Services
Workshop Services
Our staff of experienced luthiers and band technicians have decades of experience working with professional musicians, students, teachers, and players of all experience and age levels. We’re here to help you sound your best, and keep your instrument in excellent playing condition. Below are some of the services we offer, please inquire with questions or for more details.
The best way to make sure we are addressing your instrument correctly is to bring it to one of our shops for repair evaluation. Our luthiers will perform a thorough and thoughtful diagnosis, and help you understand the whole picture.
Musical instruments need regular maintenance and service to function at their best and to prolong their working life. Parts wear out and need adjustment or replacement from continuous use.
Some maintenance items can be done reasonably quickly “while you wait”. Others take more time and may require your instrument to be left with us. In such cases, we can provide a loaner instrument.
Common services that need to be done regularly for orchestral string instruments:
Performance Optimizations
Perhaps you’re looking to get more from your instrument. Our luthiers can work with you to fine-tune your instrument’s performance.
Optimizations include:
- Adjusting the position of the instrument’s soundpost
- Exploring different brands, compositions, or tensions of strings
- Changing the type of tailpiece, fine tuners, or tailgut
- Considering planetary geared tuning pegs
- Changing the chinrest and/or shoulder rest for a better ergonomic fit, or having a chinrest custom modified
- Adjustments to the instrument’s action, such as string height and fingerboard scoop
- Managing and eliminating wolf tones
- Addressing buzzing and rattling sounds
- Improving instrument projection and clarity
- Balancing the instrument’s response across its range
- Installation of electric pickups for amplified playing
- And more! Bring your questions and we’ll help you find solutions!
Repairs and Restorations
Classic Violins is a full-service repair shop.
Common repair services include:
- Gluing open seams
- Repairing cracks on the instrument’s top, back, and ribs
- Resetting an instrument’s broken neck
- Stabilizing pegbox cracks
- Fitting new pegs
- Custom-carving a bespoke bridge
- Fitting a new soundpost
- Reprofiling or replacing a worn or damaged nut
- Fingerboard dressing
- Regluing a lifting or detached fingerboard
Nearly everything can be fixed! Our skilled luthiers will work with you to bring your instrument back to perfect playing condition.
Sometimes more serious and involved work is required. We perform a full range of restoration services to bring your instrument back to its former glory.
Restoration Services include:
- Rebuilding missing or damaged corners and edges
- Replacing missing purfling
- Installing an ebony crown on a neck heel
- Fitting a new bass bar
- Doubling edges on a top or back
- Scroll grafts
- Pegbox bushings
- Replacing damaged edge or corner blocks
- Replacing damaged ribs
- Soundpost patches
- Varnish color matching and restoration
- French polishing services
- Fitting matching sets of accessories in fine woods, such as ebony, rosewood, cocobolo, boxwood, and snakewood (chinrest, tailpiece, pegs, endbutton)
- Cosmetic-only restorations
Evaluations
We can give you a verbal opinion and brief analysis on what your instrument may be worth at no charge.
More information
Appraisals
We offer written appraisal letters on musical instruments and bows for insurance purposes, private sale, and travel.
More information
Bow Rehairs and Repairs
Our shops are well-known for our excellent bow rehairs and repair service.
Our bow services include:
- Rehairing with Russian White, Mongolian White, Mongolian Black or Colored hair
- Installing a new leather thumb grip
- Installing new winding
- Fitting new tip plate, several options available
- Bushing and/or replacing a damaged eyelet
- Stick bushing
- Bow recambering
- Repairing damage to a bow frog
- Repairing cracked sticks or broken bow heads
- Installing a new slide
- And any service or adjustment your bow might need!
Most bow rehairs can be completed within a week, and rush service is available. Loaner bows are also available while your bow is being worked on.
