Cello sound post crack violin

You can get this kind of repair done cheaper, but this is a serious cello, worth the money to fix. Have the sound post checked to make sure it is not correspondingly too short or too long. Sound post cracks are very common in the long life of a violin family instrument. If a sound post is too long, we trim down the sound post to prevent the pressure from cracking the top plate. Violin viola s style sound post setter, sets the standard for the very useful s setter, rubber grip, stainless steel sharpened point usa. Despite only falling a very short distance onto a carpeted floor, as you can see, the upper bass rib was quite badly cracked as a result. Repairing a crack over the sound post requires a patch on the inside of the top plate. Fine strings is owned and operated by olivia pelling, a luthier based in ottawa, ontario, canada. Instrument repairs t he sound post has a repair and restoration team comprised of luthiers with specialized training at european violin making schools and considerable international experience. It is important that the soundpost be put in its default position with just light force. The sound post is a small dowel of spruce that is held by friction between the top and back plates of a violin viola, cello, or string bass, situated under the treble side of the bridge. As the parent of a violin student, you may be curious about how much you can expect to pay for a particular repair. Soundposts in student instruments fall all too often. In the end this is a great little violin that will make the owners happy for years to come.

Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths. Violin smg 2 gauge is 6 mm thus it will be held tight in the 6 mm sm tool cradle. The sound post is a cylindrical piece of wood inside the violin, viola or cello body that joins the belly to the underside of the instrument and is located below one foot of the bridge. Verify that post is still standing upright and in the desired position. Viola vsp g2 gauge is thicker and works best with vpspro2plus. Specialized tools for standing up or moving a sound post are commercially available. A sad day for this rather nice french cello, when it was knocked over. Cracked and broken cello heart the soundpost is such a critical element, that many refer to it as the heart of an instrument. The cello ive owned for the past 32 years developed a back soundpost crack last year. One of the seams may need to be unglued before the crack is repaired. It transpired that the instrument had already had a very old sp crack and 2 old soundpost patches, one large, covering the whole breast, the other normal soundpost patch being let into this. Roughly 30 cleats, an eyebrow patch and a sound post plate were needed to get the top back together. It supports the structure, specifically the top of the instrument under string pressure. The position of the sound post inside a violin is critical, and moving it by very small amounts as little as 0.

The fall of the soundpost jim clinton violins greenville, sc. In some circumstances we just glue the crack and hope it holds, as would. As such, it often requires repositining from the hands of an expert luthier. If you are a bowed strings instrument player for violin, viola, cello or double bass, you might have encountered situations whereby the soundpost of your music instrument has dropped. The break was clean, so we decided to reglue it rather than to replace it to help keep costs down. Olivia is a secondgeneration luthier who comes from a family with a strong tradition of lutherie and craftmanship in canada and europe. Be aware that damage may occur at the f hole, and a crack may occur at the top or back if a soundpost is installed improperly.

We only do repair work on violins, violas, cellos, and upright double basses. Repairing an instrument with a sound post crack triangle. That is why you get no sound if the sound post is directly under the foot the bridge. Cracks in the top of an instrument are not uncommon, but their size and location dictate how extensive. A back crack is so much more problematic than a top crackwhich is why it accounts for a much higher rate of depreciation. In resetting the soundpost to temporarily get the instrument up and working again, we are embarking on a complicated procedure. They were always rough cut that is you would have to spend time to sand them down to a proper diameter. We do not typically have two sound posts in the northeast despite the fluctuations in humidity between summer and winter. Buy cello set of sound post tools s setter, scissor setter, gauge, and sound post retrieve vwws.

How much does it cost to fix a sound post in a violin. I know of one cello soundpost crack which was glued and cleated. Shop for bows, instruments, books, sheet music, strings, shoulder rests, chinrests, instrument cases and more. A nearby cellist who plays in a major symphony was able to afford the cello of his dreams because it has a wellrepaired soundpost crack in.

