This customer brought me a instrument that was cracked from the edge of the top plate all the way to the f hole, right along the location of the soundpost. This probably happened for two reasons. First off, it was an inexpensive instrument that may have been assembled before the wood was properly cured. A good violin top plate will be cut from a piece of spruce that has been allowed to dry for several years, so the moisture levels have mostly stabilized.

Second, the soundpost was cut too high, causing stress on the top plate.

Third, who knows? Kids can do amazing things to instruments.

Most cracks can be fixed internally using small cleats, but the area around the location of the soundpost needs extra support. This area gets a large circular cleat, with the grain always running perpendicular to the grain of the top plate. This is tricky, because we are adding bulk, which will inevitably change the tone of the instrument. After the cleat is applied I get it as thin as possible to avoid too much alteration of the sound.

The violin has survived it’s surgery. It’s going to spend the night with some serious clamps, and tomorrow it will be ready for setting up.

Remember that wolf tone issue that was “solved?” Nope. We ultimately had to buy an expensive internal wolf resonator. They’re specifically tuned to the particular wolf, in this case it was an F#.

The resonator is placed exactly where the wolf is originating – there’s a real place where you can feel the soundwaves hitting each other on the face of the cello. It’s almost always a couple inches below the F hole on the left side. The top of the cello vibrates when you play it, but this spot vibrates much more roughly.

The experts at Jay Rury violins helped me figure this one out. Jay and Duncan felt around the top of the cello until they found the spot.

As best as I can describe it, this small piece of hardware works like a shock absorber, keeping these competing tones from warring with one another.

We placed the resonator to the outside with a gum to make sure it was working, and after a few weeks I permanently affixed the piece to the inside of the top. I’m so appreciative to Jay and Duncan for sharing their skills with me. My customer is happy!

Well, that ivory inlay sure is lovely, but it’s got some loose pieces, and all I can hear when you play is a buzz.

I’m currently applying a thin penetrating glue. Then we’ll see if we can find any more unwanted noises.