Posted by fiddlepogo on Monday, April 18, 2011
As I was a walking this mornin' for exercise,
I spied a violinist come walkin' along,
and I asked him to please advise,
"Is there any reliable place to get soundpost work and rehairs done?"
Seriously, I met a violinist on my morning walk that I knew.
And he told me there is a new violin place in town, and the guy apprenticed to a reliable maker,
and he's into repairs, not making violins. That's good news because makers often don't want to
take time from their own creations to fix other people's, especially such lowly instruments as mine.
So, after my Monday volunteer gig, I took in all 3 of my fiddles.
He's fiddler friendly!!!
He's also mostly into servicing student level instruments, and keeping prices low, and that's double good news for me!
I showed him Stinky, the eBay Chinese Knilling first. She's in for a new sound post and a new bridge,
and I'm hoping she'll sound as good as she used to, or better.
The Knilling Bucharest got a clean bill of violin health, and he felt the sound was good for what I'm playing, Old Time style anyway. He didn't think I'd done anything too weird to the bridge either.
As far as the Eastman Chinese VL100, he does think he can probably do something with the soundpost and or bridge to improve the sound of the E string and give it more clarity (It hasn't had an adjustment since I bought it new a year ago). But since I use it most for practicing my Irish stuff, I'll wait until I get "Stinky" back before putting the Eastman in. (Ironically, the Eastman is stinkier than Stinky, although I think the smell has diminished since last spring as the wood has gassed out.)
Anyway, I should get "Stinky" back in a week, and I'll give a full report then.
Oh yeah- I couldn't resist looking at bows. He had a Pfretzschner, very much like the one I had in the 1970's, and to my surprise, I liked my bows better! Good thing- the Pretzschner is $575, and that's a bit much for my wallet!!! Seems like every wood bow I try has a bit of a quiver in it, some more, some less, and I don't like it. My fiberglass bows have only a little, and my carbon fiber has none. I wonder if it's a wood thing, or maybe because of the TUF hold. He didn't have any fiberglass or carbon fiber bows- the place he studied was very wood bow oriented, but I passed along what I'd heard (much of it here) about good ones. I told him about the Fiddle Hangout, so maybe he'll show up shortly.
I thought my brazilwood bow was heavy, and it is- it weighed a gram more than his 67 gram viola bow! That gram is probably due to the cable tie I use as a TUF thumb-rest. So if I ever get a viola or a 5 string, I've already got a bow for it!!!
7 comments on “Stinky FINALLY Goes In For Repairs!!!”
richdissmore Says:
Monday, April 18, 2011 @8:00:19 PM
good for you we had a repair man he was 80 years old he had a stroke his name is dean murrey to bad he was cheap to the he got real bad can,t work on fiddles any more in racine wis. we have a new one in milwaukee kerinthian violins
mudbug Says:
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 @1:56:21 AM
Don't take this the wrong way, but the quiver might be in you, the bow just accentuates it.
bj Says:
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 @5:57:03 AM
What Mudbug said . . . my wood bows have forced me to get serious about bow control, since they amplify every missstep. Good news is I can now do more with them than I ever could with the CF or fiberglass bows I've used.
fiddlepogo Says:
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 @12:00:55 PM
Well, in a way... I don't think it's so much me quivering as I get pretty forceful with a bow on Old Time... take it right to the edge of control... and it may have something to do with TUF- with TUF the pull is along the hair, not the bow stick, and some sticks may not like that.
I'll have to fiddle a little with the thumb on the stick to see if the quiver goes away then.
I don't think I notice it nearly as much on my Irish tunes, where I use a much gentler approach.
Also, I've noticed that I tend to favor different bow for Irish tunes and Old Time tunes.
You could put it this way- when I play Old Time, I'm playing drums with the bow, and the bow is the DRUM STICK.
It also occurred to me that it MAY be bothering my eyes more than my actual playing... I tend to watch the bowhair/string crossing point to keep the bow from drifting from the sweet spot... and a small quiver only a few inches from your eyes looks REALLY BIG!!!.
Oldtimer himself said TUF works well with cheap bows... maybe it's this luthier's CHEAP bows I need to be checking out!!!
And frankly I'm just fine with having carbon fiber and/or fiberglass bows, if they do the job... more peace of mind for an absent minded klutz who is gigging a lot, was jamming a lot, and is probably going to be busking a lot.
Since my carbon fiber LaSalle is my overall favorite bow, I'm keen to try a K. Holtz carbon fiber since they seem to be more consistent than the LaSalles, and they pay attention to balance. Also Codabows, but that may be a little pricey for me.
fiddlepogo Says:
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 @12:05:19 PM
Yeah Rich,
It's tough when a luthier who's a local institution dies and nobody takes his/her place.
Old luthiers should keep in contact with luthiery schools or include in their will that such and such a luthiery school
should be contacted so they can send someone in to cover the area.
bj Says:
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 @6:25:35 PM
LOL! You've never seen how seriously I take the phrase "playing drums with the bow" have you?
Mandogryl Says:
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 @11:22:18 AM
How did Stinky get its name?
I like it!
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