Cracked Samovar Posted March 2, 2022 Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 (edited) My violin's sound suddenly became weak and hollow one day. I brought it to a luthier and they glued an open seam that had appeared on the top plate, on either side of the neck of the violin. The sound was good for a few days, then a buzz developed. Brought it back and they re-glued the same seam (it had reopened). After this last visit the sound is almost as weak and hollow as it was before bringing it for repairs, but a different luthier could find no open seam or any other issue with the violin. I am at my wit's end, can't bring myself to play the damn thing anymore and really would like to avoid having to get a new one. What can I do now? Is it possible that the seam repair was poorly done? I won't attempt to fix anything myself but maybe there is something I can ask a luthier to do. Thank you Edited March 2, 2022 by Cracked Samovar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strad O Various Jr. Posted March 2, 2022 Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 If the seam had reopened in a few days, I suspect the luthier is incompetent, maybe using liquid hide glue or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Holmes Posted March 2, 2022 Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 44 minutes ago, Strad O Various Jr. said: If the seam had reopened in a few days, I suspect the luthier is incompetent, maybe using liquid hide glue or something ...and/or that there was an issue (tension build up) in the upper bout due to another problem that was not addressed before gluing the seam... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wood Butcher Posted March 2, 2022 Report Share Posted March 2, 2022 There can be many reasons for this. I do not know where in the world the OP resides, but at this time of year, in many places indoor humidity can be cripplingly low. This will cause seams to open from shrinkage, it also affects the arching, so could result in a sound post now being too tight. Seams on the treble side of the neck are often open for some time, before a player might notice. Skin oils, perspiration and dirt can easily get into the seam, making gluing more difficult. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan slobodkin Posted March 3, 2022 Report Share Posted March 3, 2022 If the seam was open on both sides of the neck then the top was most likely separated from the block as well. It can be hard to get enough glue into the area at the center of the block and once the seams are closed on both sides there is no way to see if the block/top joint is properly glued or not. I suggest having a qualified violin repairman open the joint in that area again and reglue it paying attention to getting a clean tight fit and enough glue to get the joint tight. As Jeffry said if the seam came loose after gluing then there might be some other problem as well and your repairman should be looking over everything with a suspicious eye. Lastly the problem with how the instrument sounds may be totally unrelated to the seam such as a post problem or a loosening seam in a completely different area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiddleDoug Posted March 3, 2022 Report Share Posted March 3, 2022 Did they by any chance do something to the sound post when they were working on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwillis Posted March 3, 2022 Report Share Posted March 3, 2022 If you liked how it sounded before it can sound that way again. Just may take a little patience to work it out. My luthier loves to tweak the soundpost. Which I usually move around later;) because I wonder what the heck happened to my fiddle. A 1 mm adjustment can literally breathe life back into a dead sounding fiddle. Obviously a tight post might be choking it out too. Lesson is don’t lose faith just takes a bit of troubleshooting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Norfleet Posted March 3, 2022 Report Share Posted March 3, 2022 16 hours ago, nathan slobodkin said: f the seam was open on both sides of the neck then the top was most likely separated from the block as well. It can be hard to get enough glue into the area at the center of the block and once the seams are closed on both sides there is no way to see if the block/top joint is properly glued or not. I suggest having a qualified violin repairman open the joint in that area again and reglue it paying attention to getting a clean tight fit and enough glue to get the joint tight. Exactly this! If the seam opened up on both sides of the neck there is a very good chance that the block is separated from the top and that is a very likely cause of the sound suffering. You simply need to get it to someone wiling to look in there and competent to do the gluing, though that might not be simple... Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cracked Samovar Posted March 4, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2022 Ok, thank you all for the info, I know now what to ask for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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