Part One: A Cooke's Tour of the Violin!
Your Violin has several very important components:
The "body" of the instrument, any instrument, will be poor or good depending on several factors:
Whether or not the instrument is old or new, modern or antique, actually has relatively little bearing on it's quality. Unless one is talking about a famous old instrument maker (which lends the instrument an intrinsic antique value), or whose skill makes any of their instruments desirable, generally speaking modern violins will offer a certain set of advantages and old will offer a different set - not better, just different.
As a rule of thumb with violins, up to €2000 euros you will buy, pound for pound, a better instrument by buying new rather than old; after that you will find instruments within each price range -whether old or new -that have a great deal to offer.
Assuming you have chosen well within your price range, and have a violin with a decent body.....the "fittings" will now determine whether or not you will draw out the best sound if which that body is capable. This is true for a Strad or Amati as well as for a Shimro or Pelllini. If your pegs, strings, bridge, soundpost, etc are well made, of good quality materials and properly fitted you will get the best from your instrument - this also has the side effect of ensuring that your instrument is easier to tune and maintain.
So, assuming you have got all these elements correct -
Part Two: Care of your Violin
Like all wood instruments your violin prefers to kept at a steady room temperature, neither too cold nor too warm. A cold room will do little damage to a violin except to knock it out of tune, as long as it is not damp. A too-warm room however can encourage warping in the wood, or loosening of the glue. If a room is damp it can also loosen the glus, grow mildew inside the body of the instrument, and generally be very destructive.
It is imperative therefore to avoid damp. As for warmth , if one is in a warm dry climate, or keeping an instrument in a house that is constantly warm and dry (think central heating on full blast!) then it is best to use a humidifier. Humidifiers cost €10.95 apx and can save you from doing untold damage to your violin.
Never ever clean the wood of the instrument or the strings, with anything other than a good violin cleaner. We recommend our clear brand,available on request, or Hills Violin Cleaner (creamy) or for modern instruments, Royal Oak Varnish Cleaner. Never use furniture cleaner, or water, or soap...equally importantly, never use any product on the strings except one of the above recommended cleaners, and then only a very very small amount lightly applied. In the absence of the above cleaners one may use a tiny drop of 4711 Eau de Cologne, lightly and quickly appied to the strings.
Never let down all the strings on your instrument at once as this will release the tension on your soundboard (front of the instrument) and cause the soundpost to collapse. If you ever find that your soundpost has collapsed inside the violin, go immediately to a reputable dealer and have it stood up properly.. Many amatuers flatter themselves that they can fit bridges and adjust soundposts but most are less than satisfactory at these skills. Don't be foolish: always get your instrument serviced by a qualified and respected repairer.
Your bow needs to be wound down before you put it away for the day: failing to do so will eventually put too much pressure on the camphor of the stick and warp it. It is not necessary to wind down the hair until it is excessively loose: "slack" is all that is required. Equally one should not wind up the hair to be excessively tight: always leave a curve in the bow stick..If you find the stick is straight, or concave, when wound up, your bow-hair is too long.
Avoid touching the hair as much as possible..even clean hands will release oils and acid which will dirty and damage the hiar...Always use a good quality resin: scrimping and saving on the resin at the cost of a good sound and long lasting strings and hair is just silly. A good student resin like AB or Royal Oak Rosinio is ideal for grades 1-3 and there are lots of great quality intermediate and professional resins....the type of resin you use with any particualr type of string can greatly enhance your sound. At the top of the range are the Liebenzeller resins made of larch and gold: Pirastro has a large range, and also recommended are the Royal Oak pure and hypoallergenic ranges, D'addario Kaplan, Milliant and Millliant Jade, Thomastik. Szigetti and more.
I fyou get grease or oil onto the bow hair, do not try to cover it up with lots more resin. Not only will this not work...it will make the situation worse. Go immediately to a reputable repairer and have the hair cleaned. If possible get your bow rehaired at least once a year (traditional and folk players may find this turns out to be every few months is their style of playing is very hard on the hair) Never try to "wash" the hair yourself: bow makers and repairers have perfected the art, using special formulas.....you will not achieve the same effect at home: you can do irreperable damage. Again it is madness to save yourself a couple of euro's at the cost of your bow and performance.
If you have any further queries about stringed instrument care, or care of bows -
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