Surprising Strings & Surprising Terror

January 26, 2010 at 10:11 PM

I've been battling a lot of personal issues lately, and haven't been "in love" with my violin for quite some time. I've not found any strings I like, nor any pieces that inspire me, nor any practice sessions that feel productive enough.

However, while at Shar today, I decided to take a chance, and bought some Corelli Crystal strings. I read on here that they sound dark, but sometimes dull. Well, everything on this violin sounds "too much": too loud, too resonant, too bright, too metallic, etc. So, I wanted dark and dull, by comparison.

I'm in love. I didn't particularly care for the E, so I put a Hill E on. Much better. My teacher likes it better when I play it than when he plays. This is the setup for me, lol. Doesn't sound good with anyone else.

However, a very scary thing happened when I put the Hill E on. The Hill E has excess wire at the end, and the wire scratched at the side of my scroll. I always hate it when that happens, but it's kind unavoidable sometimes. However, on this particular occasion, it CHIPPED THE INSIDE OF MY SCROLL!!! I freaked out. I immediately called my luthier. It was just a sliver thin, small piece that splintered as it fell, but it was right next to the peg. My scroll/peg box is not original, and you can discern the graphting (sp?) and the chip starts at the graphting line. I showed my professor, and he's sure it's fixable, and my luthier said to bring it in, but it's not an emergency (thank God). Hopefully, it won't be too costly, nor too major a production to repair. I have a concert next Friday (I'm taking it in this Friday) and would really like MY violin because we're playing Shostakovich 5 and I get to play the solos... Here's hoping!

Update: my luthier fixed the peg box so you can't even tell in 3 minutes. No biggie. =D I am also hating the Hill E, and will likely put my favorite (Gold Label) on.

From Anne McKinley
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 12:42 AM

Dear Tasha,

In the violin repair world, we call that "antiquing".

Shalom

From Tasha Miner
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 1:05 AM

Oh, Anne, it's antiqued alright. =P Thanks for the vote of confidence.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 4:05 AM

Greetings,

am I an antique because I have a chip on my shoulder?;)

Cheers,

Buri

From Tasha Miner
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 4:41 AM

Buri, you're timeless.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 4:45 AM

Buri, is your chip near your peg?

Tasha, relax. Your luthier said that the damage is not serious, and I'm sure he's right. I've had the same experience as you with a new kind of string When I got Infeld reds, I was thrilled with playing my violin with them. I even wrote a blog about them (June 10, 2007). I still love them.

From Tom Holzman
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 2:15 PM

Good luck, Tasha.

From Susan Smyth
Posted on January 29, 2010 at 8:37 PM

ohh i can understand how you feel. once, through a pure accident, some 5 yr-old kid (who shouldn't really have been in the area) knocked over my cello, chipping off a corner, on the front. i heard a BONGGGGG noise as it tipped, then ran over, saw the demage and burst into tears. i had only bought it a few months before, it was easily the single most expensive object i've ever owned! oh well. got my luthier to affix the piece on again (it was only about 1cm sq.) and it doesn't really show. but still very disturbing!!

From Tasha Miner
Posted on February 2, 2010 at 5:06 PM

Oh darn, the Corelli Crystals crapped out on the D&G already after just a week. Put Dominants on, still have the Crystal A + Gold Label E. Nice way to save $4 at Shar if the Crystal A will hold...

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Surprising Strings & Surprising Terror

Laurie's Books

Subscribe