hey olaf, i have a question before or after practicing i saw a little gap in the downward-right part of my violin which looks like the glue is loosening and creating a hole, is it possible to get it fixed and if not, will it destroy my violin?
I especially love (at the end of the video) where you tell people to set their instruments aside when the playing/practicing is no longer enjoyable!!! This is what I used to tell the beginner Saxophone & Clarinet players (young children in Elementary School). I even explained this to the parents and most understood. Thank You for a wonderful video!
I actually keep a little recorded clip of Olaf saying this on my phone, to remind me friendly when my personal demons come over to tell me I should give it up already since I suck so much and will never be any good……😉 Wish somebody had communicated like that to me when I was a young player. Big thanks to Olaf, you help us on so many levels! ❤️
I ALWAYS learn something new about so many aspects of this craft! THANK YOU for your time and for sharing your experience with us all. What a wonderful teacher and resource your are! :D
Olaf, I'm not a string player, but I still find your videos informative and entertaining. Your enthusiasm for making music transcends the string section. Thanks for sharing a bit of your world.
That t-shirt is amazing! And as a singer in my class says, always do something fun before leaving the practise room for the day so that you'll be more motivated to go back the day after. I agree with him. Thank you for a good video!
I have that tonerite , I was scary to use it at first so I tried with students violin and I can hear violin sounds suddenly way more improved then I began to use on my main violin . I think it’s amazing. Downfall is if you don’t use it , slowly it will loose that opens up . I feel like it’s a spa for the violin somehow . 🎻
Thank you for answering all of those questions, instructive. I want to comment two topics. First one about the Tonerite, actually it's not heavy when put on the bridge it's ok, but is it effective? That's the question. I bought one recently and used it on my new violin (less than a year) for a few weeks. I'm playing my instrument one hour a day and didn't notice any improvement, my teacher neither. The second topic is about the fine tuners. My luthier didn't initially want to set them on my new violin and told me about their negative impact on the sound. After a few months I learned to use pegs and removed them (15 gramms for the 3) and I did notice a huge improvement of the sound during the next 2 weeks, the sound resonates so much more especially when playing G note on D string and D and E notes on A string.
I got a Cecilio electric violin and I was vastly disappointed in it. The bridge needs to be recut and the string spacing is off too. Nothing compares to the masterful work down by Master Olaf on my violin. It's beautiful and sounds amazing. Thank you once again, Master Olaf. You do such fantastic work!!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Olaf, I appreciate it very much. I'm a sixty-one year old violinist, but I didn't begin playing the violin until I was forty-one years old. I was already a life long musician and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and piano), so adapting to the fingerings of a new instrument was fairly easy. My biggest challenge was the bow, as it is kind of an instrument all and of itself. Marrying the bow to the strings took a long time for me to get the hang of, but I prescribe to the Two-Set LING LING Forty Hours method of practice, meaning that I practiced the violin as much as possible, especially during the the very beginning stages of learning the violin. I actually took violin lessons for three years, and I can't say enough good things about my time with my teacher. He is a brilliant musician, half my age, but far more knowledgeable about the violin than I was, so we were a perfect match, teacher and student. I participated in recitals along with the children, and played duets with my teacher for the graded exam. It was a very humbling experience, but in a very good way, because I was getting back to the basics of reading music with an instrument again, and I was being coached by the someone who could guide me into good technical playing and help me to avoid starting any bad habits. I eventually stopped having shakey bow and squeaky bow after a few years of practice, and twenty years later I'm still playing and enjoying my violin. As a middle aged man, I was able to afford a good violin, that is a far better instrument than I am a violinist, but I'm constantly trying to improve upon that fact (Ling Ling Forty Hours)!
great video!!!! hello olaf, i recently brought a new expensive violin oversea, supposingly my parents were going to bring me back this month by plane, but they won't be able to come back until new year time. they are in a province where the weather is damp. may i ask is there things i should be aware of to keep my violin well? since there's no one playing it, and it's a new violin, im scared that my violin going to deteriate in quality (i dont know much bout violin) hope you see it, thankiuuu olaf!
it is just laying in the violin case in my parents home, i really love it so I dont want to considere sending it oversea to me. Either they will bring it back to me iin new year, or I'll fly back myself. (I am so carving to play it!!! It has really good bow as my kind teacher is close friend with the maker, and he installed pirastro Evah Pirazzi gold e string and dominate for the rest of the strings. I'm afriad the strings, bow may deteriate as no one is playing it.
Hi Olaf, I have been hooked by your videos, I now want to learn violin so I’m searching for an instrument/ luthier in my area. My question; what are your thoughts on tuning pegs that are more like guitar tuners???
Great to hear that you are learning violin. I wrote a report on what to look for that can really help you find a violin and know what to look for. The Wittner geared pegs are great... finetuners also work really well along with well fitted ebony pegs. When pegs fit 100%, they actually turn really easily.
Tonerite: Not sure if it is the same device, mine is called an "Awakener", and that nails it. It has a great effect on freshly set up or long unplayed instruments. What it does not: improve or enhance the capability of an instrument, or replace the bonding response to your continuous use of the instrument. What it does: as every luthier and most professional musicians know, a freshly built or stringed instrument takes some time to settle. The natural tensions of the wood fiber, the tensions that built up during construction, the tension applied by the strings, tensions building up because of environmental condition changes, all those tensions must find an equilibrium when the instrument is played. Here the Awakener comes into play: applying it overnight helps the fiddle to settle in and work itself into a condition where all the internal tension is balanced out. Otherwise you would have rest the fiddle for a couple of days while playing it again and again in between before it even starts to show its sound qualities. The same applies to a fiddle that wasn't played for a while or has undergone a drastic change in weather and climate conditions. Using the Awakener helps to reduce the time span until the fiddle finds back into its voice. While this helps me a lot to set up fiddles good and proper in short time for the retailer I work for, it does not replace the need for a fiddler to take their time with their chinstick and play it often and regularly. Playing the fiddle by yourself not only has the same effect of shaking the grain fibers and the cellular water of the wood into a comfortable position, but it adds a personal note to it. The fiddle responds to the music you play on it, and to your personal habits, and adjusts accordingly. Thus, you will find the true voice of your violin only if you keep playing it regularly. And if you do so, you won't notice any benefit from using the Awakener - it adds nothing you would'nt. It just helps reducing the amount of time you need until your fiddle finds in shape, and if you don't have the time to play it often enough, it will compensate some amount, but not all of that, ah, negliance. (No offence meant, we don't all have the time to dedicate daily time to ourusic, have we?) By the way, the Awakener is a byproduct of scientific material analysis. While the application of vibrations was originally intended for studying the internal strenghts and finding weaknesses of construction elements, the researchers found that the vibrations themselves had a positive effect on the structural properties of some materials.
