can really help here. Of course you also need to consider the providence, or how the current own (and owner before them) came by the instrument to ensure it is authentically what it purports to be.

Older violins are much harder to appraise, labels to the uninitiated can be misleading at best, age can be faked, many in the trade are unwilling to appraise such instruments. For example most if not every instrument label as a Stradivari is labelled so at best as a homage to the famed maker, or indicates a copy of one of his models and the same is true for the instruments copied of other famous makers like Guarneri, Maggini and Amati’s in the wild.

Less kindly there is an entire business around “antiquing” of both instruments and the labels inside them , with dust, staining and even “tone balls” added to give a sense of age. In the trade valuing of these instruments is acknowledged as difficult to do, even with a encyclopaedic knowledge and years of experience, where there is intent to deceive by a maker it can be tricky to detect. There is the business of fake repairs, fake neck grafts etc… to give an impression of age.

Through the quality of the timbers, construction on the insides and sound one can learn much about an instrument during appraisal.
How old is it, where was it made and ultimately how much is it worth are the common questions i am asked during appraisal.

Usually I can give a pretty good idea, though where I have some uncertainty I often refer on to someone else, in particular with higher quality older instruments. Usually my estimates come in the same ball park as my collegues..but not always.