More Information

NEW

Buying more than one item?

The maximum delivery charge is now £10, whatever you buy.

HOW TO BUY

For  secure on line purchasing click on "Add to Basket".

You can adjust the quantity at any time.

All prices include VAT.

Your Purchases

You have

Item(s) in your basket.

Hello again.

Last months ‘corner’ dealt with restringing guitars and how to check the set up during that process so this month I’m looking at checks and maintenance for bowed string players .

As the principles are pretty well the same for all the violin family I hope violists cellists and bassists won’t be too offended if I mainly refer to the violin.

Here is a checklist of things you should look at monthly, more often if you play a lot:

1. The bridge should be upright with the feet fitting the curve of the belly snugly . Very often the bridge tilts forward and you can rectify this by holding the sides between the thumb and middle finger of each hand and pulling the top back gently with your index fingers

2. Make sure your pegs are turning smoothly and holding against the tension of the strings (realistically this may not be attainable on a cheap Chinese instrument) and that the peg ends are flush with the cheek of the peg box. Protruding ends need cutting off and re rounding as they tend to catch your thumb nail and tear it off. Probably a job for your local repairer this one.

3. Is there a build up of rosin on the belly of the violin, at its worst this can look like there’s been a snowstorm and indicates you are using far too much rosin! If so, clean this of with a soft lint free cloth. A really thick long term build up of rosin needs cleaning off by a repairer as it can result in loss of tone.

Don’t neglect cleaning the strings too as a coating of rosin will restrict tone an produce odd sounds. Unwanted Christmas aftershave or cologne on a cloth is good for this but don’t get any on your violins varnish as this will dissolve it. Look out for unwinding strings an replace them.

4. Make sure your fine tuner or tuners are working well, if they are not, then remove the screw an apply a little light oil to the thread and replace.

5. Check that the sound post (that little bit of wood dowel that stands up inside the violin) is upright and just behind the treble foot of the bridge. If not this is again a job for a repairer.

6. Look round the edges of the belly and back where they join the ribs and check for gaps. Even a very small unglued section can cut down tone and cause buzzing.

7.  The bow should be kept clean and not covered in excess rosin as this clogs the platelets on the hair and actually restricts tone - yes that’s right ,too much rosin stops the bow gripping.

Extra checks for cello and bass.

Make sure the endpin fits properly in the bottom block and enters it straight , if not have a repairer look at it.

Oil the thread of the spike screw taking care not to get any on the spike itself

I hope all that will help you keep your instrument in tiptop condition.

Next moth I will look at routine woodwind care.

See you then,

Colin

To order any item or get more details phone 01305 756156

or email us at sales@melodyworks.com...