Instrument Care

Care for your instrument fall into three categories -- prevention, maintenance, and repairs.

Prevention

1. Keep your instrument away from extremes of temperature and humidity.

Why?
Too humid: Wood swells; pegs stick tight. This can cause pegbox cracks. Glue absorbs moisture and seams may open.

Too dry: Wood shrinks; the pegs slip. In extreme cases the instrument may seem to fly apart; the strings loosen, the bridge fall down, and even the soundpost may fall. The saddle shrinks less than the top will, which can cause cracks on the face of the instrument.

Too warm: Glue softens, causing open seams. (The worst scenario is to leave your violin in the trunk of your car. It's possible to come back to a caseful of violin parts.) Varnish softens and sticks to the case. Wood swells. The humidity is usually higher when the temperature is higher, making things worse.

Too cold: Varnish shrinks and can cause craquelure (fine cracks). Glue becomes brittle; seams may open. Pegs shrink, loosening the strings.

Recommendation: Keep your instrument where you would feel comfortable. Room temperature and 50% humidity is best. Minimize changes in temperature and humidity. For instance, when you come inside in the winter, unzipper the case but do not open it for fifteen minutes. This allows the instrument to gradually warm up and the moister air to infiltrate gradually.

2. Protect the instrument against impacts.

Why?
Much of the strength of the instrument comes from its shape; the wood itself is quite thin. Furthermore, the strings put a lot of force on the instrument. Simply knocking over the bridge may cause seams to open. A slight blow to the right spot can be transmitted by the soundpost to cause a soundpost crack on the top or back, especially if the soundpost is too tight. Dropping the instrument may break the neck off. Even if no damage is immediately visible, a blow can shatter glue, causing a nearly untraceable buzz, and leading to open seams or cracks later.

Maintenance

1. Keep your instrument clean.

Why? First, finger oils shorten the life of the strings. Secondly, rosin dust sinks into the varnish, bringing with it a lot of dirt and dust. This not only looks ugly, but it will eventually choke the sound of the instrument. It is very easy to simply wipe the strings and instrument before putting it away in its case.

If the instrument is very dirty, a damp cloth will do a good job of cleaning. Be patient; this will take awhile. The use of solvents or chemical polish is not recommended because of the danger of damaging the finish or rendering a crack or seam ungluable.

2. Pegs: use them and keep them lubricated

Why? Pegs expand and contract with temperature and humidity. Using the pegs (instead of just the fine tuners) to tune every day, will automatically adjust the pegs to an appropriate tightness. If the pegs stick or slip, use a little peg compound to lubricate the pegs. If this doesn't work, the pegs may need to be refitted. This requires specialized tools and is best done by a luthier. Eventually the pegs will wear to the point that they need to be replaced.

3.Bridge: inspect regularly

What am I looking for?
Angle: The back of the bridge (the side towards the tailpiece) should be perpendicular to the top of the violin. This means that the front of the bridge will seem to lean away from the fingerboard slightly. If the bridge leans towards the fingerboard, the feet are not making proper contact with the instrument and the sound will suffer. You can correct a leaning bridge by *gently* pulling the top of the bridge back towards the tailpiece while stabilizing the bottom of the bridge. Ask your luthier to demonstrate this technique.
While tuning, watch the bridge and keep it upright. The top of the bridge will be pulled towards the pegs whenever you tighten the pegs. The effect is a cumulative warping of the bridge. Eventually the bridge may even fall down. Using a pencil to lubricate the grooves on the bridge will help minimize the pull of the strings on the bridge.

Position: The placement of the bridge determines the vibrating string length. In most cases, the proper position will be on a line between the two inside notches of the ff-holes. However, some violins have different proportions, so that rule may not apply. Check with your luthier for the proper placement on your instrument.

Condition: Bridges may warp or crack, or they may slump so that the eyes are no longer open. In most cases, this means that the bridge should be replaced. The E-string may also be cutting into the bridge, which can be fixed by reinforcing the bridge with a piece of parchment.

Height and curvature: Look down the fingerboard at the bridge. The E-string should be very close to the fingerboard, while the G-string should have a bit less than twice the clearance. The curve of the bridge should be very close to the curve of the fingerboard. If this is not the case, chances are the 'action' or 'feel' of the strings will be wrong. If the bridge had been correct at some earlier time, it is likely that the fingerboard has worn and needs planing, or even that the neck needs to be reset. Consult your luthier.

