If you had to list the things we have to do to keep our fiddles and strings and bows in working order what would you come up with?
Those of us without classical training may have some deficiencies- I'm trying to figure out what I didn't learn from my first fiddle teacher ( he forgot to mention that the glue that holds a fiddle together will melt when it gets under a rear car window and goes for a 10 hr drive- which really did happen to me.)
Especially: cleaning strings? cleaning bows? How do I keep my tuning pegs from slipping ( after 10 years I just had the idea to sand some rosin into the wells to clear up that problem)
First rule of keeping your fiddle in working order: don't let anyone sit on it.
After playing, wipe the fiddle, bow and strings off with a soft cloth, especially under the fingerboard. Once a month or so, clean fiddle and bow thoroughly using the cleaner and polish of your choice (if you don't get it on the varnish, you can use vodka on the keyboard). Occasionally I'll take the chin rest off and clean under there too.
Everything else I leave up to my tech, who gets my fiddle once or twice a year at a weather change. So I'm lazy.
Make sure the polish you use is for musical instruments. Spray on furniture polish is a no-no. Lemon oil and such are not recommended either. Check at the local violin shop or check on line at a place like southweststrings.
Keep rosin wiped off or it will turn in to a cement like coating that does not come off easily.
As Zina sez bridge work, sound post setting, peg fitting, etc are all best left to the pros.
No glauber, but when a fiddle is stored for an extended time (as they all should be , you have to more frequently swab out your flute....
As for humidity, lots of people talk about the weather, but nobody ever seems to do much about it. I find that Right Guard takes care of my dampits....
Ooooo, MORE info than I needed to know, Harmon! *snort*
I keep three or four fountains running in my house to help keep the humidity up. (Between the cats and the dryness, we have to fill them every two days.) I also cast an eye over the fiddle every now and again to make sure nothing's drying out, cracking, splitting, whatever. If it was a better fiddle, I'd probably have a DampIt in the case, though. (Or if I wasn't so lazy.)
If a fiddle is being stored for a *very* long time, I'd likely take the bridge, strings, everything off (including the soundpost) and put it where it wouldn't get too wet or too dry or too hot. That's about it. In fact, I have a fiddle that was my stepmother-in-law's husband's fiddle in that current condition, waiting for Dale to come back to Denver and fix it. It's been sitting in a garage for...gosh, must be going on 30 years now...
Okay: listen to what I read this afternoon: Liz Carroll said that Johnny McGreevy's fiddle was often kind of scratchy BECAUSE HE DID NOT CLEAN HIS STRINGS ( or his bow for that matter), and that keeping these clean will improve the sound quality. And that after her mother explained this to him the tone of his fiddle was castly improved.
How do you clean the bow? I understand that the strings are wiped off...
Well, same way you clean off the fiddle. Take a soft cloth and wipe the whole stick down. If you're not the sort to wash your hands between spilling some cider on your hands and playing, then every now and again, take the bow apart and clean it more thoroughly, especially at tip and frog. I'm not one to go washing the bow hair, never seen much of a need for it, but I suppose if you're the sort to resin up a hefty amount every time you play, it might work -- can't comment on that one.
As well as keeping the fiddle, strings, and bow clean, check the fiddle out from time to time to make sure that all is well. Look for new cracks, joints coming unglued, make sure the neck is still straight, (not pulled towards the e-string side). If you are using fine tuners, slack them off, and tune up using the pegs. The pegs need to be turned occasionally to keep them round and operating smoothly. Sight down the fingerboard, and look for divots worn in the wood from finger placement. I planed my fingerboard two weeks ago to remove depressions which had been worn into the wood. Check for mildew/mold growing under the chin rest!
Sight across the bridge to make sure that it is perpendicular to the belly of the fiddle. Actually, the top of the bridge should lean ever-so-slightly toward the tailpiece. A forward-leaning bridge will eventually begin to bend at the waist, and if the bend becomes severe, the bridge could collapse, risking damage to the belly of the fiddle. If the bridge is leaning toward the fingerboard, loosen the strings to about half their tension, and tilt the bridge back, and tighten strings. If the bridge moves forward again, re-loosen the strings, and tilt the bridge back a little further, and try again.
Check the tail-gut, to make sure that it isn't frayed or cracked.