I have a Tonerite that I bought to blast a cheap factory violin as an experiment, and it did open it up. I wouldn't use it on my good violins though; "if it ain't broke don't fix it."
Olaf, I dunno if you're still answering Q's, but I read that some old violins had shorter fingerboards and that they had to lengthen them for the modern standard. Did they have to replace the whole neck and throw the old neck away, therefore the old violin's aren't actually 100% made by the original maker? How did they do it?
Cool daughter shirt; my bird "son" used to (customize) my shirts also. @12:51, your (note re: wifes' descendent) lasted 3.4 seconds then ended abruptly; too short! It should be visible at least 4.7 seconds minimum.
Olaf, question for your next video: why is the violin top plate two pieces of timber glued together instead of one piece? 🤔 Wouldn't one piece be stronger?
The tailpiece & fine tuners thing I found that with individual tuners the string length to the bridge is shorter than a tailpiece with inbuilt tuners & that shorter string length has a dampening (or restrictive) effect on the output, as does the old wire mutes sitting on the strings. I also found that on some instruments an 'ultralight' tailpiece can allow too much 'cross-talk' (using audio electronic speak) with busy overtones because it is so light it allows more vibrations from one string to vibrate the others & that an alloy tailpiece with more weight can result in a clearer output with less interfering overtones.
Greeting all, this is my personal opinion but, I use a Tonerite on my fiddle, mandolins and guitars and yes I think they do improve the tone. I was skeptical too at first but found them to work.
What do you recommend for badly done wood glue repairs. I have a violin in which someone put the sound post far enough from the bridge it has 3 big cracks that were glued together in a way that left the side of the f hole higher after glueing misshaping the top plate and adding stress to the base of the crack that i dont think is too far but it needs correcting to sound right.
I usually try cleaning the hair if i think it might need to be rehaired. Rosin crystalizes and makes hard spots that can foul a note if the string is started at that part of the bow. One thing is the tooth brush method, where you break the hard rosin up with small strokes of a clean new tooth brush. If those fail then i would worry about rehairing
I sold a Johann Gottfried Liebich 1792 violin to a man in Melbourne several years ago to pay for my son's college. IT had two very large patches on the surface under the bridge. Would have happen to have run across it in your shop.
More questions: Does violin f-hole placement matters? My violin is Höfner AS-160v its a decent $300 instrument but the f-hole is placed far away from the purfling, that means the bridge and the sound-post placement is affected. Does it affects the sound of the instrument? Because my Violin sounds bright even my violin is equiped with Aphaue strings.
one question olaf have you already worked on "rabecas" a kind of brazilian fiddle, and have you worked on another types of non traditional violin-like instruments?
The other issue with live streaming is that your audience is international. For example I am in Ontario, Canada, and the idea of watching a live stream that takes place at 7PM Brisbane time, would be I think 5am here. Like that is going to happen
@@johnsee7269 I'm not sure why you sound so angry but I guarantee you geared pegs are not beneath every luthier and every violin maker and they've been putting these geared pigs on expensive Stradivarius and Guarnieri now because it actually saves the violin peg box from damage. I simply asked if he had a video on geared pegs because I'm interested in them and I remember him saying in this video that he has nothing against tuning pegs so please don't talk to me anymore. I really mean it don't talk to me anymore I will not address you again
I was wondering if anyone here knows why the bridge of my violin keeps popping out? I was playing one day and it just popped out and I've followed instructions on how to put it back in. When I tighten the strings after putting the bridge back in, it just pops out again. I haven't had experience with this before and I don't want to break my violin
Guitars have better sustain when the neck and the body are one piece. I think they call it a through neck. Why are violins made without that same idea? Would it be too difficult to do and do you think it would work the same with guitar giving the notes more sustain? Probably a stupid question but one I think about a lot. I have come to the conclusion I'll never be satisfied until I start making my own violins. I just never stop searching for ways to improve or just change my sound.
Terry Farrell Lake of the Ozarks Missouri I'm also a luthier I read a book once by an older gentleman can't remember his name right now he said it takes about 32 years to learn your craft. And about another 15 years for people to realize you know your craft.
I stopped at the viola answer & yes, I suffered injury playing viola in an orchestra, but then I think it started when playing the violin beforehand though & playing in high positions on the viola was the last straw. I had to have a ganglion surgically removed from my wrist because of it, followed by it being in a cast & then physio to follow.
What would you recommend to someone who lives in a very rural community? I'm a couple hours drive from anything resembling a music store, and a much further drive from anything that *specializes* in violins. Getting a ride out to either of those sorts of places would be difficult at best. Mail order is essentially my only option. How would you suggest someone in my position buy a violin? I'm a noob, and nobody near me plays violin.
It's a tough one... I have a bunch of clients who live I really remote areas here in Australia, where the next door neighbour can be 20 minutes away! You might have to buy from a reputable online shop... But you will need to get the instrument serviced once a year by a violinmaker. Get my 7 essentials report and watch my videos on what to look for in an instrument. That way you will be much more informed when you buy.
I am thinking to get those fine tuning pegs. Although they will cost more than my violin after installing. But tuning the violin is often the reason I am not motivated to practice. - basically I neglected my violin for a while now.😓 I just didn't get the mood and now it feels that I need to start from cero. .also lessons are very expensive and I am not really talented. Eventhough my teacher very kindly said that I am 😂.. Actually I found a violin build by the father of my great grandfather at the shop I bought my beginner violin. - I didn't even knew he was a violin builder. Is it bad to want to own it? (Although too expensive) I just think it has more depth having something with history one can become a part of it... Greetings from Vienna
Wow! How amazing that there's a violin made by your family member! M. Mathieu is also a label used as a trade name in Mirecourt. Another cheaper option would be to get your pegs working really well and get a Wittner ultralight tailpiece with finetuners built in.
