Here is a little hobby Sunday project. The keys of our student piano are stuck. I first thought it might have been due to high humidity as this piano lives nearly outside. It ended up to be cockroach dirt stuck in between the keys. It was fairly easy to clean all that. Now the keys are working again. Soon I will have to tune it.
Tag: sound improvement
7/8 cello update No 6
After closing the cello the cello was ready to have the neck fitted. I was so lost in the work on this cello that I totally forgot to take photos . It is very important that the neck is in the right position, in the right angle overlapping the top plate the perfect amount to create a well balanced system of tension within the instrument.
The neck was fitted, glued and now I am nearly finished shaping the neck so it is very comfortable for the hands of the cellist guiding its fingers into the right position.
“Kaffee Kantate” by J.S. Bach
“Coffee…Coffee…I must have….” Lieschen, Schlendrian’s daughter
“…if three time a day I can’t drink my little cup of coffee then I would become so upset that I would be like a dried up piece of roast goat…”
“Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, smoother than muscatel wine.”
I totally agree…without coffee life is only half as good. But swapping coffee for a marriage…?…I don’t know…
But then Lieschen lets everyone know ”No suitor of mine should come to the house unless he himself has promised and it is written also in the marriage contract that I shall be permitted to make coffee whenever I want.”
Johann Sebastian Bach: “Kaffee Kantate” BWV 211
Just imagine Johann wrote this piece in 1732-35. Stradivari could have listened to it in the last years of his productive life. Maybe not on YouTube..this is the privilege of 2022
Weekly wisdom 30
Clean your violin every time after playing with your microfiber cleaning cloth.
If you clean your violin everyday after playing you will save money
- your strings will last longer
- your bridge will stay straight longer
- the violin does not need to be professionally cleaned by a violin maker as often
- the bridge feet are less likely to get stuck on the varnish, better sound for longer
- you will always enjoy your violn more, which means you play more and have more fun
Beautiful 7/8 studio violin finished
From the Workshop of Ilja Grawert & Son
“This is currently my favorite violin, even though it is a bit too small for my big violin makers hands. Its the one I grab…I so much enjoy playing this violin. I love its warm sound at the ear, it’s soft feel for the left hand, the easy speaking and most of all it’s powerful even tone qualities. It is the perfect violin to perform for someone with smaller hands.” Ilja Grawert
- has been built as a small 7/8 to suit a performer with extra small hands
- or is of too young age for a full size violin
- tonal qualities of a full size violin
- warm yet powerful and carrying tone
- The perfect instrument for solo performance in bigger halls with or without an orchestra
- with the look of an older violin, antiqued varnish, vibrant colours
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7/8 Studio Violin$8,995.00
Beautiful small 7/8 violin ground varnish pictures
Another beautiful studio violin in the making. With a few foundation layers you see the fire in the maple back.
The coloured varnish layers will be first orange red over-layed with a few layers of darker brown (photos still to come)
I painted some Fleur de Lis in the corners. The violin is fully plate tuned to insure the even, carrying, cremonese sound. For sale available in two weeks
New Studio violin model ‘Fleur de Lis’
Have a look at the video clip painting of my latest Studio violin. It is so much fun painting and varnishing
Keeping your bridge straight
I have a little clip on YouTube on how to keep your bridge straight. There are many reasons why bridges can warp.
- Humidity is a very big factor. Very high humidity it does not matter how well made, how seasoned & high quality the timber it will warp fast
- Badly filed grooves or winding of string broken at the bridge will pull the bridge more
- Always clean the strings and the top of the bridge after playing, that way the rosin dust does not make the strings stick in the grooves
- When the bridge top has moved in either direction and it does not get corrected it will warp
- Either if the neck angle is wrong, the saddle too high or low in short if the angle the strings are running over the bridge is that uneven so the bridge top gets pulled in one direction.
- Too high tension strings or a too high bridge due to a high neck angle
The best way of preventing it to warp is always keep your cello bridge stand straight as shown in the video