I also like to take a cloth and run it under the strings along the fingerboard to remove gunk from the fingerboard and the strings, all the way from the nut to the bridge. If you have never done this before, be prepared to collect a mass of black sludge!!! eeeewww
With the bow, sight down the stick, and check to see that it is straight, and not bent to the left or right. If it does have a 'hook' to it, it can be straightened out the next time the bow is rehaired by a competent technician. The bow hair can be cleaned with methyl hydrate (gas line antifreeze) taking extreme care not to get any on the stick, as it will disolve the varnish. I like to clean the hair about every 6 months, and then rehair after 2 years.
Also, check that the wedge above the hair on the frog is still secure within the ferule. Sometimes the wedge will start to work itself out. If so, push it back in with firm pressure.
Will, i thought you were an Old Spice kind of guy!
It's interesting that fiddlers are, apparently, less worried about dry weather than the flutists or geetar players i know. We start worrying as soon as the humidity goes under 50%.
Don't forget to shampoo your horses and feed your frogs!
Actually, I keep a homemade humidifier in my case. I use a small plastic spice jar (the kind ground cloves come in, with the removable plastic cap that has holes in it) with a piece of sponge inside. I add water to the sponge whenever my hygrometer shows the case dropping below 60%. The plastic jar fits right in one of the bouts of the fiddle, which I prefer over the Dampit that actually goes inside the f hole. Living in arid Montana, where humidities can settle around 10 percent for months on end, I found that keeping the fiddle at around 60% really helps its tone and response.
And I'm happy to be able to leave my Delrin Seery flute just lying around, fully assembled and ready to play, regardless of the weather. Of course, with it and my mandolin always at my side, I'm not getting any real work done at all.....
So, do you know that tune called Drumshanbo?
Only musicians can talk about f-holes in polite company. Only flute players can deal in headjoints without getting in trouble with the law.
I've heard that name assigned to Eddie Kelly's Jig (the one with the B Part that goes |gfe gfe|Bee Bee|), but I don't know whether that's correct or not. Is Eddie Kelly's in the tune archives here? If not, I can post it.
Yes, it's here. I didn't think it was the same tune, but it's probably just that we play a different setting. Thanks!
The little jar thing with the sponge inside is a good one. I'll need to make something like this for my new flute. Our humidity is at about 45% now and i'm starting to worry.
Before fitting a new string it is good practice to apply a small amount of pencil lead graphite to the notch in the bridge and the corresponding notch in the nut. A 6B drawing pencil is suitable. Rub the pencil point down to a chisel edge, it can be applied more easily. If you've never done this then it is probably worth doing now. Slacken off the strings one at a time, apply the pencil lead and retighten the string before doing the next one. This stops the tensions in the fiddle from getting too much out of balance.
The lead graphite acts as a lubricant and stops the string from sticking on the bridge when tuning. A sticking string is a string that is likely to break sooner rather than later.
When fitting a new string, feed the free end of the string into the hole in the peg as usual (a pair of tweezers helps to pull it through) and try to ensure the following:
1) Angle the string from the peg to the nut when the string is tightened up to pitch so that the tension of the string tends to pull the peg inwards and helps the peg to grip. This is easy with the A and D strings but isn't generally possible with the E and G, due to the design of the scroll box, in which case you'll find the string tends to rub against the inside of the scroll box. Try to avoid this contact as much as possible (it should never happen with the A and D).
2) The run of the A string from its peg passes over the D, E and G pegs. The run is well away from the G peg, so we can ignore that. Try to ensure that the A string does not contact the D or E pegs or the winding of the strings on them, because if there is contact, turning one peg could move another peg or alter the tension of the string on it.
3) The comment in 2) also applies to the run of the D string through the peg box.
If you're going to fit a complete new set of strings, do it in stages, because strings can take several days to settle down and an instrument may take weeks to settle from a change that is done all in one go. Change the strings one at a time and give the string one or two days to settle before doing the next one. I would change the A first, followed by the D and G, and E last of all.
Always tune a string up to pitch, not down from above. It is not good practice to overtune a new string in the hope that it will come down to the correct pitch. Not only does it put unnecessary strain on the bridge and other parts of the fiddle but it will weaken the string and probably affect its tone.
I have been using the new Zyex strings for a while, and other people like them as well. They are a new covered polymer composition with the same feel, tension and playability as the best gut strings, except that they stay very well in tune and are unaffected by temperature and humidity. They are not yet available for the viola or cello. Because the tension of Zyex strings is 30pc less than that of steel strings they can easily be tuned with the pegs (except the steel E of course), so if you use these strings (or covered gut) it is useful to ensure that your pegs can turn easily, but not too easily. You can buy a waxy composition to help sticking pegs turn, but be very sparing with it, or things will go the opposite way and the pegs will have trouble in holding the tension of the strings. Apply the wax composition (it looks a little like lipstick) with just one thin stroke along the length of the peg and then wiggle the peg in its peg holes to disperse the wax over the surface of the peg.
surface of the peg.
