I just spent over £25 on a set of new helicore strings today
I'd previously been using Zyex but my teacher thought they were too quiet for my violin and that Helicore would suit them better. I really liked the Zyex but obviously my teacher knows more than me so
Anyway i just started putting them on. They would NOT go on my violin. Usually i'm pretty speedy at changing strings and do a pretty neat job of it but these were taking me ages and we going on messily, but i thought i'm just gonna have to leave them as they are and get my teacher to tidy them up if necessary next lesson.
Anyway maybe i should have taken them straight off... as i then struggled to put on the D and the A - then went to tighten the G - it snapped! After like 30 seconds of going on my violin!
That's, what, £8ish worth of string snapped, before my bow had even touched it.
And i bought those out of my own money and was very excited about new strings (have now spent about £90 on strings in the last 4 monthsish !) But my mum says she'll buy me a new G in a few weeks
But grrrr! Sorry for the rant :| REALLY annoyed at that.

I'm pretty scared of putting the rest on now


Edit: I think i figured why my violin is so hard to restring :s The holes in the pegs are very close to the side of the pegbox so there's no option but to wind the string over and over itself (which gets quite thick) and also part of the string is being wound around, which is bound to rub and snap it :S

To add to this - i finally got some strings on all be it a mixture, tuned up etc. Had been playing for about 30 mins when BANG. Bridge popped out and went flying across the room. Leaving me just like, o_O

Sounds as if you need to get some new pegs.

Liz

How much would that cost?


I've put my bridge back in now but it actually looks bent towards the fingerboard. I don't mean it's leaning towards the fingerboard - i mean the wood is actually quite bent. =| I'm getting worried about my violin Everything seems to wanna break at the moment!

I'm not going to be seeing my teacher for a week and a half. :|

That happened to mine and I don't know the ins and outs but basically you need a new bridge...when you tune/restring your violin, make sure you check the alignment of the bridge once you've tightened the pegs to make sure it isn't leaning, which is apparently what lead to mine becoming warped.

Edit: having the new bridge put in, plus a complimentary clean and polish to my violin, cost me £20.

Wow! That's cheap. A decent violin bridge, cut, fitted and tuned by a luthier here costs at least 100 euro...

I have no idea if it's a particularly good bridge...but the music shop man who arranges for violins to go to the luthier seemed to think it wasn't bad.

Sounds like an excellent deal to me!

To answer ffliwt about pegs - the range in price depending on the wood used and the style. Here they start from around 150 a set and can run to 500 - including fitting. That's euros, though, so remove 30 percent-ish to make UK prices. Best way to find out, though, is to take it to see a luthier.

Actually I've just re-read your post and have to admit I jumped in too soon, the problem is the opposite to what I was thinking. Sorry!

The problem in your case is that the pegs are not going in far enough. You have two choices. Leave it and put up with it - eventually (over months / years) the pegs or pegbox or both will wear to the point where they will go in further and thus fit better. Alternatively, get them refitted - that will certainly be cheaper than a new set of pegs.

But if I recall correctly, you haven't had this violin for very long? If that's correct, get in touch with the retailer. We would certainly regard ourselves as liable within the first 12 months and I daresay most retailers would be the same.

Liz

Aah phew i was thinking aaah i can't afford new pegs
Yeah i have only had this violin since Christmas and the luthier said if i ever have any problems to bring it back to him. He said he likes to work on instruments from his shop as he feels once he's worked on them once they're part of him etc. So it won't be a problem to find a luthier...
As for waiting until the pegs fit - my violin is already around 120 years old Though saying that they musn't be the original pegs - would they?

Thanks for the help by the way

If they were the original pegs you would have the opposite problem, they would have worn down so far that they would be sticking out the other side a long way.

Anyway it seems you have your answer - take it back to the man you bought it from and ask him to fix it.

Liz

Aah. I don't know thaaat much about violins yet Only been playing since september So i may end up asking loads of silly questions!

1 more other little thing - when you wind the strings around the peg, should any of the metal part be wound around? It's almost like the strings are too long or something cause, especially on the G, the metal part is being wound around 2 or 3 times... i dunno, maybe that's normal in which case i now look quite stupid!

Not usually, I don't think. I've checked out my fiddles and violas and none of them has this problem - nor have I seen any like that in the luthier shop I occasionaly help out in...

I can't, however, figure out why it might be. Is it a small sized fiddle with normal size strings? Or is the string length wrong? I dunno.

Perhaps it does happen on some instruments...

Isn't it odd how you can string several violins a day and yet have to think twice about such a simple question! But I agree, I don't recall that happening except when you are trying to put a string on a violin that is too small for it. When I restring my next one tomorrow I will double check and let you know!

Liz

Thanks! And my violin is full size =/ Though i do have 'large' fine tuners on each string which take quite some length off if that makes any sense. It's hard to explain - I'll take a pic to show you what i mean tomorrow

Here's what i mean by the fine tuners take some length off the strings (can't word that properly )
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c71/seren-x/DSC00472.jpg

And here's what i mean about the metal part wrapping around - it's wrapped around nearly 3 times on the G
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c71/seren-x/DSC00475.jpg

I don't know if it's just the photo angle, but the bridge seems really near to the tailpiece - measure your afterlength on the strings (the distance between the bridge and the tailpiece) - it should be exactly one sixth of the vibrating length (nut to bridge) - if it's not, then your set up needs putting right.

Let us know how you get on.

Allan

I measured it (eventually, it's surprisingly difficult Or is that just me) and it was just over one 7th of the vibrating length


Howcome my teacher hasn't noticed though? =/ (i'm not trying to suggest you're wrong! just wondering)
What would i do to fix it?? :s

I don't know why your teacher hasn't noticed it - but it's not really a teacher thing, more of a luthier thing. You'll need to take it to a luthier to have it put right.

Aah ok. How much will that cost me? :S

And this is just me wondering now - how would the luthier go about fixing it? i don't understand how

And question number 3 sorry haha, how much effect is this having on my violin? Will it change the sound, etc.?

There are various options, I think - shorter tailpiece, shorter tailcord, moving soundpost and bridge etc.

Don't know how much it will cost, it will depend on the solution that he chooses.

It will change the sound of your fiddle, if the vibrating lengths are wrong then the vibrations are wrong - it will likely sound fuller and richer once corrected.

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

Ok

Will he change my tailpiece?!?!!!
My tailpiece is a nice wooden one with a pearl flower on and pearl around the holes where the strings go in
Despite recently being very tempted to by a nice light brown tailpiece, i love the one i've got

No need to change the tailpiece, just a matter of an adjustable tailgut, they cost a couple of quid and you could easily do the job yourself.

Liz

Aah that's a relief
So i could just get one of those from any violin shop right?

Bit off topic....I love the petal on ur tailpiece, it's very pretty!

Good luck in sorting out your violin problem.

Thanks! I love it too

If you do do the job yourself, though, you will need to take all the strings off, with the risk that the soundpost may fall down. Handle everything carefully, without jolts or knocks and you may be all right. Also make a note where the bridge is, so that you put it back in the same place--the placing in relation to the soundpost is very important.

Have fun!