I wonder about that vibration gimmick thing man! I knew an old lady who swore she didn't need a piano tuner cause she could just sit down and play for a while and the piano would just "play itself back in tune" so maybe. Some kinda mojo!
...I think that old lady just wanted people to stop complaining about the tuning. The strings are pulling at the pegs - exerting a force upon them in a specific direction: towards loosening. If you add vibrations the process of the pegs following this force accelerates. Meaning the strings get loser, never tighter. It's physically impossible (or at the very least ludicrously unlikely). What is possible is that playing an instrument in a certain way makes the strings and bridge settle in a specific pattern with a specific distribution of tension in front of the bridge, behind the bridge and between the saddle and pegs. This will very subtly influence the harmonic tones generated by the vibrating strings. So vibration may be able to influence the "tone" in the sense of what harmonics are in the music, but it is absurdly unlikely that simply playing an instrument will bring it back into tune in the sense of increasing tension and frequency of the strings. However: I think you should be scientific and do exhaustive experiments about this! Play your instrument in tune and out of tune, try different styles, different composers, every combination of music and tuning. Make notes. In about 15 years report back to us! ...unless you are busy with accepting the price money for that prestigious award that your practice made you able to win... ;-)
@@KonradTheWizzard Glad you got the humor. But on the practical side, my point would be that people filter and that a few moments of playing would allow this persons brain to sort and hear what they wanted... The horrid disharmony of out of tune notes would be filtered and the person would hear things in the way one might look through a dirty windshield not noticing that it's dirty. So subjecting ones instrument to sonic bombardment might make someone think that they can hear a difference. Getting used to an out of tune piano might make one disregard the out of tuniness so we can all have a beer and sing old war songs resulting in sweet music. Or your just an unbeliever who thinks this lady can't turn piano tuning pegs with her mind. You shouldn't disrespect her, think of what she could do to you if she were offended. Of course I'd never mention to her what you said.
@@toddgreenwood9631 Of course: never underestimate the mental powers of old ladies - they always know what you did wrong and if you disbelieve her tuning a simple glance from her will adjust your brain... ...thankfully I'm probably a few thousand miles away... :-)
I like your philosophy if its not fun why play the violin? I used to get so damn much pressure fom my mom to read music and i was set up in the kitchen with the music stand. Everyone in my class was leaving me behind and reading music. I was completly bewildered. By this time I was in 6th grade and I had a new violin teacher who simply was uninspiring. She was berating me because my great grandfsthers violin had glue cracks. Finally after I got out of High School I decided to take the top plate off and repair the glue cracks. I got the neck on crooked and botched the whole violin. I couldnt read.music I was belittled by everyone no one would show me how to read music. So I quit playing violin for 40 years. I had no reason to want to play the violin.I was.not able to tune the instrument. My grandfather said well maybe he ll pick it up when he gets older. Kind of like he was dissappointed with me but ok maybe latter. I was the most frustrated wannabe violin student there ever was. I was totally demoralized so i just let it sit and decay in its case. I have only as of yesterday discovered the secret of the violin or at least what my teachers neglected to make sure I knew. The entire instrument must have a properly fitted bridge. It is crucial that the feet of the bridge dock with the belly as one. Any daylight any gap between bridge and top plate kill instrument performance. Thats why I sounded so mediocher in grammer school. All along I had a poorly adhearing bridge which wasnt energizing the violin my great grandfather had played 110 years ago. If i had had a snug bridge I would have had to have the violin pryed out of my hands. I would not be able to stop playing. I would have been able to enjoy the instrument and been a magician as I viewed the others in my class. I couldnt understand why everyone else was getting it and I didnt. I think everone else had better set ups with their instruments than I and our teacher.encouraged us to sand the area of the belly to mate with the bridge. In hind sight I think the roghing up of the belly dissallowed the bridge from ever sealing with the belly. That in my opinion is the secret of violin performance. The contact of brige to belly in orfer to telegraph the frequencys throughout the interior and exterior of the instrument. This has been an embarrasing find which has taken me 40 odd years to discover. I feel this is something my grandfather neglected to convey to me as a young 11 year old grandson. I loved my grandfather and still do. I just dont get as detailed aman as he was why did not he teach me the concept of mating the bridge to the instrument. I would have enjoyed the violin and not been frustrated with it. Oh well better late than never. That is in my opinion the hidden undisclosed secret of the Stradivarious! The brige Derwood! The bridge!😅😅😅😅😅😅
I know it's late but I have a question for you. I have hearing loss and auditory processing disorder. Would it be better if I played violin without the chin rest? My hearing loss is in the lower tones. It worsened when I caught it mumps in the spring. Thanks for your videos and time. 🙂
There is a good set of instructional books by a luthier named Henry Strobel: Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use by Henry A. Strobel.
Is it an Aussie thing to interchange “timber” with “wood” in this context? I always considered “timber” to refer to standing trees in their place of origin. It’s no big deal, obviously, just curious about other cultures. I would never say that I’m a timber-worker, but I would say wood-worker instead
I don't know how you record or edit those videos, but I recommend you bouncing your audio to mono. There are several videos which are either heavy on one side of the stereo field or have most of the sound on one channel. Most of the content in your videos do not benefit from stereo, so there's no reason to use it.
it doesn't look like others are saying the audio makes the video unwatchable but it does for me. Do you know of a way to make it sound better on my computer? I'm struggling to even hear anything at all
@@crochetqueen6440 I'm not saying that either. My point is, a good portion of mobile devices have a single mono speaker, which will not play the audio properly when it's a true stereo setup. For your case, you'll either have to download the video and make the audio mono or use some setup where the incoming audio is made mono.
Thank you very much for answering my question! Funny it led you to the topic of tenovaginitis. That's one main reason why I searched for those finetune pegs. No slipping pegs anymore? Sounded like heaven to me. Almost too good to be true. Have a nice day!