If your fiddle pegs are not hardwood then get hardwood pegs fitted as soon as you can. Needless to say, this is a job for a skilled craftsman. Softwood pegs (which tend to be found at the cheaper end of the range) don't last and distort with temperature and humidity. Top of the range hardwood pegs have beautiful gold or other inserts in the end. They may look good, but do nothing one way or the other for the tone or playability of the fiddle.
Every year or so you should have the sound post and bridge checked out by a competent technician. Sound posts alter dimensionally with time and can fall over if all the strings are slackened off simultaneously (see my previous posting about strings and pegs) - it happened once with my cello the day before a concert (panic!). The positioning of the sound post is critical to the tone of the fiddle, so leave this to the expert unless you know exactly what you're doing and why, and have the right tools (in which case you are indeed an expert).
Likewise, bridges don't last for ever. Again, choosing and fitting a bridge is job for the expert. You can get bridges with adjustable feet which are intended to be easy to fit. They're ok for an emergency, but nothing more.
Ideally, if you're replacing the sound post or the bridge then you should have both replaced, because they should be treated as an acoustically matched ensemble. Not only the position of these items is critical but, in the case of the bridge its top curvature which should be related to the shape of the fingerboard, and things like the quality and density of the timber. Believe it or not, one of the critical factors in a sound post is the direction of the grain of its wood relative to the axis of the fiddle.
I find that isopropanol is an excellent string cleaner. It is a very volatile (and flammable) solvent that is used, amongst other things, for cleaning electrical components, and in medicine for cleaning purposes. It can easily be purchased in pharmacies (in the UK - I don't know about elsewhere).
Put a drop on a lint-free cloth, hold the fiddle so that the belly is vertical and the neck is parallel to the floor (so as to avoid any of the isopropanol getting on the varnish), and rub the cloth up and down the string, making sure you also do the underside of the string as well. The isopropanol evaporates very quickly so the cloth will be nearly dry when you've finished. Avoid touching the fingerboard with it, and certainly not the fiddle, because it will dissolve the varnish.
I don't recommend surgical spirit because it contains oils. Methylated spirits is a no-no for a similar reason.
I don't like using a lot of rosin. I apply rosin to my bows once a week or so, and then only three or four brisk swipes of the stuff on the bow (I do several hours a week playing on each of my fiddle and cello). I believe the less rosin you can get away with, the better. Too much rosin on a string will make the string heavier and alter its vibrations, diminishing its upper harmonics.
If your strngs get really manky, they can be cleaned with medi - swabs (what you disinfect the skin with before an injection) or if you're really stuck and don't mind "whiffing" a bit, witha drop of perfume on a piece of cloth. Obviously don't let the liquid get on to the varnish and avoid using the wife's Chanel No. 5. Well, avoid getting caught if you do.
I am with Michael on leaving a little rosin on the stings. I do like the attack. I have been doing it so long this way that I know what I am going to get when I use the bow. I usually seed the string with rosin before I start playing (running the bow across the strings.) It helps me by preventing those whisper notes.
Zina - I always believed that the strings should be tight enough to maintain the sound post position so that the shape of the violin does not suffer. Point out the error in my ways.
I have unintentionally cleaned my bow hair with stout. If you would like to try this, I recommend that you take a pair of scissors and clip the hair short at both sides after you clean it thorougly with the brew.
I am a mistreater of my violin. I think it sounds better all the time to spite me. I get it pampered once or twice a year. Perhaps it's a form of apology to my poor red violin.
I have always found that a soft toothbrush is very useful for cleaning the bow hair. Loosen the hair (but not too much) and then run the brush gently up and down the length a few times and this will remove excess rosin. If I have too much rosin on the bow it can cause the bow to slide over the note when you least want it to. That's my excuse anyway.
Heres my little tuppence worth- the "Rough guide to the violin" book has a good section on basic cleaning, repair and maintenance as well as buying and an outline history of the violine family. A lot of it seems to be a matter of opinion- it says to clean strings with meths and I already did and find it fine- yet others here say "no-no".
In the normal course of things, of course, the strings maintain pressure to the top of the fiddle body to, among many other things, hold the soundpost in place. The soundpost, as you know, connects the top and the back of the body of the fiddle to allow for better resonance, carrying the vibrations communicated from the bowing of the strings through the bridge to the top plate to the back of the fiddle. In short term storage and the general day to day, of course you should leave the strings on and tightened, although in case of short term storage, I'd probably at least loosen the strings a bit. Long term storage is a different matter -- the strings put an enormous amount of pressure on the fiddle, and if it gets damp or dry, the wood will suffer from the constant pressures of the strings.
