Today I took my first ever trip to a luthier: Tanen Violins in Inwood. They were recommended to me by our church organist, who also plays viola in a local orchestra. Joe (the violinmaker) had laid out eight bows for me to test based on what I had told him I was looking for when I made the appointment. Since I’d never shopped for a bow he told me what kind of things to look for, then let me try them all. I was amazed at how much Stella’s voice changed depending on which bow I was using and how much better all of those bows felt compared to the cheap bow I had bought from Sam Ash a few years ago.
When I had narrowed my preferences down to three bows (all made of pernambuco wood, which gave Stella a warmer voice than the carbon fiber and brazilwood bows) Joe invited me to bring them home to try for a week. This is the first time I’ve used multiple bow spinners in my case. I felt all official and stuff. 🙂
Joe also took a look at Stella to see what work, if any, needs to be done on her. I was surprised to find out she’s actually a decent student violin and better quality than the consumer-grade student kit I could buy in any run-of-the-mill music store. He showed me how to adjust the bridge and pointed out issues with the bridge height and string action. The prices he quoted to properly shape the bridge, replace the tailpiece, and upgrade the strings from the higher-end student-level strings I am using were far less than I was expecting. I’ve already made up my mind that when I return the bows to him next weekend I’ll have him do that work on her. Other than replacing the strings myself I haven’t had her worked on since my parents bought her for me when I was in middle school. I’m excited to see how she will feel and sound once Joe is through with her. Other than a curve/bump in the fingerboard which cannot be shaved down–the violin was made with a lower quality of wood, so there isn’t enough material to fix it–she is in very good condition.
Joe says I can trade in my instrument when I am ready to upgrade, but I don’t think I’ll trade her in, now that I know she’s actually a good instrument. Whenever I upgrade I’ll simply have Stella as my backup.
I didn’t grow up around orchestra people, so all of this is entirely new to me. It has only been this year that I realized it may be necessary to buy a good quality bow (“whatever that means”, I thought at the time), and I had no concept of bridge shaping, higher quality strings, or even the worth of my own instrument until today. (I can’t overstate how glad I am that I held onto her all of these years, even though I didn’t play for most of that time!) All of this information takes my passion for violin to the next level. It will serve me well when I begin shopping for a higher quality instrument.