For your next questions video: I never hear you talk about electric violins or pickup system, what's your views on electric violins? Are there any good ones you would recommend? ✌️
Where on earth would you put a second sound post? The other side of the "under bridge" is already "busied" with the closeness of the sound bar! You would simply kill the sound. I already had an unscupulous drinking luthier who left a important piece of wood shaving inside my violin shile fitting a new button. Once the piece fell fron the button hole right on the violin floor, just that piece of wood shaving immediatly killed the sound! I was SO distressed until I found out what the problem was, and removed the one inch of wood shaving. But one thing is clear,you never forget what a dead violin feels and sounds like... you feel dead yourself!
You dont need a vibrating gadget for the violin. Just place it on top of a piano! Or stick a radio in there with it! The best way to keep a violin from going to sleep and ossifying is to play it! This new gadget may be even better I dont know! All i know is the violin wont plsy itself you have to work it! The only way to get a violin to play is through the bridge it is the nerve center of the creature!😅
Electric Guitar may have whammy bars for that vibratto effect, but acoustic guitars do not for a very good reason. I can't imagine how a violin could have a whammy bar or something like that.
I sell instruments, people bring those cecilio mendini, or some bright blue violin with no label, to get repaired and I gotta explain as nicely as I can that a $99 dollar violin just isnt gonna play
its all depend pre experince and talents. some people before become lutier know how to use how the woodworking work or even they not detailed work and how the finishes work those people can get some tricks in few month less then year they are ok for beginner lvl over.in few year they vecome much better some people start from no where they dont know how the work dont know how to use not know how wood workds so they will need to learn all those and use too become good few year they they start the craft like old days fiddle player dad and his son 12-13 year old helping at farm learn to use tools .im not talking about classical best of the best kind but like 60-70 year ago before they were 20 year old they start capable do repairs what they need or even can build furnature and some others things becouse of they need to do crude woodworking ofc so much diffrent .but some detailed small works can fast adept i dont like expensive insrment becouse of famous builders or historical value. any good viloin orother insurments even mandolin gutars etc moslty low end 5-6k up to 10-20k depend wood swelection detailing work or how fancy is it like on guitars and mandolin lot of decorative thing can be coslty and detailed works cost time so money. best of the makers even donyt have several year no opening charge 15-20k i think i think olaf said few time he do 5-6k around start up so avusturial dollar weeker then usa but still that range around and for most people incuding even some top player 100k-200k old insurment with 10k decently build modern one diffrence isnt so big. yes some diffrence ofc but moslty lot of diffrene are mytth. famous soloist use expsinve thier own or barrowed insurment but mainlly reason isnt sound itsa prestige old insurments advatages are wood throw out almost all rasins totally done. today time is more valuble hand crafts arent so cheaop like old days but today everything is better then old days better sandpapers better chisels better hand carving tool better finger plain maybe just no more so cold sring and summer so not super tight grains they said something happen at starvious era even summers were so colds so trees grow so slowly each year now hotter and hotter so other then wood probably everything is better today and 300-400 year ago their some slecetion and chose was more limit4ed today entire world is on your reach at volin road is kinda same no other way to build it and only few chose at wood. on gutar way so many thing way so many kind woods can inolve
Tonerite is, pretty much, snake oil, for the over picky, novices, who want to blame their instrument, or for those who are trying to make a silk purse from a sows ear.
Definition of a luthier: lu·thi·er /ˈlo͞odēər/ Learn to pronounce noun a maker of stringed instruments such as violins or guitars. Why deny that one is what one is? What's wrong with being a luthier? If guitar makers deny being luthiers then the term luthier will become obsolete... In jest really; not one iota of disrespect. I enjoy your Master Craftsman level of work. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet quoth the Bard of Avon. William always denied being a playwright instead preferring the Bard moniker...
Thanks for watching guys... Yep, no sound on left ear... sorry. Content is still great 🙏
That's ok, I just thought I had gone deaf in my left ear. :-) Viola player problems…
Agreed and thank you. Did you know your name is an anagram of Ra Afterglow. Also, Fatal Regrow... oh well, they can't all be good!
@@physicsjeff 😂
hey olaf, i have a question
before or after practicing i saw a little gap in the downward-right part of my violin which looks like the glue is loosening and creating a hole, is it possible to get it fixed and if not, will it destroy my violin?
No biggie :)
I especially love (at the end of the video) where you tell people to set their instruments aside when the playing/practicing is no longer enjoyable!!! This is what I used to tell the beginner Saxophone & Clarinet players (young children in Elementary School). I even explained this to the parents and most understood.
Thank You for a wonderful video!
I actually keep a little recorded clip of Olaf saying this on my phone, to remind me friendly when my personal demons come over to tell me I should give it up already since I suck so much and will never be any good……😉 Wish somebody had communicated like that to me when I was a young player.
Big thanks to Olaf, you help us on so many levels! ❤️
Sam Zygmuntowicz , renowned violin maker in US, does not share his varnish recipe either. Good for you Olaf. You share plenty already.
And Sam is definitely a legend!
Thank you for the feedback
I ALWAYS learn something new about so many aspects of this craft! THANK YOU for your time and for sharing your experience with us all. What a wonderful teacher and resource your are! :D
AND THE TEESHIRT IS AWESOME! :)
Olaf, I'm not a string player, but I still find your videos informative and entertaining. Your enthusiasm for making music transcends the string section. Thanks for sharing a bit of your world.
Sweet! My name got in the video and my question was included! Thanks Olaf!!!!
Cute shirt! I love the design.
good information sir, looking forward to knowing more about violin!
That t-shirt is amazing!
And as a singer in my class says, always do something fun before leaving the practise room for the day so that you'll be more motivated to go back the day after. I agree with him.
Thank you for a good video!
I have that tonerite , I was scary to use it at first so I tried with students violin and I can hear violin sounds suddenly way more improved then I began to use on my main violin . I think it’s amazing. Downfall is if you don’t use it , slowly it will loose that opens up . I feel like it’s a spa for the violin somehow . 🎻
Geee. Whizzzz! Glad your enjoying that tonerite! Glad it's working for you. Can't play love is a many splendors thing?😅😅😅 just kidding!