Brass and Woodwind Service
We are pleased to offer maintenance and repair services for brass and woodwind instruments as well as orchestral strings. We have a state-of-the-art ultrasonic cleaning machine on site, and our maintenance and repair services are done in-house by our staff technician. Brass and woodwind services include:
- Deep cleaning services, ultrasonic cleaning when appropriate
- Adjustment and alignment of key mechanisms and bent or damaged keys
- Valve adjustments and lapping
- Resoldering braces
- Pad replacements
- Bumper cork replacements
- Tenon cork replacements
- Replacing lost or damaged screws and rods
- Replacing missing key touches (pearls)
- Minor dent removals
Guitars and World Instruments
We also work on fretted string instruments, including guitars, mandolins, banjos, and ukuleles. While we do not offer refretting services at this time, we do offer:
- String replacement
- Adjustment of action
- Nut and bridge adjustments and replacement
- Replacing or upgrading tuning machines and pegs
- Professional cleaning
- Cosmetic touch-ups
- Crack repairs
- Minor repairs of electric pickup systems
Service Glossary
Peg Lubrication
Especially here in the Midwest where humidity and temperatures fluctuate greatly throughout the year, tuning pegs can swell and contract. They become sticky feeling and “click” when turned, difficult to turn, or slip out of tune. We sometimes refer to peg lubrication as the “oil change” of the violin: it needs to be done regularly, it’s not an expensive service, and it can be done while you wait. Many musicians are not confident about tuning or struggle with it, when in reality it’s just that their tuning pegs need a little lubrication to work their best.
Peg adjustment
Over time and use, the tension of the strings pulling on them can cause tuning peg shafts or pegbox holes to go slightly out of round. This results in pegs that may feel like they get very tight in one position, but slip or skip as they are turned. We can re-shape the pegs and pegbox holes to a perfect fit for easy and reliable tuning. This service includes lubrication.
Bridge straightening and adjustment
As the strings are pulled across the top of the bridge, they can cause the bridge to lean slightly and over time develop a warp. Occasionally bridges need to be straightened up, and the slots the strings sit in need to be lubricated, and the bridge height and fit need to be checked.
Fingerboard dressing and nut adjustment
The action of the player’s fingers pushing the metal strings into the wooden fingerboard can cause little ruts and channels to develop over time. These are not only uncomfortable, but can lead to buzzing and rattling sounds as the string vibrates in the channels. Smoothing out the fingerboard surface and subsequently adjusting the height of the nut to suit may need to be done more or less frequently depending on a variety of factors, such as how often the instrument is played, and even the body chemistry of the player’s hands.
Cleaning and polishing
A professional instrument cleaning is the difference between brushing your teeth at home and going to the dentist: it’s great to wipe off rosin, dust, and finger residue from your instrument when you put it away after practicing, but we can clean deeper and remove all traces of built-up rosin and grime, and bring your varnish to an even luster. This not only makes your instrument look great, but prevents varnish damage and inhibited vibrations (or even rattles and buzzes!) that can result from built-up grime.
String replacement
Naturally if a string breaks or begins to unravel it’s time to replace it. But even if they don’t physically break, strings lose their sparkle and tone over time as they are played in. Rosin from the bow and sweat and dirt from the player’s hand can build up on the string dampening its vibration or compromising the integrity of the winding or core. On average, instruments in regular use will need their strings replaced annually to sound their best, and we recommend replacing all strings at the same time to keep the tone and projection balanced.
Evaluation
We are often contacted by clients who may discovered an old violin in their attic or basement, at a flea market, when cleaning out an estate, or at an auction. Making sense of older instruments can be a daunting task, and we are happy to help you understand what you have. We can give you a verbal opinion on what your instrument may be worth at no charge. This is not a formal appraisal, but rather a basic assessment of the instrument's condition, quality, and approximate value range. We can also advise you on whether the instrument is worth repairing, and what repairs might be needed. If you have an instrument you would like us to evaluate, please bring it to one of our shops. We will be happy to take a look at it and give you our opinion.
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Appraisal
The appraisal process will require us to have access to the instrument for a day or two so we can photograph it, measure it, and perform any research needed to determine the most accurate value possible. You will be furnished with written and signed copies of your appraisal documents as well as electronic copies. The photographs and documentation of your instrument will be placed on file as well. Additionally, we offer travel documents for your instrument, which may be required when passing through customs in certain countries.
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