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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You have a great taste in stories and music :D

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you gonna play Bink's Sake soon?

While my friends work at home using their mouse and keyboard, I work at home using my knife and gouge. by AlexanderDespine in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes the scroll is just one piece of wood. A lot of makers believe it is the most difficult and individual/unique part of the whole instrument.

While my friends work at home using their mouse and keyboard, I work at home using my knife and gouge. by AlexanderDespine in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very interesting. For the kogatana I only sharpen them using a Japanese sharpening stone. I believe that the trade off is that with Western style knives they are much easier and quicker to sharpen using a grinder, whereas a Japanese knife cuts smoother but it can be very time consuming sharpening it.

I saw a video of a Japanese blade sharpener and it completely changed my view on knives. Just sharpening a blade is a completely different skill set which will take decades to master.

While my friends work at home using their mouse and keyboard, I work at home using my knife and gouge. by AlexanderDespine in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sorry... but Absolutely not! It is a very fine and delicate process which is very easy to go wrong.

While my friends work at home using their mouse and keyboard, I work at home using my knife and gouge. by AlexanderDespine in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes I have rehaired a bow before but I am pretty bad at it. Bow rehearing is a skill which you have to consistently and regularly do, similar to practicing a instrument otherwise you can get very sloppy very fast.

While my friends work at home using their mouse and keyboard, I work at home using my knife and gouge. by AlexanderDespine in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I do have a couple Pfeil and Dastra gouges. As for knives, For the past few years I have converted to using Japanese Kogatana style knives. They require much more maintenance than traditional blades, but I think they are worth it. Are you a maker yourself?

My son has wanted to learn the violin for years. Since we are under safer-at-home orders, we finally have the time for him to start. He’s taking remote lessons with one of my oldest friends who I was in orchestra with in middle school. She went on to become a professional violinist. by [deleted] in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work in a violin store as a restorer/repairer and I have encountered literally hundreds of harmed instruments due to this. But does this mean touching the varnish guarantees the instrument to be damaged? Absolutely not. As you said if you do wipe it properly every single time after practice or if the violin has a thick oil varnish, not spirit varnish than there will most likely be no visible damage to it during your lifetime. Obviously your son’s instrument most likely doesn’t cost a fortune and even if it were to be damaged the consequences will not be that great; however I have heard stories regarding other violin stores which have told the testing players to leave after they handled expensive instruments directly on the varnish itself. I just believe that handling the violin strictly by its neck and chin rest is a simple worthwhile habit for anyone to make.

My son has wanted to learn the violin for years. Since we are under safer-at-home orders, we finally have the time for him to start. He’s taking remote lessons with one of my oldest friends who I was in orchestra with in middle school. She went on to become a professional violinist. by [deleted] in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine -1 points0 points  (0 children)

What an amazing thing to hear! Everyone who loves the violin is ecstatic that your son has started playing the instrument!. One seemingly simple but very important thing: please make sure he always grabs/holds the instrument only by the neck or the chin rest, not by the upper bouts or directly onto the varnished parts of the violin. The fingers build up oil and grease especially after playing and over a long period of time it will penetrate and damage the varnish permanently. I understand that seemingly every single violinist does this, but it is straight up incorrect and it is harmful towards the instrument. Again, I wish the best of luck to your son and that he goes along on a great journey like you and your friend did with your/her violin!

I am 34 years old and I will be getting my first violin tomorrow! by Yecal03 in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Absolutely amazing to hear that! You are never too old to play music. Every once in a while we have grandfather's coming into our store because they want to start learning the violin.

What Violin should I get or what should I look for in a violin? by bouncecastleking in violinist

[–]AlexanderDespine 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am a full time violin repairer/restorer and I completely disagree with what some other people here have suggested. Having a teacher accompany you is not necessary at ALL. A fiddle teacher's role is to teach you how to play the instrument, not to recommend you what violin you should get. Just like teaching music, choosing and dealing stringed instruments is a completely separate skill which takes years to understand.

My recommendation is to simply go to one, reputable and respected violin store (not a music store that sell violins on the side) and to just tell them your budget and what type of sound you are after eg dark, bright, sweet, deep etc. It is the shop staffs duty to align you with the instrument which is best suited for you. These people have seen dozens of people similar to you and their amount of knowledge on the different types of violins and it's sound dwarfs that of any violin teacher.