Will my violin be ok???

August 7, 2019, 4:53 AM · Get it checked out by a professional. Do not make assumptions. However I hope you do have instrument insurance from someone reliable who you can always call for help.

August 7, 2019, 4:55 AM · But first, don't forget to put that bottle inside his b*tt)))

Edited: August 7, 2019, 7:10 AM · I'm not a luthier or an expert, but I am an engineer and I have some experience with wood as a material.

First off, I'm 99.9999999% certain there's no chance of rotting. That would need a lot more water and some biological elements as well.

I also think that cracking is a very, very small possibility. That's usually a result of the wood becoming too dry or a lot of cycles of it become warm and then cooling over a long period of time.

If you don't have the ability to get it checked immediately, I would say the appropriate course of action until you can is to carefully blot away as much of the excess fluid you can using something absorbant (I know a lot is inside the instrument but I'm sure you can improvise something).

And then allow it to air dry naturally in a cool environment. DO NOT use heat to dry it out.

As a very temporary measure until it has dried out, you could get some packets of silica gel and put them in the case with the instrument. This will draw out the moisture. But don't let it get too dry - the optimum humidity for your instrument is about 50% i.e. neither too dry not too damp.

But for sure, get it checked out by someone competent as soon as you can.

To reiterate: these measures are only to be considered if you cannot get the instrument to a luthier in the next few hours, though I should add I'm relatively confident your instrument will be fine.

August 7, 2019, 6:34 AM · Darren, I think you and your parents should write a letter of complaint to the organisers of the event. It seems obvious that the organisers would be responsible for damage caused to persons or property arising out of actions on stage, so I would expect them to have their own insurance to cover circumstances such as you have described. If your violin is insured then it could come down to insurance companies writing to each other.

Get your professional repairer to provide a detailed account of damage to the violin, and what action is needed to rectify such damage. The insurance company would require such a document.

Edited: August 7, 2019, 6:46 AM · Best thing would be to get the violin to a professional as soon as possible.

In the meantime, if there is no standing water or droplets in the violin, I'd put it in a SAFE place at normal temperature and with a lot of air circulation, outside of the case.

August 7, 2019, 6:52 AM · How in heavens a scene with an orchestra, full of expensive wooden instruments, has in the TO DO list to squirt water, no matter if it's "only" to the audience?

The fact that squirted your violin tells a lot about how uncontrolled that action was.

August 7, 2019, 11:28 AM · You've gotten good advice. All I can add is that this is utterly unacceptable. You and/or your parents need to write an angry (but civil) letter to the faculty member in charge of the play, cc'ing the administration, outlining exactly what happened, the potential damage it could cause, the fact that you had no warning, and that you expect a written apology as well as compensation for any expenses incurred by having the violin checked out and possibly repaired.

And you should never, ever agree to play in a school production again.

August 7, 2019, 12:12 PM · The letter should be accompanied by an invoice for the luthier's bench charge for examining your violin and, of course, for the cost of any remediation such as may be required in his/her professional judgement. If they injured an audience member they would be rushing to pay that person's medical expenses.

August 7, 2019, 3:44 PM · Thank you for your responses
I feel like my sound on my violin is slightly muted now. I don't know, it may just be me??. Anyway I think the water drops have kind of dried up and I will be taking my violin to a luthier tommorow. Though my label in the violin is kind of ruined now, which annoys the heck out of me.

August 7, 2019, 8:23 PM · Don't panic. Probably the sound of your violin is the same as before. Yeah it's a drag that the label was messed up. Hopefully you had a photo of it beforehand.

August 7, 2019, 8:35 PM · We all feel for you - and I hope that this is just a memory and a small side-line-addition to the future history of your instrument.

Do let us know what your luthier said.

August 7, 2019, 11:58 PM · What a dumb idea that was, even if the audience was the intended target. I would be royally p%$#@ if someone squirted water at me in a show. Your biggest concerns I would presume are the varnish and seems, not to mention the messed up label. There had to be a fair bit of water if the label got damaged. If that happened to me, I think I would have used rice to absorb the humidity. Since rice is often used to catch dust in violins, it would be OK to use I think. I presume you quickly dried off water on the outside, but hopefully the varnisy is intact. An unglued seems isn't the end of the world either, easy fix, but you should watch for it however. The label isn't too much of an issue as long as you have a proper appraisal for the instrument, but it is annoying nonetheless and you have reason to be upset. Many times labels are fake, so no experts would rely on them anyhow.

August 8, 2019, 3:16 AM · Hi Darren, you have every right to be upset, and I hope your violin is unharmed. I'd be very interested to find out what the luthier says (as I'm sure others here are as well). Please post a follow-up to let us know what happened and if the violin is okay.

August 8, 2019, 5:13 AM · I wouldn't put rice inside a moist violin. It's likely stick in various places, with pieces coming loose and falling out for a long time, causing buzzes in the interim.