Looking after your violin or cello musical instrument. It sends vibrations from the violin face to the back, and its effects on the vibrational modes of the plates influence the instruments. Jan 29, 2017 home restoration french cello rib cracks. I tried about 30 violins in a shop yesterday, and i was reminded that. Jun 14, 2011 the soundpost is the dowel of wood that you see inside the treble e or a side of your violin, viola or cello. They carry a large selection of quality violins, violin parts, bows, construction woods, finishes, accessories, technical books, strings, and much more. The post causes the instrument to vibrate in asymmetric patterns which project sound very powerfully. It is the string tension that really clamps the sound post into position. Sound post cracks or bass bar cracks usually need to have the top removed and patched. Hold on tight andreas hudelmayer compares notes with london restorers on using small clamps for crack repairs. In some circumstances we just glue the crack and hope it holds, as would be the procedure on an inexpensive instrument. The post must be small enough to fit through the fhole at the notches, which is usually the widest point. For a small piece of spruce thats about 6mm thick about 7mm on a viola, about 10mm on a cello it makes a tremendous difference on how your instrument plays and sounds.

The precision of a good sound post set is, like much of violin. There are two crucial distances in the placement of the spruce sound post. Repairing an instrument with a sound post crack triangle strings. Cello soundpost patch bloomington string instruments. Cello set of sound post tools s setter, scissor setter. Here is a viola where the top was cracked into two pieces, there was also a small crack from the f hole up near the bass bar. A back sound post crack can cause immense depreciation of an instrument,even. While the cost of a violin repair may vary depending on the severity of damage, the luthiers particular costs, or the age of the instrument, this list of common price ranges for student and intermediate violin repairs should give you a general idea of a how much you can. French cello rib cracks by slight violins on 29 jan 2017 0 a sad day for this rather nice french cello, when it was knocked over. Simple spruce cubes are glued on either side of the cleaned crack without prior chalkfitting. Hold on tight the strad nov 2001 article on crack repair. When repaired properly with a sound post patch, the instrument can continue to be a reliable tool beyond your lifetime and perhaps even improve its tone.

This is time consuming, expensive, and devaluing to the instrument. Looking after your violin or cello musical instrument hire co. Cello bridge, violin repair, violin makers, hurdy gurdy, violin art, music. It transpired that the instrument had already had a very old sp crack and 2 old sound post patches, one large, covering the whole breast, the other normal sound post patch being let into this. The post is made of a dowel of spruce, usually about 5. The high notes come from the wood between the treble foot of the bridge and the top of the sound post. Mar 06, 2020 a back crack is so much more problematic than a top crackwhich is why it accounts for a much higher rate of depreciation. French cello rib cracks by slight violins on 29 jan 2017 0. The balance of the strings is affected by this distance. A soundpost patch costs thousands of dollars to repair, but its worth it if its. As the sound post tension is critically important to the acoustic response of the violin a crack in this area will result in the instrument becoming unplayable. Violin with a serious crack that could cause a soundpost to fall. These plates expand and contract with weather changes. The soundpost is the dowel of wood that you see inside the treble e or a side of your violin, viola or cello.

Restored violin with cleats and sound post patch violin. Aside from the fact that the maple is twice as thick in the soundpost area, necessitating that much larger a patch, there is a greater chance of the crack reopening. Yinfente violin tool brass hold repair violin crack clamp luthier tool violin making adjustable size 1pcs. The soundpost serves as a kind of fulcrum for the top plate so its position influences the action of the plates, the bridge and the strings. Measurements the diameter of the finished soundpost is about 6 mm. Positioning the sound post in stringed instruments. The bridge pinged off and the sound post has broken off and is now rattling around inside the violin. I have purchased sound post blanks from other vendors. To measure the required length of the soundpost, insert a pencil or the soundpost blank in the right upper fhole eye at the right angle to the plane of the violin, until its tip touches the back plate.

