It's ALIVE!! part I (off strings, off fingerboard!)

I suppose it depends on your take of what "life" is, but, as Evelyn Waugh wrote, "[change is] the only evidence of life", and these fiddles change constantly! Not only are they continuously adapting to the shifting seasonal considerations, but they also are willing to grow in spirit, transforming themselves to suit the styles and subtleties of their player.

I picked this fiddle up from its owner over the weekend for some tweaking, and it's very easy to detect that it's not the same instrument that I said goodbye to. I don't really have the words to describe the nuances that are there to catch, but nonetheless, it's clearly finding its way forward.

The reason for this visit is some buzzing/rattling issues. I have to remove the fingerboard and widen and deepen the channel that the sympathetic strings travel through. These 5 sympathetic strings need a lot of room when they get excited! They really can bounce around, madly hitting each other and the walls of the channel and causing all sorts of buzzing problems. Though really, it's a good problem -- it means they're doing their job!

Far from being a nuisance, this is one of my favorite parts of the business -- seeing after things while these instruments learn to spread their wings! :)