Faults & Repairs​
Guidance on the some common faults and repairs for violin owners. 

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Violin accessories

Bow

Real horse hair will sound much better than a bow with synthetic hair. If you do end up with synthetic hair, a violin repair shop can replace with horse hair.

Case

A hard shell case protects the violin better (but is heavier) than a soft sided case. A good hard whack on a soft case can crack an instrument. 

Rosin

This is applied to the bow hairs to increase the effectiveness of the friction, grip or bite, and allow proper sound production.  

Shoulder rest

A shoulder rest will provide comfort where the violin sits between your neck and shoulder and will also help with your back posture especially if you are just starting to learn. 

Wolf tone eliminators

Wolf tone eliminators are sometimes placed on violin strings between the tailpiece and the bridge to eliminate acoustic anomalies known as wolf tones or "wolfs".

Mute

A mute is used to change the sound of the violin by reducing overtones. Practice mutes (made of metal) significantly reduce the instrument's volume (they are also referred to as "hotel mutes"). The most common mute is a rubber disc with two holes to fit the two middle strings. It sits just after the bridge and has a flap that can be placed over the top of the bridge to mute the vibrations travelling down it to the sound post inside the violin. 

Humidifier

These are used to control and stabilize the humidity around and inside the violin and are popular with travelling violinists. Often, these are placed inside the violin itself or inside the case. Humidifiers have the potential to drip, which could cause damage to the violin.

Music stand

Holds your sheet music at the desired height 

Metronome

Time keeping device to help you play music at the right tempo or simply go online where there are several free sites that provide this functionality. ​

Tuner

If you have a piano available you can use this to help to tune your violin. Alternatively, you can purchase a variety of devices or simply go online to source the correct pitch for your violin strings.