Repairs & Restorations

Bridges

Bridges have a fundamental role in the setups of violins, violas, cellos and double basses, as they act as a conduit between the strings and body of the instrument. Therefore, having a bridge that fits and works well for your instrument is important in making a good sound. 

We source our bridges from a variety of places in Europe, which our workshop then needs to adjust and fit to your instrument. Our prices are based on the quality of bridge, as well as the amount of skilled work needed to adjust the bridge for your standard of instrument. 

If you would like to fit a new bridge onto your instrument, or you are not sure if you need one, please book an appointment to speak with a member of our workshop team.

String Fittings

As every player will know, the strings play an integral role in the production and quality of sound the instrument makes. They are also the part that breaks the most and wears the quickest - we have a number of resources to help you maintain your strings and detect when your strings need changing.

When one of our workshop team puts new strings on an instrument, we will check the moving parts to make sure there are no issues. As this can help maintain good condition of your instrument, we would recommend booking your instrument in for a string change with one of our workshop team members.

Soundposts

A soundpost is a cylindrical dowel placed inside your instrument near the base of the treble side bridge foot and is held up by tension. Although relatively small and inconspicuous, it has a major acoustical and structural effect on an instrument; its main function is to transmit the vibrations of the string from the top plate to the back plate, meanwhile supporting the front in counteracting the stresses of string tension.

A well placed and good fitting soundpost is important when attempting to create the best sound possible for your instrument.

On higher quality instruments, we may discuss altering the tone your instrument by moving the soundpost. In this case our workshop staff would work closely with you to find the position to best suit your playing style and instrument - we call this a “tonal adjustment” and either can be done on the current or a new soundpost, depending on the current condition of your soundpost.

To have a tonal adjustment with one of our senior luthiers we would first require for you to book a repair assessment. During the repair assessment, we will let you know if a tonal adjustment is suitable and book you in for a future appointment in one of our testing rooms.

Pegs

Pegs are used to loosen and tighten the strings, which changes their pitch. Because of this, pegs play a major part of the mechanics of violins, violas and cellos. A peg that is heavily worn or badly fitted can start slipping or sticking.

If you are having these issues, we recommend booking an appointment with one of our workshop team members to assess, as it may be time for a peg service or new pegs.

There is a large range of pegs available when fitting new pegs. Typically, violins, violas and cellos are fit with a variety of traditional pegs in ebony, rosewood or boxwood. In all materials, pegs can vary in quality and price, between $10 and $100 for a set.

More recently, geared and keyless pegs have become more popular, in particular Wittner Finetune Pegs, Perfection Geared Pegs, Stringvision Cello Keypegs.

Nuts

The nut is a small piece of wood, typically ebony, which the strings run over on the scroll end of the fingerboard. There are three main things to look at on your instrument's nut: height, shape and the grooves.

In many cases, we can adjust the current nut, or if it is too low, we can raise the nut with a shim. However, if a restorer cannot fix the issue with the current nut, we may need to put on a new nut.

If you have noticed a buzz on your instrument, you are having issues with detuning, or you are constantly breaking strings, it could be an issue with the nut on your instrument. As all these issues can be caused by other parts of the instrument, we would recommend first booking in for a repair assessment and mentioning the issue to our workshop.

Fingerboards

The fingerboard is typically made from ebony and sits under the strings – it plays the role of supporting the player's fingers to create the desired note. It is glued to the neck from the bottom of the scroll box and carries on to halfway down the body of the instrument. It is important to have a smooth, and gently curved, fingerboard to avoid buzzing noises and for comfort whilst playing.

As the fingerboard is a large piece of wood, it is susceptible to changes in weather and humidity, as well as wear from use and knocks. In many cases, it is possible to glue or plane the fingerboard to fix these issues however, in some instances, a luthier may need to replace the fingerboard altogether.

As it can be difficult to know what the best solution is, we recommend first booking in for a repair assessment.

Tailpieces

The tailpiece holds the strings on the lower end of the body of the instrument and can have the ability to change the pitch using adjusters. The tailgut is a detachable part of the tailpiece that hooks around the endpin, anchoring the tailpiece and strings to the instrument.

There is a large variety of tailpieces with several differences: they can be made of different materials, can have optional numbers (0-4) and styles of adjusters and vary in size.

To fit a new tailpiece, the strings and bridge must be taken off the instrument. Therefore, in most scenarios when changing a tailpiece, it is recommended to book in for a tailpiece fitting:

As the tailgut takes time to stretch, our policy is to keep the instrument overnight to check that the tailpiece has settled and make sure everything is in working order. If you are unsure whether you require a new tailpiece, please book an appointment to talk to one of our workshop team.

Endpins

The endpin sits at the bottom of bowed stringed instruments and is used to anchor the tailpiece. On cellos and double basses, the endpin assembly also holds the spike, which is used to adjust the height of the instrument and place it into the ground.

They are a key part of the structure of the instrument as they hold a large amount of tension, both from the strings/tailpieces but also, for cellos and double basses) from the player leaning into the instrument. This tension can cause for the endpins to wear and break, or for the endpin holes to open up.

Endpin issues can be less obvious than others, which means they are often only found during a repair assessment, restoration or when they break. A list of some of the fixes for these issues are below.

For cellos and double basses, there is a variety of different styles of endpin, both for the quality of the material and mechanics of the endpin assembly, as well as for the rod/spike.

If you are having any issues with the endpin, spike or aren’t sure, please book in for a repair assessment to discuss the issue with one of our workshop team.