COMMON REPAIR PROBLEMS
AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT THEM

Soundposts | Cracks | Buzzing | Broken Strings | Bows | Bridges
Seams | Slipping Pegs | Broken Tailgut

INSTRUMENTS:

• The soundpost of your instrument falls down. (You can tell that the soundpost is down when you hear something rattling around on the inside of the instrument.) This can happen for a variety of reasons. It may occur if you drop the instrument or bang it into something. The soundpost could fall if you take all of the strings off the instrument at once when you are changing them. It also tends to happen during great fluctuations of humidity; the wood shrinks, and the soundpost simply collapses. Take the instrument in to your repair person. It will only take a few minutes to set the post back up, but it is very much a job for a pro: the proper placement of the soundpost has a great deal to do with how well your instrument sounds.
• The bridge falls. First, check the top of the instrument to make sure that no cracks have formed. If there is a crack in the top, or in the bridge, or if the bridge is warped, take the instrument in for immediate repair. If all looks well, however, and the bridge has merely fallen over, you may choose to attempt setting it back up yourself. Loosen the strings a bit. Pop the bridge back in place, putting its lower side under the string with the highest pitch. The center of the bridge foot should be aligned with the center of the f hole notch. The strings should be centered (left-to-right) over the fingerboard. As you bring the strings up to pitch, take care that the top of the bridge is not pulling forward (towards the scroll). If it is, gently pull the top of the bridge back towards the tailpiece, making sure that it stands perpendicular to the top of the instrument.
• You spy a crack. Take the instrument to a qualified repair person immediately. If you wait, the situation could get considerably worse. Do not under any circumstances attempt to glue the crack yourself.
• A seam opens along the side of the instrument. This is not uncommon, particularly during major changes in ambient humidity. Panic is not called for, but one should attempt to have the seam glued as soon as possible by a professional. The instrument can still be played as it is, but most likely it will make a very annoying buzz.
• The instrument is “buzzing,” but no seams appear to be open. The culprit might be loose fine tuners, a loose fingerboard, old strings, a loose chinrest, a chinrest which is making contact with the tailpiece, or some combination of these. Check for things which need tightening first: you may be able to correct the problem easily.
• A peg keeps slipping, causing the string to go out of tune. Remove the peg, and try putting a tiny bit of old- fashioned school chalk on the parts of the peg that are shiny. This will create some traction. If the peg still keeps slipping, it may not fit properly and will need to be replaced. If a peg is too tight, try rubbing it with a bit of dry bar soap or “peg compound,” which is commercially available. Again, if this proves ineffective, take the instrument in to be looked at. Bear in mind that humidity has a significant impact on pegs. This may just be a seasonal headache that needs to be dealt with each year.
• A relatively new string breaks. Take note of where the string broke. Your instrument may have developed a rough spot at the peg, the nut, or the fine tuner. Or, if the winding of the string is too close to the pegbox wall, it may have been subject to sufficient stress to cause it to snap. See this helpful page to learn more about installing strings.
• The “tailgut” (the cord that keeps the tailpiece attached to the instrument) breaks, and the instrument appears to "explode" - the strings fly loose, the bridge pops off, and the soundpost may fall down. Do not panic! This usually looks worse than it is. Take the instrument in to your repair person right away. It can usually be fixed on the spot.

BOWS:

• The hair on your bow has turned very dark, or doesn’t bite like it used to. It's probably time for a rehair. This is recommended at least once a year, more often if you play a great deal.
• All of the hair pops out of your bow at once. Don’t panic - the bow is not ruined, it has merely lost the “wedge” holding in the hair. Your repair-person can fix this easily.
• The hair won’t tighten. The bow screw may be stripped, or the button loose on the screw. Take it in to a professional.
• The hair keeps breaking around the center point of the bow. You should check for “bow bugs.”