I have to go and get some new strings for my violin tonight- I was wondering if they will re-string it for me if I ask nicely, or is that not the done thing? I'm going to Footes in London...

I have a fear of looking stupid as I haven't been learning for that long and I'm new to all the violin care.

There is nothing wrong with admitting you don't know how to do something and asking for someone to show you how/do it for you.

Learning how to put a string on is something you'll need to do sooner or later, so ask for help in the shop, and best of luck.

I know, I am just easily embarrassed. I know everyone goes through the same thing at some point though.

Ok, I shall ask!

Thanks.

I've always found the people in Foote's to be really friendly and helpful, and they know about the instruments they sell (quite often there are music students working in there), so don't be scared to ask them for help

What a coincidence!
My friend's daughter (we live all in same house) who is new to the violin, came downstairs today with her violin in bits in her hands!!!
I don't know how it happened by the strings were loose, the bridge fell off and everything was hanging all over the place!
So I said: no problem, I'll sort it for you! I read about violins and know how a bridge is supposed to stand!
While I was doing up the string feeling really confident I ended up snapping one of them!
So now I am scared to go anywhere near the thing again! I thought I was doing it really gently and did not tighten that much! So I blamed it on the 'cheap strings' they supplied the violin with (I bought it for her 3 weeks ago it is just a standard student one for £70, 3/4 size), but deep down I am just so scared of ever touching them again! So tomorrow I shall go in the shop and beg them to do it for me, otherwise on friday we are both having our first violin lesson and we will ask our teacher.

Littlelady,
I am also new to piano and violin, nice to meet you
Jo

How often should one restring their violin?

Stringing a violin isn't difficult and it's probably nothing you did at all, unless you overtuned it. Sometimes these metal strings get a serious bend in them near the peg and they snap there under pressure.

I've heard of far worse than that though. Someone we sold a violin to (yes it happens to the best of us!) phoned us up in a panic once, three years ago, saying that the tailpiece had come off after a few months of playing. On further investigation it turned out to be a very minor problem but one that has the potential to terrify novices. The tail gut screw was faulty. This is not uncommon with cheap violins but this one wasn't cheap, it was one of the better Chinese ones sold by a major UK wholesaler and it was £300, and even that was very much a clearance price as we couldn't sell them.

Now this is where it gets scary. The customers had taken the violin into the local music shop, a shop which was not a strings specialist but did sell violins at and above that price range. This shop said that the violin was unrepairable and offered to take it in part exchange for a new one of theirs. I think they offered about £50 for it! All it needed was a new tailgut costing £2 and taking five minutes to fit.

I told the customer that I could easily talk them through the process over the phone but by this time panic had set in and they wanted to send the whole thing back to us for repair. Which would have been fine but for the fact that sending an unstrung violin through the post means the soundpost is highly likely to collapse and I can't do soundposts. So in the end we drove 90 miles to do the job, which took about 5 minutes.

The customer hadn't even come in with the coffee and I thought I had completely fixed the whole thing using the existing tailgut and a new screw, and I was sitting there feeling slightly smug when the thing went "ping" and all fell apart again. Suddenly I understood why the customer was alarmed, I've never before nor since seen a tailgut go quite that spectacularly. With the new style of tailgut that everyone fits these days things don't "ping" they "crreeaakk" and only come off very gradually having made it clear that they are going to for several minutes as you try to tune the violin up. But this one went "ping". So out came the new tailgut and I did it all again.

I suppose there are two morals to that tale - 1. with violins things invariably look worse than they are, try not to panic and 2. Never ever trust a non-specialist shop if they tell you the violin cannot be repaired.

Liz

That's something I'd really like to know too. My violin G and D strings have been sounding really dull with quite a lot of buzzing, and I wonder if it's because they need to be changed. I restringed my violin nearly half a year ago-is that the lifespan of most strings? My previous set however didn't give me any problems, and I used them well over half a year.

What a story Liz!!!!
Thanks for your suggestions as always, you are so kind to share this knowledge with us.
Today I 'popped' into a string instrument shop 20 mins drive from where I live just to have a 'nose' around.
They advertise to have reasonably priced violins for students and professionals.
I am sure they are 'reasonably priced' but the cheapest was £600!!!! that was without a bow or a case! YICK!
I told him I will be back in 10 years time when I have both more money and skill!
But it was nice being in there and looking at all those lovely violins and cellos/violas/double basses.....
Oh,
I took my friends daughter violin with me and he kindly replaced the broken string and tuned it for me, that thankfully was only £3.50!! LOL

At least now I know where to go in future to have my violin repaired.




I 'think' it is every 3 to 5 months (so I've read somewhere) so in my language it is every 6 months LOL LOL
but I am only a newbie so someone else might have the correct info
Jo

I don't restring anywhere near that often.

liz

There's really no absolute need to spend anywhere near that much until after Grade 8, though most people do. I did Grade 8 on a Poller (outfit price around £250 these days) and I know someone who did it on a Zeller (outfit price around £200). Before I injured my shoulder I was seriously contemplating doing the dipLCM diploma on a £400 instrument (though to be fair it played like one worth a lot more)

Liz

And I've heard of some who restring every couple of weeks!

Every couple of weeks - they must be crazy! I had to restring my violin a few months ago after breaking the E string and it took ages before the strings were keeping in tune. Evertime I tuned it in it would go flat within a few mins of playing. I won't be changing my strings again until I really have to, it just takes too long for them to settle and keep in tune - I find it such a head ache!

My teacher tells me to change my strings once every half a year. I don't play everyday. It's probably once every 2 days or so.