This viola came in because there was an unexplained buzz and a general lack of good tone. I discovered that the neck angle of the instrument had pulled up, resulting in a very low elevation and uncomfortably high strings even with a very low bridge.
I decided it was best to do a neck reset and fit a new bridge, and I managed to get the elevation up from 25mm to 31.5!
I also narrowed down the probable source of the buzz to a loose seam between the back and the side. I thought it was only in one small area, but when I came to repair it I realised that one whole side of the instrument was on the verge of coming unglued, due to rib shrinkage resulting in a very large overhang (unusual as it’s usually the plates which shrink, diminishing the overhang.)
The owner was also find it a struggle to tune with the pegs, and after having used geared tuners on her violin she was keen to try those on the viola too. I agreed to fit a set of these, although it turned out to be a slightly bigger job than expected because the old peg holes were so large that they needed bushing and re-drilling in order to accommodate even the largest size of geared tuner!
(I also fitted a new soundpost because the old one wasn’t offering sufficient sound transmission between the front and back. A loose soundpost can also be a potential source of buzzing when it leaves the front plate too free to vibrate out of control.)