After any long-term storage, though (counting in numbers of months, not simply days or weeks), I'd probably take a fiddle to a tech to have them do a set up, although I've certainly done without after checking that the bridge is still sound, the soundpost is in place, and probably replacing the strings (nothing like having one snap in your face -- gives you a permanent aversion to using old and probably untrustworthy strings).
Like many things, a fiddle is both extremely simple and extraordinarily complicated. Some fiddles are cigar boxes with strings and a neck added (and I mean that quite literally). Others are examples of physics and geometry and other such things. If you've ever seen a bridge break and crack the top plate of the fiddle, you'll begin to understand how much pressure the strings apply to the fiddle!
Andee: rubbing alcohol (isoprop, mainly, although there's other stuff in there, usually) is my favorite for cleaning strings, vodka is what I use when I'm in a bar and need to clean guck off my fingerboard or strings. However, any drinking alcohol that has anything other than the alcohol in it (which is pretty much all of them) will leave the whatever else is in it on your strings after the alcohol has evaporated.
Someone inclined towards fussiness about details like strings that vibrate to their full potential is going to be more bothered about it than others, who may not ever hear any difference. It's also worth noting that cleaners with oils in may affect whether the resin (and therefore the bow) will get a good grip on the string. So -- whatever works for you!
P.S. Just as a matter of interest, isoprop is a poison. Vodka isn't, at least in recreational amounts. Another good reason to keep the vodka around for "cleaning" emergencies.
Which brings up the only good use for Everclear - 99% pure grain alcohol. The other 1% is water. Very dangerous stuff & hard to come by as it's illegal in many states. But it's great for cleaning stuff.
Zina
My apologies for not warning that isoprop is toxic (as of course is meths). But I believe I did mention the point in a post to another discussion somewhere. The defence rests.
here is my list:
1. set the bridge perpendicular to the top.
2. sight from the scroll down the fingerboard to the bridge and push the bridge left or right to center it on the sighting of the fingerboard.
3. put the bridge between the nicks on the f holes.
4. make sure the tail gut is short enough that the end of the tailpiece just extends a millimeter or two over the saddle towards the end button. If too loose, the stretched tailgut allows the tailpiece to wander gradually toward the bridge.
5. put ordinary blackboard chalk on pegs where they go in the peg holes to prevent slipping pegs.6. If the bridge warps, remove it, soak in warm water for 20 minutes, then clamp it between two blocks of wood until dry then put it back on the fiddle.
-dogma
The reason why I said that methylated spirit is a non-no for cleaning strings is that it contains additives which can leave a thin coating on the string or perhaps even damage it. If I may get a little technical for a moment, here is some further information.
Methylated spirit is more properly known as denatured alcohol. It is ethanol to which has been added one or more substances to render the alcohol entirely unfit for human consumption while allowing it to be used for most other purposes. It comes in various formulations. Some of the substances which can be used in these formulations are:
methanol (almost always present, evaporates easily, but toxic),
isopropanol (ok when used independently),
benzene (a carcinogen),
terpineol (an oil),
castor oil (another oil),
various dyes,
cadmium iodide (which would leave a coating when the meths evaporates), and
sulphuric acid (you may imagine what even a small amount of that could do to the strings!).
So the message is, you should find out the exact formulation of the denatured alcohol you propose to use, and don't use it unless it consists of ethanol and isopropanol only, and nothing else.
basic fiddle maintenance
basic fiddle maintenance
If you had to list the things we have to do to keep our fiddles and strings and bows in working order what would you come up with?
Those of us without classical training may have some deficiencies- I'm trying to figure out what I didn't learn from my first fiddle teacher ( he forgot to mention that the glue that holds a fiddle together will melt when it gets under a rear car window and goes for a 10 hr drive- which really did happen to me.)
Especially: cleaning strings? cleaning bows? How do I keep my tuning pegs from slipping ( after 10 years I just had the idea to sand some rosin into the wells to clear up that problem)
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by lees
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
First rule of keeping your fiddle in working order: don't let anyone sit on it.
After playing, wipe the fiddle, bow and strings off with a soft cloth, especially under the fingerboard. Once a month or so, clean fiddle and bow thoroughly using the cleaner and polish of your choice (if you don't get it on the varnish, you can use vodka on the keyboard). Occasionally I'll take the chin rest off and clean under there too.
