Before watching each video in its entirety, I like to first listen to the instrument before any work is done, then I'll search forward to find the demonstration of the completed instrument. A 'before & after' comparison, as it were. It never fails to amaze me, how much of an improvement I hear! Thanks for doing all you do! I honestly believe you're making the world a better place, one rescued instrument at a time!
Proper setups are one of THE most overlooked parts of a new students equipment. Typically neither the student or parent (if purchasing for a child) just dont know any better and worse, many music stores either just dont do them or do them poorly and causes many aspiring musicians to stop learning..and we can't afford to lose any potential musicians at this point!. Thank you Olaf for helping educate people! Love your work sir. 👍👍
Olaf, Not the same instrument, I play Clarinet for many years and generally have a very good sound. My sound has recently begun to deteriorated, the lowest and highest notes were almost impossible to play well even with a good reed. I am old 82, and figured maybe it was my age, but it wasn't. Finally I discovered the problem, a key pad was not seating and covering the hole properly. I took it to the shop, they replaced the pad and it was like a new instrument, I could play with ease on all registers. When the woman who owned this violin got it back, it must have felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulders, that's how I felt. Why would a reputable business do this to her? Cheers, Rik Spector
I purchased the violin from Kennedy Violins, which was praised for beginners by Ray Chen. It was difficult to play so I took it to violin maker J. Brown, an older gentleman whose shop is located amid several colleges and a university. He lowered the nut, bored the slightly oval peg box holes, and adjusted the tailpiece. The tailpiece added 2 to 3 mm to string length. With my beginner discount, the cost was about $200, well worth it. Also switched to Tonica strings. The result is a beginner instrument that sounds wonderful and is a pleasure to play. I recently purchased a higher quality German bow which has much more hair and is wider. The difference in sound, the volume increase with the new bow is remarkable. The stick is Pernambuco. The frog is solid and clearly better built than the old bow. I selected it because it didn't bounce as easily as the one shipped with the violin. The cost was about $250. Perhaps you can do a video on bows. As a beginner (at age 81), I had no idea the difference a "just right" bow would make. I'm sure you carry a variety of bows and have preferences.
My kids and I have had bouncing bows when we were starting out. If the bow is tightened too much it will bounce more. If your arm is tense and you're holding the bow on the string instead of letting your arm weight rest pressure on the string, it will bounce. The different weights of bows and how they are balanced definitely make a difference. I second the vote for more bow content from @Olaf
If I were given a choice between having a great violin and a cheap bow, or an OK violin and a great stick, I’d go for the latter every time. Maybe a good player would think otherwise, but for the rest of us a quality bow gives immediate insight into how instrument and bow should interact. Bows IMO are a neglected subject when discussing violin sound.
I’ve been grateful to learn a lot about proper setup, and I’ve been able to help a lot of my students get a better setup. More recently, I’ve been able to set there instrument up better myself. It’s taken a lot of practice, research, and training, but it’s so great to help my students get the best sound.
It is possible to buy a very good mass-produced German violin from the late 19th and early 20th Century but you need to play them first. One of the best violins I have ever owned was a Japanese violin made in the early 20th Century. I have several great violins that I have totally rebuilt. The one I am working on now has a 6mm thick back plate. Even the sides are twice as thick as they should be.
I actually heard a acoustic guitar builder explain the bridge as the “tires of your car” the engine can be really good but if you have small tires you are not transfering the energy as well as you could be…
I have a bridge with a student curve on my more expensive instrument and one without on my old violin. I want to change the student's bridge, but my local luthier where I bought the violin is not qualified 😐 this makes me want to try myself.
Gotta lick the bridge for ideal tone 😂 (I get that the purpose was to moisten the wood for shaping, but I still found it amusing. Especially when you think that the instrument may well still have the original luthier's spit on it, haha)
I would like some stainless steel frets installed on my lap steel and the nut lowered so the strings are barley above the frets It is based on a copy of a the Il cannone violin that Paganini played think it was a guarnerius violin
I sounds much better now 😊. Oiling the bridge seems like that would adversely affect the vibrations? Some luthiers seal the bridge with some kind of diluted shellac sealer? ..not oil.
Many violin players, in the past, were poor and did not have a source for a new bridge. I have found several disgusting home-made bridges. I thought about saving the ones I replaced but they were so horrible, I threw them away. BTW What many people call mouse holes are the result of somebody repositioning a soundpost because they did not have a proper tool.
I understand why the bridge needs to touch the top plate with just the two small feet. But why does it have the holes in its body? Many other instruments, like pianos, have a solid bridge. Do the strings vibrate more vertically or more horizontally? You talked about some of the carving being cosmetic. I'm curious about the carving that functionally changes the sound. Thanks!
Great work looking after the customer Olaf. Maybe you were being a bit polite, but for $1000 I would expect an instrument that sounds a little sweeter. Are my expectations a bit high for an entry level instrument?
Hi Olaf, I guess it is winter time there in Brisbane. Here in Baltimore it is 38 C right now. Yes, the measurements and curvature for a violin bridge are publicly available, so are handy templates for thoseof us who have not been formally trained (such that we would in that case have all of thoese parameters memorized). What kind of oil do you apply to the bridge? Is that sun-dried boiled Linseed oil? That sounds MUCH better than it did before. Well done!
Yes... Wow... That's even warm for Brisbane. And we have what's called a cold snap at the moment... 8 to 17 degrees Celsius... Here we call that freezing. But most people would just laugh at us four complaining about the cold. Yes I use linseed oil.
Sometimes, when you talk about the setup, it sounds "a little" like chiropractic BS, but not exactly. 🤣🤣 That is no criticism, just a funny observation. I believe it stems, from your passion, for your work. It is all understandable, if someone has viewed a few of your other videos. You do need to have "Some" understanding of instruments. 😁✌🖖
Have bad instrument is frustration, difficult to play hurt your ear and wasting time. If you have budget dont waste your time buy more advance violin and bow
