ADJUSTING A VIOLIN 

(Checklist)

This checklist will help in one of the most typical, essential, and frequent tasks in the violin
shop - "setting-up" or adjusting a violin for sound and playability. Here at Strobels' we
definitely live in the real world, and a majority of the violins we supply are inexpensive new
instruments for students. Even though new violins are purchased as "shop adjusted", this is
often a matter of interpretation - or euphemism. Optimal adjustment for the student means he
will not be faced with gratuitous obstacles. Of course nothing less than the best is tolerable
for the professional.

Optimizing the adjustment is a matter of experience and sensitivity of touch and hearing, but
we have learned from time and tradition certain good typical measurements. This is why I
wrote "Useful Measurements for Violin Makers, A Reference for Shop Use." It includes size
and adjustment information for all sizes of the violin, viola, cello, and bass, and is
indispensable for most violin shops, responsible music stores, and many professional string
teachers.

So why am I writing this "checklist?" The idea just occurred to me this morning as I was
working with my son, Henry Jr, who is learning the trade and setting up new student violins
in our shop. Perhaps it will help others in similar learning situations. This is only an outline
for a full size violin; the book has much more detail.

 EXAMINE the violin overall.

 Note what needs to be REPLACED, or is missing. For example, we may decide to

replace the original equipment strings with Helicore, the fine tuners with black
Wittners, and the tailgut with a "Sacconi." See "Useful Measurements for Violin
Makers," pages 19-21 for information on choosing and installing strings. If the bridge
is a poorly cut, mushy one, we will choose and fit a hard one, a genuine Aubert or
similar. Collect the materials needed.

 REMOVE the strings, bridge, tailpiece, chinrest, endpin, and soundpost. Leave the
pegs in for now to avoid interchanging them.

 NOTE: The order of the next three steps may have to be altered. For example, a nut
may have to be removed so a fingerboard can be properly planed.

 Check the FINGERBOARD for the curvature and lengthwise concavity ("scoop") and
correct it if necessary. This is often overlooked on student violins and causes no end
of buzzes and botheration. A straight board is nearly tolerable, especially in the lower
positions, but one that droops toward the bridge is not. Such a warp may occur when
an instrument is shipped with the strings down tight against (instead of alongside) the
fingerboard, or is packed too tightly. Also lift up on the lower end of the fingerboard
to check if it is loose. This hidden problem is a frequent cause of neck warping.

 Check the fingerboard PROJECTION at the bridge line (between the inner soundhole
notches), about 27 mm high on a normal 4/4 violin. If it is too low you may decide to
"reset" it by loosening the upper half of the front, placing a shim between the base of
the neck and the front, and regluing. (In more extreme cases, reject the violin - it was
made wrong.)
 Check and correct the string NUT as necessary. They are generally too high on new
factory fiddles, making them hard to play. File the nut down to about a mm above the
fingerboard, and sloping down into the pegbox. Recut the grooves as needed about 5.5
mm string center to center, but all the grooves should be shifted about a mm toward
the bass side. See the template in 'Useful Measurements," page 12. The string grooves
at the nut (and at the bridge) should be about as wide as the string diameter, but only
about 1/3 as deep. Use a "mouse tail" file. The string should rest "on," not "in" the
grooves. Remove any sharp edges from the ends of the nut with a flat file, rounding
them smoothly down to the fingerboard and pegbox. (On old violins the strings may
be too low at the nut, causing buzzing. Make a new nut or place a shim under the old
one so there is at least a quarter mm under the E string and a third of the string
diameter under the others.)

 Make sure the PEGS fit and operate smoothly and securely after applying Hills' peg
compound. Pegs on new violins often fit poorly, are too long, are out of round from
shrinking, have ugly sawn ends, have too small or wrongly placed string holes, etc.
See "Violin Making, Step by Step," pages 62-64 for details of peg fitting.

 Check the POST for correct grain direction, angle and fit of the front and back ends,
and length. A too tight (too long) post can cause disastrous cracks as well as a
cramped tone. See "Useful Measurements," page 23 for its position and adjustment.
Reset it through the treble soundhole, then looking through the endpin hole to check
that it is vertical. Also note: a good rule is that the post should be about as far from the
bridge as the front is thick. This helps keep thin violins from tubbiness and thick ones
from brassiness.

 Install the FINE TUNERS into the tailpiece, insuring adequate clearance for ball end
strings and checking that they operate smoothly. (A little beeswax is a great help.)
Reinstall the endpin. Install the tailgut into the tailpiece, adjusting the knurled brass
nuts so that, when under string tension, the lower end of the tailpiece is even with the
lower edge of the saddle. Usually this will give about the right distance from the
bridge to the tailpiece. Cut off excess tailgut length.

 Fit the feet of the BRIDGE precisely to the front of the violin and at the right
"backtip" angle. See the diagram in "Useful Measurements," page 22, and "Violin
Making, Step by Step," pages 66-70 for details of bridge fitting. (You really need this
book, or a good teacher, if you're new at cutting bridges.) The bridge height is set with
the G and E strings temporarily installed. The upper edge, its curvature, thickness, and
grooves are then completed.

 Apply a little GRAPHITE lubricant from a No. 2 pencil to the nut and bridge string
grooves.

 Now install the STRINGS in the "upward pegbox" order, G, E, D, A. The strings are
wound so as to end just snugly at the side of the pegbox, not jammed against it. This
enables smooth, secure tuning, without danger of the peg coming completely loose.
High quality modern compound steel core strings give excellent sound, are more
stable and durable than the gut or synthetics, and are a better match to the
convenience of fine tuners.
 Select and install a suitable CHINREST. Many teachers do not recommend the flat
"Guarneri" style for young students, however usual among performers. An "edu" or
"low Teka" gives better security and comfort. Avoid the waffle-grid types. For those
few students whose chin straddles the tailpiece, a "Flesch model without the hump" is
recommended. SHOULDER REST selection is best left to the player or teacher, but
don't stock any that damage the instrument.

 Play it and adjust the bridge position and angle, post, etc. and don't put it on the shelf
until it's right!

Back to the front page

Copyright © 1997-2000 Henry Strobel.