Lifetime Care & Restoration

Lifetime care & restoration

Every VIOLZ instrument is cared for by its maker — for life.

So that commissioned work can have its full attention, VIOLZ takes on repair and maintenance as a rule only for instruments made here. (Exceptions are possible in particular cases, by arrangement.) In return, an instrument born in this workshop is looked after for life — by the hands that know its structure inside out.

Services

What a VIOLZ instrument receives

Check-up

Regular check-up & diagnosis

Open seams, hairline cracks, fingerboard wear, humidity damage — found before they are noticeable, so that larger repairs never arrive.

Crack & Seam

Crack repair & open seams

Closing cracks in the top and back, reinforcing with cleats, re-gluing seams that have opened — all with traditional hide glue, so the work can always be undone.

Bridge & Soundpost

Bridge & soundpost

The two parts that decide the character of the sound. A newly cut bridge and an adjusted soundpost position draw out what the instrument already has.

Varnish

Varnish retouch

Worn or damaged varnish restored so that it settles in with its surroundings — keeping the instrument's face while protecting the wood.

Neck & Fingerboard

Neck & fingerboard

Fingerboard dressing, nut and saddle replacement, diagnosis and correction of neck angle problems — the work that brings the feel of playing back.

Set-up

Set-up & tonal adjustment

String height, peg fitting, tailpiece balance — a full set-up. It is the set-up that makes the same instrument feel like a different one.

Process

How the work proceeds

Booking & visit

Get in touch first and we'll arrange a time. Telling me the symptoms in advance makes the diagnosis quicker.

Diagnosis & estimate

The maker examines the instrument himself, and sets out plainly what needs doing, what it will cost and how long it will take.

Repair & restoration

The work stays within what was agreed. Anything newly discovered along the way is always discussed before it is touched.

Set-up & return

After the repair comes set-up and a playing check before the instrument goes back, along with a word on how to look after the repaired area.

Signs that a check-up is due — a wolf tone that has grown worse · an open string that buzzes or drones · a sound that has gone dull as the season turned · a rattle somewhere · a peg that slips. The bigger the repair, the smaller it becomes when it is seen early.

Playing a VIOLZ instrument?

When the season changes, an instrument needs looking at too. Drop in whenever you are passing.

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