Daily Archives: December 22, 2024

This cello came in because the owner wasn’t really satisfied with the tone and projection. She also struggled to tune it with the pegs, which were a form of early metal peg but without any mechanical functionality, and much harder to operate than regular wooden pegs would have been. The endpin also slipped quite easily.

When I examined the cello I found that the bridge was simply not the right width for the internal components of the instrument leading to the bass bar and soundpost being unable to do their job properly. I replaced the bridge as well as fitting a steel tailpiece cable to help clarify the sound. I also fitted a set of much more effective modern geared pegs and a new end pin.

The front of the cello had also got quite grimey and needed a good clean and polish.

This violin came into the workshop because the owner felt like the tone had got worse recently. The soundpost wasn’t a great fit, and the bridge had been glued together. The pegs were also very slippy… And this is the state in which it was sold to the owner!

I fitted a new bridge, soundpost, strings and pegs which made a big difference.

This violin wandered into the workshop because the bridge has fallen over. I put the bridge upright, but the owner was also concerned that the tone on the E string was rather twangy. It turned out that the soundpost was very far out of position and too tight. I also replaced the tailpiece with one which sports built in fine-tuners.

This violin came into the workshop because the owner had noticed the tone becoming gradually more fuzzy over years. I could tell straight away that the soundpost needed replacing- it turned out that the instrument had never had a new soundpost fitted since it was made! I also treated it to new strings.

This violin came into the workshop for a new bridge because the old one was very warped. It’s always interesting to look inside violins whilst the strings are off – although it’s tidy on the outside, the inside of this violin looks like it came straight from the carving gouge without any refinement.