Being that wonderful guy you are, you're rocking that GREAT t-shirt! 🤩🤩
Thank you for answering all of those questions, instructive.
I want to comment two topics.
First one about the Tonerite, actually it's not heavy when put on the bridge it's ok, but is it effective? That's the question. I bought one recently and used it on my new violin (less than a year) for a few weeks. I'm playing my instrument one hour a day and didn't notice any improvement, my teacher neither.
The second topic is about the fine tuners. My luthier didn't initially want to set them on my new violin and told me about their negative impact on the sound. After a few months I learned to use pegs and removed them (15 gramms for the 3) and I did notice a huge improvement of the sound during the next 2 weeks, the sound resonates so much more especially when playing G note on D string and D and E notes on A string.
I got a Cecilio electric violin and I was vastly disappointed in it. The bridge needs to be recut and the string spacing is off too. Nothing compares to the masterful work down by Master Olaf on my violin. It's beautiful and sounds amazing. Thank you once again, Master Olaf. You do such fantastic work!!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Olaf, I appreciate it very much. I'm a sixty-one year old violinist, but I didn't begin playing the violin until I was forty-one years old. I was already a life long musician and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, and piano), so adapting to the fingerings of a new instrument was fairly easy. My biggest challenge was the bow, as it is kind of an instrument all and of itself. Marrying the bow to the strings took a long time for me to get the hang of, but I prescribe to the Two-Set LING LING Forty Hours method of practice, meaning that I practiced the violin as much as possible, especially during the the very beginning stages of learning the violin.
I actually took violin lessons for three years, and I can't say enough good things about my time with my teacher. He is a brilliant musician, half my age, but far more knowledgeable about the violin than I was, so we were a perfect match, teacher and student. I participated in recitals along with the children, and played duets with my teacher for the graded exam. It was a very humbling experience, but in a very good way, because I was getting back to the basics of reading music with an instrument again, and I was being coached by the someone who could guide me into good technical playing and help me to avoid starting any bad habits. I eventually stopped having shakey bow and squeaky bow after a few years of practice, and twenty years later I'm still playing and enjoying my violin. As a middle aged man, I was able to afford a good violin, that is a far better instrument than I am a violinist, but I'm constantly trying to improve upon that fact (Ling Ling Forty Hours)!
Speaking of pegs.
My Wittner pegs are the best I have ever used due to more control and no slippage.
Your luthier tips are also spot on for guitar making as well, especially if you want to focus on using hand tools more than power tools.
Amazon is good for buying certain things not violins.
Oh, you are SO RIGHT! Amazon is NOT the place to buy a good and appreciated string instrument! Accessories, yes; violin, no!
My first teacher told me to remove three of my fine tuners after my second year of playing. Atleast on MY violin, the sound opened up greatly.
To fix microphone problem you could copy left chanel audio to right chanel to add stereo balance
My first Violin was a Cecilio. It sounded very bad. And yes it lowered my confidence, thinking I was the issue.
great video!!!! hello olaf, i recently brought a new expensive violin oversea, supposingly my parents were going to bring me back this month by plane, but they won't be able to come back until new year time. they are in a province where the weather is damp. may i ask is there things i should be aware of to keep my violin well? since there's no one playing it, and it's a new violin, im scared that my violin going to deteriate in quality (i dont know much bout violin) hope you see it, thankiuuu olaf!
it is just laying in the violin case in my parents home, i really love it so I dont want to considere sending it oversea to me. Either they will bring it back to me iin new year, or I'll fly back myself. (I am so carving to play it!!! It has really good bow as my kind teacher is close friend with the maker, and he installed pirastro Evah Pirazzi gold e string and dominate for the rest of the strings. I'm afriad the strings, bow may deteriate as no one is playing it.
Hi Olaf, I have been hooked by your videos, I now want to learn violin so I’m searching for an instrument/ luthier in my area. My question; what are your thoughts on tuning pegs that are more like guitar tuners???
Great to hear that you are learning violin.
I wrote a report on what to look for that can really help you find a violin and know what to look for.
The Wittner geared pegs are great... finetuners also work really well along with well fitted ebony pegs. When pegs fit 100%, they actually turn really easily.
Tonerite: Not sure if it is the same device, mine is called an "Awakener", and that nails it. It has a great effect on freshly set up or long unplayed instruments.
What it does not: improve or enhance the capability of an instrument, or replace the bonding response to your continuous use of the instrument.
What it does: as every luthier and most professional musicians know, a freshly built or stringed instrument takes some time to settle. The natural tensions of the wood fiber, the tensions that built up during construction, the tension applied by the strings, tensions building up because of environmental condition changes, all those tensions must find an equilibrium when the instrument is played.
Here the Awakener comes into play: applying it overnight helps the fiddle to settle in and work itself into a condition where all the internal tension is balanced out. Otherwise you would have rest the fiddle for a couple of days while playing it again and again in between before it even starts to show its sound qualities.
The same applies to a fiddle that wasn't played for a while or has undergone a drastic change in weather and climate conditions. Using the Awakener helps to reduce the time span until the fiddle finds back into its voice.
While this helps me a lot to set up fiddles good and proper in short time for the retailer I work for, it does not replace the need for a fiddler to take their time with their chinstick and play it often and regularly. Playing the fiddle by yourself not only has the same effect of shaking the grain fibers and the cellular water of the wood into a comfortable position, but it adds a personal note to it. The fiddle responds to the music you play on it, and to your personal habits, and adjusts accordingly. Thus, you will find the true voice of your violin only if you keep playing it regularly. And if you do so, you won't notice any benefit from using the Awakener - it adds nothing you would'nt. It just helps reducing the amount of time you need until your fiddle finds in shape, and if you don't have the time to play it often enough, it will compensate some amount, but not all of that, ah, negliance. (No offence meant, we don't all have the time to dedicate daily time to ourusic, have we?)
