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Sunday, December 11, 2011

The Importance Of Having Violin Repair Done By An Expert

By Rosemary Morris


Violins are instruments who are handcrafted in an intricate way in order to give rich melodies incomparable to other instruments. If it will be damaged, careful ways on how to preserve its quality should be initiated. It is important therefore to have a master luthier to do violin repair.

Violins are part of the string instrument family and are sometimes called fiddles. They have four strings played using a bow. They are made of wood, usually maple and spruce. The strings are made from gut or steel strings. They are then covered with varnish in deep amber colors. The wood and varnish improve with age making old fiddles much sought-after. Fiddles made during the 16th to 18th century are the most highly-priced.

A person who crafts fiddles is called a luthier. Luthiers also do the fixing of violins because they know the construction and relationship between the parts.

In fixing fiddles, the luthier will need basically the same materials he needs in crafting one. Wood of the same type as the wood of the damaged fiddle; tools like chisels; strings; varnish; and animal glue are some of those materials. With the advancement in technology, luthiers now incorporate ultraviolet light and endoscopes to visualize things inside the fiddle without taking it apart.

Repairing violins need delicate hands. If not done right, the fixing of a fiddle can actually change the way sound is produced by it. This is a great problem especially for master violinists whose bread and butter rely on their valuable fiddles. A mistake in fixing can permanently damage the fiddle.

Fixing a fiddle is a long and meticulous process. It can be really costly as it will be really fixed by hand. It can also take weeks and even months to do especially for old fiddles where you have to be extra careful as some of them are worth millions.

Having violin repair done by an expert is really important. In that way, you will be ensured that your precious violin is safe and will continue to play beautiful music.




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