I have just had my fiddle bow rehaired for the first time in its life (about 11 years old) , a new soundpost fitted, and the bridge adjusted. My fiddle had quite a mellow, rich sound, but since these repairs were made it sounds like a completely different instrument - really harsh and scrapey - particularly on the a string.
My bow also seems to bounce on the strings, most noticeably when I change bow direction. I just dont feel like I want to play it at all - and really dont know what to do next - help!
Maybe it' s something you have to get used to, sounds to me that the fiddle is more responsive now and you were probably used to use a lot of force, which from now on is not necessary any more.
Start with a very gentle bow touch - the lightest you can master - and build up from there.
But of course Alister can be right. It's hard to say from here.
Did you get the work done at a reputable shop? There are lots of people doing instrument work who don’t really have the training and experience for it.
11 years is a long time between bow rehairs. Now that the bow is "sticky" again, you may have to retrain yourself to change direction more carefully--keep your wrist supple to help absorb the bouncing. On the upside, you can now get much better definition of your notes, once you make the adjustment.
And yes, take it back and have them tweak the soundpost adjustment for you, if you're unhappy with the overall tone. Although I agree with Henk--it just might be that you need to adjust your technique to the more-responsive fiddle.
Here's a car analogy: You became accustomed to driving an old Ford with loose steering and soft suspension, and now you have a Porsche with tight, twitchy steering and firm suspension. The Porsche is much more maneuverable than the Ford, but you have to adjust your driving technique.
A muted fiddle will always sound mellower than one that has been set up correctly. If the set up has brought out the top end of the fiddle, you can test this by putting a mute, clothes peg or blu tack on the bridge. If you like the muted sound better, ask for the soundpost to be moved (away from the bridge). They should be able to do this while you are there. Another thing that changes sound enormously is the bridge. Even half a millimetre of thickness or an extra millimetre out of the ears will make a large difference. Ask if they still have the old bridge and post and compare them. If it has been set up well it may well benefit from a different type of string (synthetic core rather than steel).
As to the bow, if it was a fairly weak bow in the first place, it may not perform well with a full head, 150 hairs, but may need considerably less as it had before. Weaker bows with a full rehair tend to feel more 'whippy' after the rehair.
Above all before accusing the repairer, get someone else you know to play the instrument and bow and give their advice before taking it back. If the repairer does not know what they are doing, you may have to go to someone else to get the job put right. Good repairers tend to come through recommendations, not adverts.
Best of luck.
Not something that I have had a lot of experience of, I tend to put on the best bridges I could get my hands on, even the best bridges cost no more than 10 pounds for a blank and that is not a lot of money even for a fiddle worth a couple of hundred.
thanks for all these useful suggestions - I have tried a peg on the bridge, and it certainly seems to change the tone to something like I'm aiming for , so maybe I'll have the soundpost slightly altered - my bow seems to have settled down a bit too - I think I may have had the bow hair too taut - I'm never really that sure what tension is right, and with the old bow hair I had it maybe more taut than normal in order to get a louder sound. Anyway, half term this week , so I'll be playing more Lego (with my 7 yeal old) than fiddle - but next week I can get stuck in. Thanks again.
fiddle repairs
fiddle repairs
I have just had my fiddle bow rehaired for the first time in its life (about 11 years old) , a new soundpost fitted, and the bridge adjusted. My fiddle had quite a mellow, rich sound, but since these repairs were made it sounds like a completely different instrument - really harsh and scrapey - particularly on the a string.
My bow also seems to bounce on the strings, most noticeably when I change bow direction. I just dont feel like I want to play it at all - and really dont know what to do next - help!
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by calum's van
Re: fiddle repairs
sounds like the soundpost isn't quite in the right place. I'd take it back
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by Alister
Re: fiddle repairs
Maybe it' s something you have to get used to, sounds to me that the fiddle is more responsive now and you were probably used to use a lot of force, which from now on is not necessary any more.
Start with a very gentle bow touch - the lightest you can master - and build up from there.
But of course Alister can be right. It's hard to say from here.
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by Henk Bos
Re: fiddle repairs
Ask someone else to play it for you, it may sound better to everyone else - no compensation for you, though.
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: fiddle repairs
Did you get the work done at a reputable shop? There are lots of people doing instrument work who don’t really have the training and experience for it.
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by Bob himself
Re: fiddle repairs
11 years is a long time between bow rehairs. Now that the bow is "sticky" again, you may have to retrain yourself to change direction more carefully--keep your wrist supple to help absorb the bouncing. On the upside, you can now get much better definition of your notes, once you make the adjustment.
And yes, take it back and have them tweak the soundpost adjustment for you, if you're unhappy with the overall tone. Although I agree with Henk--it just might be that you need to adjust your technique to the more-responsive fiddle.
Here's a car analogy: You became accustomed to driving an old Ford with loose steering and soft suspension, and now you have a Porsche with tight, twitchy steering and firm suspension. The Porsche is much more maneuverable than the Ford, but you have to adjust your driving technique.
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by John Galt
Re: fiddle repairs
A muted fiddle will always sound mellower than one that has been set up correctly. If the set up has brought out the top end of the fiddle, you can test this by putting a mute, clothes peg or blu tack on the bridge. If you like the muted sound better, ask for the soundpost to be moved (away from the bridge). They should be able to do this while you are there. Another thing that changes sound enormously is the bridge. Even half a millimetre of thickness or an extra millimetre out of the ears will make a large difference. Ask if they still have the old bridge and post and compare them. If it has been set up well it may well benefit from a different type of string (synthetic core rather than steel).
As to the bow, if it was a fairly weak bow in the first place, it may not perform well with a full head, 150 hairs, but may need considerably less as it had before. Weaker bows with a full rehair tend to feel more 'whippy' after the rehair.
Above all before accusing the repairer, get someone else you know to play the instrument and bow and give their advice before taking it back. If the repairer does not know what they are doing, you may have to go to someone else to get the job put right. Good repairers tend to come through recommendations, not adverts.
Best of luck.
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by tlittlewazzock
Re: fiddle repairs
Milosdad, have you noticed a lot of difference in the sound of expensive bridges vs cheap ones?
# Posted on February 10th 2006 by Bob himself
Re: fiddle repairs
Not something that I have had a lot of experience of, I tend to put on the best bridges I could get my hands on, even the best bridges cost no more than 10 pounds for a blank and that is not a lot of money even for a fiddle worth a couple of hundred.
# Posted on February 11th 2006 by tlittlewazzock
Re: fiddle repairs
thanks for all these useful suggestions - I have tried a peg on the bridge, and it certainly seems to change the tone to something like I'm aiming for , so maybe I'll have the soundpost slightly altered - my bow seems to have settled down a bit too - I think I may have had the bow hair too taut - I'm never really that sure what tension is right, and with the old bow hair I had it maybe more taut than normal in order to get a louder sound. Anyway, half term this week , so I'll be playing more Lego (with my 7 yeal old) than fiddle - but next week I can get stuck in. Thanks again.
# Posted on February 13th 2006 by calum's van