Everything else I leave up to my tech, who gets my fiddle once or twice a year at a weather change. So I'm lazy.
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Make sure the polish you use is for musical instruments. Spray on furniture polish is a no-no. Lemon oil and such are not recommended either. Check at the local violin shop or check on line at a place like southweststrings.
Keep rosin wiped off or it will turn in to a cement like coating that does not come off easily.
As Zina sez bridge work, sound post setting, peg fitting, etc are all best left to the pros.
Joe
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by Carrmuse
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
How about humidity, dampits and such?
When a fiddle is stored for an extended time, should the strings be loosened?
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by glauber
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
No glauber, but when a fiddle is stored for an extended time (as they all should be
, you have to more frequently swab out your flute....
As for humidity, lots of people talk about the weather, but nobody ever seems to do much about it. I find that Right Guard takes care of my dampits....
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by Will Harmon
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Ooooo, MORE info than I needed to know, Harmon! *snort*
I keep three or four fountains running in my house to help keep the humidity up. (Between the cats and the dryness, we have to fill them every two days.) I also cast an eye over the fiddle every now and again to make sure nothing's drying out, cracking, splitting, whatever. If it was a better fiddle, I'd probably have a DampIt in the case, though. (Or if I wasn't so lazy.)
If a fiddle is being stored for a *very* long time, I'd likely take the bridge, strings, everything off (including the soundpost) and put it where it wouldn't get too wet or too dry or too hot. That's about it. In fact, I have a fiddle that was my stepmother-in-law's husband's fiddle in that current condition, waiting for Dale to come back to Denver and fix it. It's been sitting in a garage for...gosh, must be going on 30 years now...
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Okay: listen to what I read this afternoon: Liz Carroll said that Johnny McGreevy's fiddle was often kind of scratchy BECAUSE HE DID NOT CLEAN HIS STRINGS ( or his bow for that matter), and that keeping these clean will improve the sound quality. And that after her mother explained this to him the tone of his fiddle was castly improved.
How do you clean the bow? I understand that the strings are wiped off...
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by lees
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Well, same way you clean off the fiddle. Take a soft cloth and wipe the whole stick down. If you're not the sort to wash your hands between spilling some cider on your hands and playing, then every now and again, take the bow apart and clean it more thoroughly, especially at tip and frog. I'm not one to go washing the bow hair, never seen much of a need for it, but I suppose if you're the sort to resin up a hefty amount every time you play, it might work -- can't comment on that one.
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
In addition to the above advice....
As well as keeping the fiddle, strings, and bow clean, check the fiddle out from time to time to make sure that all is well. Look for new cracks, joints coming unglued, make sure the neck is still straight, (not pulled towards the e-string side). If you are using fine tuners, slack them off, and tune up using the pegs. The pegs need to be turned occasionally to keep them round and operating smoothly. Sight down the fingerboard, and look for divots worn in the wood from finger placement. I planed my fingerboard two weeks ago to remove depressions which had been worn into the wood. Check for mildew/mold growing under the chin rest!
Sight across the bridge to make sure that it is perpendicular to the belly of the fiddle. Actually, the top of the bridge should lean ever-so-slightly toward the tailpiece. A forward-leaning bridge will eventually begin to bend at the waist, and if the bend becomes severe, the bridge could collapse, risking damage to the belly of the fiddle. If the bridge is leaning toward the fingerboard, loosen the strings to about half their tension, and tilt the bridge back, and tighten strings. If the bridge moves forward again, re-loosen the strings, and tilt the bridge back a little further, and try again.
Check the tail-gut, to make sure that it isn't frayed or cracked.
I also like to take a cloth and run it under the strings along the fingerboard to remove gunk from the fingerboard and the strings, all the way from the nut to the bridge. If you have never done this before, be prepared to collect a mass of black sludge!!! eeeewww
With the bow, sight down the stick, and check to see that it is straight, and not bent to the left or right. If it does have a 'hook' to it, it can be straightened out the next time the bow is rehaired by a competent technician. The bow hair can be cleaned with methyl hydrate (gas line antifreeze) taking extreme care not to get any on the stick, as it will disolve the varnish. I like to clean the hair about every 6 months, and then rehair after 2 years.
Also, check that the wedge above the hair on the frog is still secure within the ferule. Sometimes the wedge will start to work itself out. If so, push it back in with firm pressure.
Cheers,
Scott
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by scottythefiddler
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
I like to keep a coating of rosin on the strings (not too much). OK it sounds a bit scratchier, but you get loads more attack
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by ...