By the way, the Awakener is a byproduct of scientific material analysis. While the application of vibrations was originally intended for studying the internal strenghts and finding weaknesses of construction elements, the researchers found that the vibrations themselves had a positive effect on the structural properties of some materials.
I have a Tonerite that I bought to blast a cheap factory violin as an experiment, and it did open it up. I wouldn't use it on my good violins though; "if it ain't broke don't fix it."
Olaf, I dunno if you're still answering Q's, but I read that some old violins had shorter fingerboards and that they had to lengthen them for the modern standard. Did they have to replace the whole neck and throw the old neck away, therefore the old violin's aren't actually 100% made by the original maker? How did they do it?
Thanks very much for answering, Olaf!
Cool daughter shirt; my bird "son" used to (customize) my shirts also. @12:51, your (note re: wifes' descendent) lasted 3.4 seconds then ended abruptly; too short! It should be visible at least 4.7 seconds minimum.
Olaf, question for your next video: why is the violin top plate two pieces of timber glued together instead of one piece? 🤔 Wouldn't one piece be stronger?
Thanks for answering my question! Sorry English is not my first language so the sentence might sound a bit weird 😂
The tailpiece & fine tuners thing I found that with individual tuners the string length to the bridge is shorter than a tailpiece with inbuilt tuners & that shorter string length has a dampening (or restrictive) effect on the output, as does the old wire mutes sitting on the strings. I also found that on some instruments an 'ultralight' tailpiece can allow too much 'cross-talk' (using audio electronic speak) with busy overtones because it is so light it allows more vibrations from one string to vibrate the others & that an alloy tailpiece with more weight can result in a clearer output with less interfering overtones.
Thank you so much for explaining things so well!
Greeting all, this is my personal opinion but, I use a Tonerite on my fiddle, mandolins and guitars and yes I think they do improve the tone. I was skeptical too at first but found them to work.
YOU'RE THE BEST OLAF
What do you recommend for badly done wood glue repairs. I have a violin in which someone put the sound post far enough from the bridge it has 3 big cracks that were glued together in a way that left the side of the f hole higher after glueing misshaping the top plate and adding stress to the base of the crack that i dont think is too far but it needs correcting to sound right.
I usually try cleaning the hair if i think it might need to be rehaired. Rosin crystalizes and makes hard spots that can foul a note if the string is started at that part of the bow. One thing is the tooth brush method, where you break the hard rosin up with small strokes of a clean new tooth brush. If those fail then i would worry about rehairing
I sold a Johann Gottfried Liebich 1792 violin to a man in Melbourne several years ago to pay for my son's college. IT had two very large patches on the surface under the bridge. Would have happen to have run across it in your shop.
I love that shirt, Tell her great job on the shirt. Hope to see more.
More questions:
Does violin f-hole placement matters?
My violin is Höfner AS-160v its a decent $300 instrument but the f-hole is placed far away from the purfling, that means the bridge and the sound-post placement is affected.
Does it affects the sound of the instrument? Because my Violin sounds bright even my violin is equiped with Aphaue strings.
This affect the position of bass bar, soundpost and bridge width
Will you market the shirt?
I noticed that you’re not a fan of light rosins. Why and what kind of rosin do you recommend?
one question olaf have you already worked on "rabecas" a kind of brazilian fiddle, and have you worked on another types of non traditional violin-like instruments?
The other issue with live streaming is that your audience is international. For example I am in Ontario, Canada, and the idea of watching a live stream that takes place at 7PM Brisbane time, would be I think 5am here. Like that is going to happen
Do you have a video on geared pegs?
@@johnsee7269 what?
@@johnsee7269 I'm not sure why you sound so angry but I guarantee you geared pegs are not beneath every luthier and every violin maker and they've been putting these geared pigs on expensive Stradivarius and Guarnieri now because it actually saves the violin peg box from damage. I simply asked if he had a video on geared pegs because I'm interested in them and I remember him saying in this video that he has nothing against tuning pegs so please don't talk to me anymore. I really mean it don't talk to me anymore I will not address you again
I was wondering if anyone here knows why the bridge of my violin keeps popping out? I was playing one day and it just popped out and I've followed instructions on how to put it back in. When I tighten the strings after putting the bridge back in, it just pops out again. I haven't had experience with this before and I don't want to break my violin
Guitars have better sustain when the neck and the body are one piece. I think they call it a through neck. Why are violins made without that same idea? Would it be too difficult to do and do you think it would work the same with guitar giving the notes more sustain? Probably a stupid question but one I think about a lot. I have come to the conclusion I'll never be satisfied until I start making my own violins. I just never stop searching for ways to improve or just change my sound.
Very cool shirt!
Terry Farrell Lake of the Ozarks Missouri I'm also a luthier I read a book once by an older gentleman can't remember his name right now he said it takes about 32 years to learn your craft. And about another 15 years for people to realize you know your craft.
Thanks you for your insights.
I stopped at the viola answer & yes, I suffered injury playing viola in an orchestra, but then I think it started when playing the violin beforehand though & playing in high positions on the viola was the last straw. I had to have a ganglion surgically removed from my wrist because of it, followed by it being in a cast & then physio to follow.
I love the t-shirt!
What would you recommend to someone who lives in a very rural community? I'm a couple hours drive from anything resembling a music store, and a much further drive from anything that *specializes* in violins. Getting a ride out to either of those sorts of places would be difficult at best. Mail order is essentially my only option.
How would you suggest someone in my position buy a violin? I'm a noob, and nobody near me plays violin.
It's a tough one...
I have a bunch of clients who live I really remote areas here in Australia, where the next door neighbour can be 20 minutes away!
You might have to buy from a reputable online shop...
But you will need to get the instrument serviced once a year by a violinmaker.
Get my 7 essentials report and watch my videos on what to look for in an instrument.
That way you will be much more informed when you buy.
Love your shirt.
I have a Lowendahl German 1907 instrument and find I don't like to play it because it is so loud.. Could this be a sound post issue ?