The violin now sounds really flat and quiet to be honest im scared to play it in case it gets anymore damaged. Atlantic violin supplies, located in new brunswick, canada, is a violin supply business providing value and service since 1993. Sound post crack if a violin has the misfortune to develop a crack in the sound post area this will effect the instruments performance dramatically. The violin had well developed body modes, as well as a0, at the lower frequencies in the range of the violin as will be seen in the tap responses below. Cello set of sound post tools s setter, scissor setter, gauge. Crack repair wing crack simple clean glue and cleat. Forget everything written here about soundposts, the op is not talking about a broken post, and these comments are not really well informed.

Make adjustments to get a good fit with the soundpost upright in the proper location video 3. A full cast for violin, viola and cello is the best way to go. Ive been thinking of getting a new violin for a while now though i am quite happy to continue playing this one. One case with my involvement was a ruggeri cello with a sound post crack in the belly. The loss of value associated with sound post cracks is obviously quite substantial, but in our eyes a sound post crack does not make an instrument less desirable, as long as the price of the cello reflects its condition.

Our inhouse workshop is able to provide immediate repair assessment, counsel, and. The sound of a bowed instrument violin family is not the sound of the vibrating string but the vibrating wood it activates through the bridge. The soundpost and bass bar are usually equidistant from the respective edge of bridge foot. The violin was sealed but unvarnished, tuned to a440 and fitted with a 42 g chinrest. This measurement can be made with a cut business card. In order to repair a sound post crack the violin top must be. Suppliers to the united kingdom music retail sector, we also distribute worldwide and are the exclusive uk distributors for larsen strings of denmark and chevalets despiau of france. Now its time for a doughnut and a cup of coffee as reward for a job well done. For a cello, the price penalty is more like 10% for a sound post crack in the front and 40% for a sound post crack in the back. Despite only falling a very short distance onto a carpeted floor, as you can see, the upper bass rib was quite badly cracked as a. Miles doubleday, our senior restorer, has over 20 years experience with ealing strings london, uk. Cello s style sound post setter, sets the standard for the very useful s setter, rubber grip, stainless steel sharpened point usa. Feb 15, 2015 restored violin with cleats and sound post patch. Shorter, steeper wedges are prepared en masse rather than fitted to the individual pair of studs, the principle being that the swelling of the wood changes the balance too much to make it worthwhile fitting them in advance.

A cello is devalued if it has a repaired bassbar crack 2040%, a repaired soundpost crack in the top 3050%, a repaired soundpost crack in the back 4075%, although any of the above repairs, or any other repairs, if done properly, will result in the cello not being any weaker in the repaired area than before the damage occurred. It must have taken quite an impact because the chinrest was cracked in half and the bridge was broken. T he sound post has a repair and restoration team comprised of luthiers with specialized training at european violin making schools and considerable international experience. Beethovens triple concerto for cello, violin and piano and brahms double concerto for cello and violin are also part of the concertante repertoire although in both cases the cello shares solo duties with at least one other instrument. The length depends on the arching, but may be a little above 50 mm in most cases. When in position and with no string tension, the sound post should stand in position without falling when the violin is gently tipped. This cello was brought to olivia with a soundpost crack, which is visible here. Positioning the sound post in stringed instruments a sound post is a small but important part of a stringed instrument, tasked with many vital functions.

We are trade distributors of the violin family of orchestral bowed string instruments and associated accessories. How to set a sound post, install, installation, soundpost. Instrument accessories free delivery possible on eligible purchases. Violin family instruments have tops, backs and ribs that are fairly thin. Stewmacs sound posts come finished in a diameter appropriate for most fiddles. What repairs are acceptable in the cello youre buying. You can now put on a set of strings together with the bridge and try the sound of the violin. Glueing cracks is one of the most common jobs in violin repair or restoration. Below is a diagram of a violin cut laterally throught the center that illustrates the position of the sound post in a completed violin.