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Will, i thought you were an Old Spice kind of guy!
It's interesting that fiddlers are, apparently, less worried about dry weather than the flutists or geetar players i know. We start worrying as soon as the humidity goes under 50%.
Don't forget to shampoo your horses and feed your frogs!
# Posted on October 9th 2002 by glauber
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Actually, I keep a homemade humidifier in my case. I use a small plastic spice jar (the kind ground cloves come in, with the removable plastic cap that has holes in it) with a piece of sponge inside. I add water to the sponge whenever my hygrometer shows the case dropping below 60%. The plastic jar fits right in one of the bouts of the fiddle, which I prefer over the Dampit that actually goes inside the f hole. Living in arid Montana, where humidities can settle around 10 percent for months on end, I found that keeping the fiddle at around 60% really helps its tone and response.
And I'm happy to be able to leave my Delrin Seery flute just lying around, fully assembled and ready to play, regardless of the weather. Of course, with it and my mandolin always at my side, I'm not getting any real work done at all.....
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by Will Harmon
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
So, do you know that tune called Drumshanbo?
Only musicians can talk about f-holes in polite company. Only flute players can deal in headjoints without getting in trouble with the law.
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by glauber
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
I've heard that name assigned to Eddie Kelly's Jig (the one with the B Part that goes |gfe gfe|Bee Bee|), but I don't know whether that's correct or not. Is Eddie Kelly's in the tune archives here? If not, I can post it.
F holes and g strings and tailpieces, oh my!
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by Will Harmon
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Yes, it's here. I didn't think it was the same tune, but it's probably just that we play a different setting. Thanks!
The little jar thing with the sponge inside is a good one. I'll need to make something like this for my new flute. Our humidity is at about 45% now and i'm starting to worry.
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by glauber
Re: basic fiddle maintenance (fitting strings)
Before fitting a new string it is good practice to apply a small amount of pencil lead graphite to the notch in the bridge and the corresponding notch in the nut. A 6B drawing pencil is suitable. Rub the pencil point down to a chisel edge, it can be applied more easily. If you've never done this then it is probably worth doing now. Slacken off the strings one at a time, apply the pencil lead and retighten the string before doing the next one. This stops the tensions in the fiddle from getting too much out of balance.
The lead graphite acts as a lubricant and stops the string from sticking on the bridge when tuning. A sticking string is a string that is likely to break sooner rather than later.
When fitting a new string, feed the free end of the string into the hole in the peg as usual (a pair of tweezers helps to pull it through) and try to ensure the following:
1) Angle the string from the peg to the nut when the string is tightened up to pitch so that the tension of the string tends to pull the peg inwards and helps the peg to grip. This is easy with the A and D strings but isn't generally possible with the E and G, due to the design of the scroll box, in which case you'll find the string tends to rub against the inside of the scroll box. Try to avoid this contact as much as possible (it should never happen with the A and D).
2) The run of the A string from its peg passes over the D, E and G pegs. The run is well away from the G peg, so we can ignore that. Try to ensure that the A string does not contact the D or E pegs or the winding of the strings on them, because if there is contact, turning one peg could move another peg or alter the tension of the string on it.
3) The comment in 2) also applies to the run of the D string through the peg box.
If you're going to fit a complete new set of strings, do it in stages, because strings can take several days to settle down and an instrument may take weeks to settle from a change that is done all in one go. Change the strings one at a time and give the string one or two days to settle before doing the next one. I would change the A first, followed by the D and G, and E last of all.
Always tune a string up to pitch, not down from above. It is not good practice to overtune a new string in the hope that it will come down to the correct pitch. Not only does it put unnecessary strain on the bridge and other parts of the fiddle but it will weaken the string and probably affect its tone.
I have been using the new Zyex strings for a while, and other people like them as well. They are a new covered polymer composition with the same feel, tension and playability as the best gut strings, except that they stay very well in tune and are unaffected by temperature and humidity. They are not yet available for the viola or cello. Because the tension of Zyex strings is 30pc less than that of steel strings they can easily be tuned with the pegs (except the steel E of course), so if you use these strings (or covered gut) it is useful to ensure that your pegs can turn easily, but not too easily. You can buy a waxy composition to help sticking pegs turn, but be very sparing with it, or things will go the opposite way and the pegs will have trouble in holding the tension of the strings. Apply the wax composition (it looks a little like lipstick) with just one thin stroke along the length of the peg and then wiggle the peg in its peg holes to disperse the wax over the surface of the peg.
surface of the peg.