I am thinking to get those fine tuning pegs. Although they will cost more than my violin after installing. But tuning the violin is often the reason I am not motivated to practice. - basically I neglected my violin for a while now.😓 I just didn't get the mood and now it feels that I need to start from cero. .also lessons are very expensive and I am not really talented. Eventhough my teacher very kindly said that I am 😂.. Actually I found a violin build by the father of my great grandfather at the shop I bought my beginner violin. - I didn't even knew he was a violin builder. Is it bad to want to own it? (Although too expensive) I just think it has more depth having something with history one can become a part of it... Greetings from Vienna
Wow!
How amazing that there's a violin made by your family member!
M. Mathieu is also a label used as a trade name in Mirecourt.
Another cheaper option would be to get your pegs working really well and get a Wittner ultralight tailpiece with finetuners built in.
I wonder about that vibration gimmick thing man! I knew an old lady who swore she didn't need a piano tuner cause she could just sit down and play for a while and the piano would just "play itself back in tune" so maybe. Some kinda mojo!
...I think that old lady just wanted people to stop complaining about the tuning. The strings are pulling at the pegs - exerting a force upon them in a specific direction: towards loosening. If you add vibrations the process of the pegs following this force accelerates. Meaning the strings get loser, never tighter. It's physically impossible (or at the very least ludicrously unlikely).
What is possible is that playing an instrument in a certain way makes the strings and bridge settle in a specific pattern with a specific distribution of tension in front of the bridge, behind the bridge and between the saddle and pegs. This will very subtly influence the harmonic tones generated by the vibrating strings.
So vibration may be able to influence the "tone" in the sense of what harmonics are in the music, but it is absurdly unlikely that simply playing an instrument will bring it back into tune in the sense of increasing tension and frequency of the strings.
However: I think you should be scientific and do exhaustive experiments about this! Play your instrument in tune and out of tune, try different styles, different composers, every combination of music and tuning. Make notes. In about 15 years report back to us! ...unless you are busy with accepting the price money for that prestigious award that your practice made you able to win... ;-)
@@KonradTheWizzard Glad you got the humor. But on the practical side, my point would be that people filter and that a few moments of playing would allow this persons brain to sort and hear what they wanted... The horrid disharmony of out of tune notes would be filtered and the person would hear things in the way one might look through a dirty windshield not noticing that it's dirty. So subjecting ones instrument to sonic bombardment might make someone think that they can hear a difference. Getting used to an out of tune piano might make one disregard the out of tuniness so we can all have a beer and sing old war songs resulting in sweet music.
Or your just an unbeliever who thinks this lady can't turn piano tuning pegs with her mind. You shouldn't disrespect her, think of what she could do to you if she were offended. Of course I'd never mention to her what you said.
@@toddgreenwood9631 Of course: never underestimate the mental powers of old ladies - they always know what you did wrong and if you disbelieve her tuning a simple glance from her will adjust your brain...
...thankfully I'm probably a few thousand miles away... :-)
I like your philosophy if its not fun why play the violin? I used to get so damn much pressure fom my mom to read music and i was set up in the kitchen with the music stand. Everyone in my class was leaving me behind and reading music. I was completly bewildered. By this time I was in 6th grade and I had a new violin teacher who simply was uninspiring. She was berating me because my great grandfsthers violin had glue cracks. Finally after I got out of High School I decided to take the top plate off and repair the glue cracks. I got the neck on crooked and botched the whole violin. I couldnt read.music I was belittled by everyone no one would show me how to read music. So I quit playing violin for 40 years. I had no reason to want to play the violin.I was.not able to tune the instrument. My grandfather said well maybe he ll pick it up when he gets older. Kind of like he was dissappointed with me but ok maybe latter. I was the most frustrated wannabe violin student there ever was. I was totally demoralized so i just let it sit and decay in its case. I have only as of yesterday discovered the secret of the violin or at least what my teachers neglected to make sure I knew. The entire instrument must have a properly fitted bridge. It is crucial that the feet of the bridge dock with the belly as one. Any daylight any gap between bridge and top plate kill instrument performance. Thats why I sounded so mediocher in grammer school. All along I had a poorly adhearing bridge which wasnt energizing the violin my great grandfather had played 110 years ago. If i had had a snug bridge I would have had to have the violin pryed out of my hands. I would not be able to stop playing. I would have been able to enjoy the instrument and been a magician as I viewed the others in my class. I couldnt understand why everyone else was getting it and I didnt. I think everone else had better set ups with their instruments than I and our teacher.encouraged us to sand the area of the belly to mate with the bridge. In hind sight I think the roghing up of the belly dissallowed the bridge from ever sealing with the belly. That in my opinion is the secret of violin performance. The contact of brige to belly in orfer to telegraph the frequencys throughout the interior and exterior of the instrument. This has been an embarrasing find which has taken me 40 odd years to discover. I feel this is something my grandfather neglected to convey to me as a young 11 year old grandson. I loved my grandfather and still do. I just dont get as detailed aman as he was why did not he teach me the concept of mating the bridge to the instrument. I would have enjoyed the violin and not been frustrated with it. Oh well better late than never. That is in my opinion the hidden undisclosed secret of the Stradivarious! The brige Derwood! The bridge!😅😅😅😅😅😅
I know it's late but I have a question for you. I have hearing loss and auditory processing disorder. Would it be better if I played violin without the chin rest? My hearing loss is in the lower tones. It worsened when I caught it mumps in the spring.
Thanks for your videos and time. 🙂
Hmm... I'm not 100% sure, but it could work. Just make sure you don't have an instrument with precious varnish... If you do, make sure you protect it
WE NEED MORE INFORMATION ABOUT US VIOLA PLAYERS ! WE ARE ALWAYS LEFT OUT FROM CONNECTICUT USA
Sir how to calculate scale length or fretboard length for different size violins and cellos????
There is a good set of instructional books by a luthier named Henry Strobel: Useful Measurements for Violin Makers: A Reference For Shop Use
by Henry A. Strobel.
