Michelsen Music Repair & Supply

Helping Kids Grow Through Music for 27 Years

Schofield, WI 715-355-0406 (888-355-0406)  and Negaunee, MI 906-475-4892 (800-475-4892)
 
String Instrument Anti-Aging Protocol

After many years of playing, brass and woodwind instruments wear out.  Not so with bowed string instruments like the violin.  Yes, strings wear out or break and bridges may need to be replaced, but many players claim that the instruments themselves improve with age.  In fact, your grandkids could be playing your well-built violin or cello long after you’re gone – as long as you take a few simple steps to keep it healthy and happy!

The single most important thing you can do for your string instrument is to control the humidity.  Humidity is huge, and affects nearly every type of instrument.   We’ll devote an entire article to it this fall when it starts to turn dry.

Besides humidity issues, the three biggest maintenance problems we see in student instruments are:
1.  Crooked bridges. A crooked bridge will warp, or in extreme cases even snap in half.

2.  Allowing rosin to remain on the top of the instrument, where it chemically bonds with and ruins the finish.

3.  Always tuning from the fine tuners, and never backing them off.  This allows the ends of the fine tuners on the underside of the tail piece to come dangerously close to the top of the instrument.  If the tail piece gets hit with the tuners in this condition it drives them into the top of the instrument where they leave deep gouges.

Here’s what you can do to keep your violin looking and sounding beautiful well into old age:
  • Move and straighten the bridge when it gets out of position. 
  • Keep the rosin wiped off the top of the instrument to preserve the finish. 
  • And periodically back off the fine tuners, taking up the slack with the ebony tuning pegs.

We’ll go into more detail in future issues.  In the meantime, if you need help learning to care for your instrument, ask your teacher.  Or call us!  We’re always happy to answer questions and help keep instruments in good working order.  After all, that’s our job. (And we never charge for advice!)
Click here for instrument care tips and more!

 

"(I)t is without reservation, that I recommend Dan's craftsmanship to any musician, who wishes superior repair and restoration to their instrument. His attention to detail and knowledge will increase the precision of the instrument and the quality of your playing."

-John T. Brown, Tenor Saxophone Artist & Instructor, Marshfield, WI

"My son is a music education major at St. Norbert College. We have brought both of his trumpets in for repair and have been very satisfied. One trumpet was never right from the time of purchase from another store. Michelsen repaired it so that it was better than new. We have been very happy."
  
- Michael Maher, Wausau

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