4. Fingerboard and nut: inspect

What am I looking for?
The fingerboard should be smooth; the strings should clear the fingerboard along the entire length. The nut should just allow a business card to be inserted under the strings next to the nut. Vibrating strings eventually wear down the fingerboard and nut, causing grooves that can be quite deep. This is a common cause of buzzes and other unpleasant sounds. The fingerboard will have to be 'dressed' or re-planed; the nut reshaped or replaced. This is a job for your luthier.

5. Soundpost: check position

What am I looking for?
The soundpost can be seen through the treble ff-hole. It should appear to stand straight up, and it should be located just behind the treble foot of the bridge. The soundpost is not glued. It should be snug but not tight, so if you take all the strings off the violin, a sudden shake can cause it to fall. The top and bottom of the post should fit the curve of the inside of the violin exactly.

The position of the soundpost relative to the bridge is so important to the sound that the French call the soundpost the 'soul' of the violin. Some instruments sound better if the soundpost is in a slightly different position. This can only be determined by painstaking experimentation. This is best done in consultation with your luthier. If you do want to adjust the soundpost position yourself, you will need a soundpost setter. You should also be prepared to reset the soundpost; chances are you will knock the soundpost down at least once while trying to adjust the position. This is not a task for the faint of heart, or for those lacking patience. Be careful not to damage the ff-holes.

6. Check Tailpiece and Fine Tuners

Why? Fine tuners often loosen and cause buzzes, or wear the strings so they break prematurely. It may be necessary to file down the fine tuner slot to prevent wear on the strings. Some strings, especially Dominants, are larger in diameter than the fine tuners are designed for, and the fine tuners may have been bent or filed to accommodate them. Fine tuners that are built into the tailpiece, or sit on top of the tailpiece, are superior to the ones that extend out from under the tailpiece, because they preserve the ratio of string length to afterlength.

The afterlength of a string affects its tone. In most cases, the tailgut should be shortened so the tailpiece will be very close to the saddle. Check the condition of the tailgut also. Modern tailgut is synthetic and does not have the wear problems associated with old-fashioned gut, but the ends may have been left long and may vibrate or cause buzzes.

7. Adjust Chinrest

Why? Ribs expand and contract with the weather and season. A chinrest that is tightened when the ribs shrink will cause the ribs to warp when the weather changes and they try to expand again. This is especially a problem with chinrests that clamp to the side of the endblock. Chinrests that clamp over the tailpiece are superior because they clamp to the endblock and are much less likely to deform the ribs.

The chinrest can also come into contact with the tailpiece and cause buzzes. Check for clearance.

8. Replacing Strings

Remove and replace strings one at a time. Since the bridge is held on only by the pressure of the strings, it will fall if all the strings are removed. By removing and replacing one string at a time, the bridge and soundpost are held in position, making the procedure much easier.

Bring the strings up to the correct pitch; do not over-tighten and loosen down to the correct pitch. The breaking point of violin strings is only about 20% higher than the correct pitch, and overtightening can stress the strings and cause premature breakage.

Strings differ not only in tone, but in response, playability, and durability. Strings can be classified as solid core, stranded core, synthetic core, and gut core.

"Dominants" are probably the most popular student strings. They are synthetic core strings with a large diameter. They are prone to wear at the nut, in the pegbox, and at the tailpiece and fine tuners. They also break not far above tuning pitch, so care should be taken when tuning.

Repairs

We highly recommend that all repairs be done by a qualified luthier. However, some people enjoy attempting a repair on an inexpensive instrument, and there are some repairs that can be done by the layperson.

So here are some guidelines:

Do nothing that is irrevocable or will harm the instrument.

Don't try to fix anything unless you know what you are doing.

Be prepared to pay a professional to repair your 'fix'.

Fittings are not part of the instrument, so they are fair game for self-repair. You can safely:
 

Few non-luthiers use hot hide glue. There is a liquid hide glue on the market, but it is prone to creeping. It is fine to use on the nut, which the strings hold in place, but a fingerboard glued with liquid hide glue may slip. Plan on having it reglued by your luthier eventually.

The instrument itself should be approached with the greatest of caution. Most repairs to the body are best left to a professional luthier. In a pinch, you could glue an open seam (not a crack!) with liquid hide glue. Your luthier will probably have to reglue it, but it will hold for awhile.

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