If your fiddle pegs are not hardwood then get hardwood pegs fitted as soon as you can. Needless to say, this is a job for a skilled craftsman. Softwood pegs (which tend to be found at the cheaper end of the range) don't last and distort with temperature and humidity. Top of the range hardwood pegs have beautiful gold or other inserts in the end. They may look good, but do nothing one way or the other for the tone or playability of the fiddle.
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by Trevor Jennings
Basic fiddle maintenance (sound post etc)
Every year or so you should have the sound post and bridge checked out by a competent technician. Sound posts alter dimensionally with time and can fall over if all the strings are slackened off simultaneously (see my previous posting about strings and pegs) - it happened once with my cello the day before a concert (panic!). The positioning of the sound post is critical to the tone of the fiddle, so leave this to the expert unless you know exactly what you're doing and why, and have the right tools (in which case you are indeed an expert).
Likewise, bridges don't last for ever. Again, choosing and fitting a bridge is job for the expert. You can get bridges with adjustable feet which are intended to be easy to fit. They're ok for an emergency, but nothing more.
Ideally, if you're replacing the sound post or the bridge then you should have both replaced, because they should be treated as an acoustically matched ensemble. Not only the position of these items is critical but, in the case of the bridge its top curvature which should be related to the shape of the fingerboard, and things like the quality and density of the timber. Believe it or not, one of the critical factors in a sound post is the direction of the grain of its wood relative to the axis of the fiddle.
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by Trevor Jennings
Basic fiddle maintenance (cleaning strings)
I find that isopropanol is an excellent string cleaner. It is a very volatile (and flammable) solvent that is used, amongst other things, for cleaning electrical components, and in medicine for cleaning purposes. It can easily be purchased in pharmacies (in the UK - I don't know about elsewhere).
Put a drop on a lint-free cloth, hold the fiddle so that the belly is vertical and the neck is parallel to the floor (so as to avoid any of the isopropanol getting on the varnish), and rub the cloth up and down the string, making sure you also do the underside of the string as well. The isopropanol evaporates very quickly so the cloth will be nearly dry when you've finished. Avoid touching the fingerboard with it, and certainly not the fiddle, because it will dissolve the varnish.
I don't recommend surgical spirit because it contains oils. Methylated spirits is a no-no for a similar reason.
I don't like using a lot of rosin. I apply rosin to my bows once a week or so, and then only three or four brisk swipes of the stuff on the bow (I do several hours a week playing on each of my fiddle and cello). I believe the less rosin you can get away with, the better. Too much rosin on a string will make the string heavier and alter its vibrations, diminishing its upper harmonics.
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by Trevor Jennings
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
If your strngs get really manky, they can be cleaned with medi - swabs (what you disinfect the skin with before an injection) or if you're really stuck and don't mind "whiffing" a bit, witha drop of perfume on a piece of cloth. Obviously don't let the liquid get on to the varnish and avoid using the wife's Chanel No. 5. Well, avoid getting caught if you do.
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by Niall L
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Hey Niall,
will alcohol work ? I beleive that's what's in the perfume. No, not the kind you drink...
# Posted on October 10th 2002 by Andee
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
I am with Michael on leaving a little rosin on the stings. I do like the attack. I have been doing it so long this way that I know what I am going to get when I use the bow. I usually seed the string with rosin before I start playing (running the bow across the strings.) It helps me by preventing those whisper notes.
Zina - I always believed that the strings should be tight enough to maintain the sound post position so that the shape of the violin does not suffer. Point out the error in my ways.
I have unintentionally cleaned my bow hair with stout. If you would like to try this, I recommend that you take a pair of scissors and clip the hair short at both sides after you clean it thorougly with the brew.
I am a mistreater of my violin. I think it sounds better all the time to spite me. I get it pampered once or twice a year. Perhaps it's a form of apology to my poor red violin.
# Posted on October 11th 2002 by Mark Cordova
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
I have always found that a soft toothbrush is very useful for cleaning the bow hair. Loosen the hair (but not too much) and then run the brush gently up and down the length a few times and this will remove excess rosin. If I have too much rosin on the bow it can cause the bow to slide over the note when you least want it to. That's my excuse anyway.
# Posted on October 11th 2002 by Geoff Pollitt
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Heres my little tuppence worth- the "Rough guide to the violin" book has a good section on basic cleaning, repair and maintenance as well as buying and an outline history of the violine family. A lot of it seems to be a matter of opinion- it says to clean strings with meths and I already did and find it fine- yet others here say "no-no".