MY COMMENT MADE IT
OH MY GOD!!!
wagging bow might be misinterpreted as tapping the music stand. @10:50
Is it an Aussie thing to interchange “timber” with “wood” in this context? I always considered “timber” to refer to standing trees in their place of origin. It’s no big deal, obviously, just curious about other cultures. I would never say that I’m a timber-worker, but I would say wood-worker instead
I don't know how you record or edit those videos, but I recommend you bouncing your audio to mono. There are several videos which are either heavy on one side of the stereo field or have most of the sound on one channel. Most of the content in your videos do not benefit from stereo, so there's no reason to use it.
it doesn't look like others are saying the audio makes the video unwatchable but it does for me. Do you know of a way to make it sound better on my computer? I'm struggling to even hear anything at all
@@crochetqueen6440 I'm not saying that either. My point is, a good portion of mobile devices have a single mono speaker, which will not play the audio properly when it's a true stereo setup. For your case, you'll either have to download the video and make the audio mono or use some setup where the incoming audio is made mono.
If you tap a music stand with an early schaller carbon fibre bow, you will likely damage the music stand.
True 🤣
Thank you very much for answering my question!
Funny it led you to the topic of tenovaginitis. That's one main reason why I searched for those finetune pegs. No slipping pegs anymore? Sounded like heaven to me. Almost too good to be true. Have a nice day!
Wow. Had to look that one up. Thought it was an unfortunate typo.
It does not read like something in the hands.
Leatherwood rosin!!!? One needs to be professional & particularly needing that range of rosins to justify them. They are not cheap!
we love your channel
Are you related to the german "Teller" bridge company? Nearly every violin I set up carries that name into the world afterwards. 😉
For your next questions video: I never hear you talk about electric violins or pickup system, what's your views on electric violins? Are there any good ones you would recommend? ✌️
what would happen if you placed two sound posts in a violin
Where on earth would you put a second sound post? The other side of the "under bridge" is already "busied" with the closeness of the sound bar! You would simply kill the sound. I already had an unscupulous drinking luthier who left a important piece of wood shaving inside my violin shile fitting a new button. Once the piece fell fron the button hole right on the violin floor, just that piece of wood shaving immediatly killed the sound! I was SO distressed until I found out what the problem was, and removed the one inch of wood shaving. But one thing is clear,you never forget what a dead violin feels and sounds like... you feel dead yourself!
The guy living in a place with zero percent humidity must be living on the moon !!
oops, no left ear sound on this video
Think you need to check your earphones - no audio problem here.
im also having the same problem the intro is the only part of the video where the audio plays in both ears
Same problem for me when Olaf is speaking, intro sounds fine.
You dont need a vibrating gadget for the violin. Just place it on top of a piano! Or stick a radio in there with it! The best way to keep a violin from going to sleep and ossifying is to play it! This new gadget may be even better I dont know! All i know is the violin wont plsy itself you have to work it! The only way to get a violin to play is through the bridge it is the nerve center of the creature!😅
I love it when I get the notification that I got a new subscriber, it literally makes my whole week. ❤️❤️
Electric Guitar may have whammy bars for that vibratto effect, but acoustic guitars do not for a very good reason. I can't imagine how a violin could have a whammy bar or something like that.
Don't buy ANY instrument mail order. Always go through a reputable music shop. At the very least, they'll make sure it's properly set up.
I sell instruments, people bring those cecilio mendini, or some bright blue violin with no label, to get repaired and I gotta explain as nicely as I can that a $99 dollar violin just isnt gonna play
Why do cartoon violins have flared bouts? What is the origin of this? Nice shirt, however.
Deutsch oder Englisch, da gibt's für und Niederländer wenig unterschied :) Both are forms of bad Dutch :)
Video starts at 20:45 haha [in regards to the vibrating gadget ;) ]
its all depend pre experince and talents.
some people before become lutier know how to use how the woodworking work or even they not detailed work and how the finishes work
those people can get some tricks in few month less then year they are ok for beginner lvl over.in few year they vecome much better
some people start from no where they dont know how the work dont know how to use not know how wood workds
so they will need to learn all those and use too become good few year they they start the craft
like old days fiddle player dad and his son 12-13 year old helping at farm learn to use tools .im not talking about classical best of the best kind but like 60-70 year ago
before they were 20 year old they start capable do repairs what they need or even can build furnature and some others things
becouse of they need to do
crude woodworking ofc so much diffrent .but some detailed small works can fast adept
i dont like expensive insrment becouse of famous builders or historical value.
any good viloin orother insurments even mandolin gutars etc moslty low end 5-6k up to 10-20k depend wood swelection detailing work or how fancy is it like on guitars and mandolin lot of decorative thing can be coslty and detailed works cost time so money.
best of the makers even donyt have several year no opening charge 15-20k i think
i think olaf said few time he do 5-6k around start up so avusturial dollar weeker then usa but still that range around
and for most people incuding even some top player
100k-200k old insurment with 10k decently build modern one diffrence isnt so big.
yes some diffrence ofc but moslty lot of diffrene are mytth.
famous soloist use expsinve thier own or barrowed insurment but mainlly reason isnt sound itsa prestige
old insurments advatages are wood throw out almost all rasins totally done.
today time is more valuble hand crafts arent so cheaop like old days
but today everything is better then old days
better sandpapers better chisels better hand carving tool better finger plain
maybe just no more so cold sring and summer so not super tight grains they said something happen at starvious era even summers were so colds so trees grow so slowly
each year now hotter and hotter
so other then wood probably everything is better today
and 300-400 year ago their some slecetion and chose was more limit4ed today entire world is on your reach
at volin road is kinda same no other way to build it and only few chose at wood.
on gutar way so many thing way so many kind woods can inolve
Uncle answer my question I got a dresdren german vioin made in 1769 who is the maker
Violas project very well; violists don't.
They could only tap it on their heads
Tonerite is, pretty much, snake oil, for the over picky, novices, who want to
blame their instrument, or for those who are trying to make a silk purse from a sows ear.
Learn to sharpen your tools.
Definition of a luthier:
lu·thi·er
/ˈlo͞odēər/
Learn to pronounce
noun
a maker of stringed instruments such as violins or guitars.
Why deny that one is what one is? What's wrong with being a luthier? If guitar makers deny being luthiers then the term luthier will become obsolete...
In jest really; not one iota of disrespect. I enjoy your Master Craftsman level of work. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet quoth the Bard of Avon. William always denied being a playwright instead preferring the Bard moniker...