# Posted on October 13th 2002 by Caraaz
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Hi Mark:
In the normal course of things, of course, the strings maintain pressure to the top of the fiddle body to, among many other things, hold the soundpost in place. The soundpost, as you know, connects the top and the back of the body of the fiddle to allow for better resonance, carrying the vibrations communicated from the bowing of the strings through the bridge to the top plate to the back of the fiddle. In short term storage and the general day to day, of course you should leave the strings on and tightened, although in case of short term storage, I'd probably at least loosen the strings a bit. Long term storage is a different matter -- the strings put an enormous amount of pressure on the fiddle, and if it gets damp or dry, the wood will suffer from the constant pressures of the strings.
After any long-term storage, though (counting in numbers of months, not simply days or weeks), I'd probably take a fiddle to a tech to have them do a set up, although I've certainly done without after checking that the bridge is still sound, the soundpost is in place, and probably replacing the strings (nothing like having one snap in your face -- gives you a permanent aversion to using old and probably untrustworthy strings).
Like many things, a fiddle is both extremely simple and extraordinarily complicated. Some fiddles are cigar boxes with strings and a neck added (and I mean that quite literally). Others are examples of physics and geometry and other such things. If you've ever seen a bridge break and crack the top plate of the fiddle, you'll begin to understand how much pressure the strings apply to the fiddle!
Zina
# Posted on October 13th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Andee: rubbing alcohol (isoprop, mainly, although there's other stuff in there, usually) is my favorite for cleaning strings, vodka is what I use when I'm in a bar and need to clean guck off my fingerboard or strings.
However, any drinking alcohol that has anything other than the alcohol in it (which is pretty much all of them) will leave the whatever else is in it on your strings after the alcohol has evaporated.
Someone inclined towards fussiness about details like strings that vibrate to their full potential is going to be more bothered about it than others, who may not ever hear any difference. It's also worth noting that cleaners with oils in may affect whether the resin (and therefore the bow) will get a good grip on the string. So -- whatever works for you!
P.S. Just as a matter of interest, isoprop is a poison. Vodka isn't, at least in recreational amounts. Another good reason to keep the vodka around for "cleaning" emergencies.
Zina
# Posted on October 13th 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Which brings up the only good use for Everclear - 99% pure grain alcohol. The other 1% is water. Very dangerous stuff & hard to come by as it's illegal in many states. But it's great for cleaning stuff.
# Posted on October 13th 2002 by B Rad
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Zina
My apologies for not warning that isoprop is toxic (as of course is meths). But I believe I did mention the point in a post to another discussion somewhere. The defence rests.
m
# Posted on October 13th 2002 by Trevor Jennings
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
lees:
here is my list:
1. set the bridge perpendicular to the top.
2. sight from the scroll down the fingerboard to the bridge and push the bridge left or right to center it on the sighting of the fingerboard.
3. put the bridge between the nicks on the f holes.
4. make sure the tail gut is short enough that the end of the tailpiece just extends a millimeter or two over the saddle towards the end button. If too loose, the stretched tailgut allows the tailpiece to wander gradually toward the bridge.
5. put ordinary blackboard chalk on pegs where they go in the peg holes to prevent slipping pegs.6. If the bridge warps, remove it, soak in warm water for 20 minutes, then clamp it between two blocks of wood until dry then put it back on the fiddle.
-dogma
# Posted on October 13th 2002 by dogmageek
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Number 6 sounds like a neat trick....
# Posted on October 13th 2002 by scottythefiddler
Re: basic fiddle maintenance
Hi Caraaz
The reason why I said that methylated spirit is a non-no for cleaning strings is that it contains additives which can leave a thin coating on the string or perhaps even damage it. If I may get a little technical for a moment, here is some further information.
Methylated spirit is more properly known as denatured alcohol. It is ethanol to which has been added one or more substances to render the alcohol entirely unfit for human consumption while allowing it to be used for most other purposes. It comes in various formulations. Some of the substances which can be used in these formulations are:
methanol (almost always present, evaporates easily, but toxic),
isopropanol (ok when used independently),
benzene (a carcinogen),
terpineol (an oil),
castor oil (another oil),
various dyes,
cadmium iodide (which would leave a coating when the meths evaporates), and
sulphuric acid (you may imagine what even a small amount of that could do to the strings!).
So the message is, you should find out the exact formulation of the denatured alcohol you propose to use, and don't use it unless it consists of ethanol and isopropanol only, and nothing else.
m
# Posted on October 17th 2002 by Trevor Jennings