WARNING! DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN VIOLIN STRINGS! - JHS

WARNING! DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN VIOLIN STRINGS!
They are easily snapped and are not covered under warranty. Replacements can be purchased from any good music store.
Antoni Antoni
Antoni
Antoni
Antoni
Congratulations on choosing this Antoni violin
and we trust you will have many years of pleasure playing the instrument.
However, before playing you will need to fully prepare the instrument. In order to do this we have detailed below
a simple step-by-step guide to help you obtain the best possible sound.
1. SETTING THE BRIDGE INTO POSITION
We would recommend you follow these simple instructions to correctly fit the bridge
which is packaged separately.
1a. The bridge has four different sized grooves to accommodate the four different
thicknesses of strings (see diagram 1). The thickest groove (G string) should be on the
left hand side of the instrument and the thinnest groove (E string) should be on the right
of the instrument. If the width of the grooves is not noticeably different, the correct
placing of the bridge would be with the G (thickest) string on the high side of the bridge,
and the E (thinnest) string on the lowest side.
Bridge packaged separately.
Thickest
Groove
Thinnest
Groove
1.
F-Hole
G
D
A
E
Diagram 3.
Place instrument
on your knees to
locate bridge.
High
Side
Feet
Diagram 1.
Low
Side
Bridge
Diagram 2.
Bridge
Position of Internal
Soundpost
1b. The bridge should be positioned in an upright position (feet touching the instrument’s
top) centrally between the two inner ‘nicks’ of the body ‘f’ holes on the top of the instrument.
See diagram 2 for correct positioning.
1c. Place the instrument on your knees, with the headstock scroll away from you
(see diagram 3). Gently slacken the D and A (centre two strings) and take hold of the
feet of the bridge between the thumb and middle fingers of each hand, while supporting
the bridge in upright position with each forefinger (see diagram 4). Gently move the
bridge into its correct position and re-tighten the strings (DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN).
Make certain that the bridge is standing upright.
Position bridge.
It is better not to slacken off all the strings at the same time, as this sometimes results in
the internal soundpost falling down. If this does happen, the instrument should be taken
to a qualified violin specialist for re-fitting. Never attempt to relocate the soundpost
yourself (see Section 3), as this operation requires considerable skill, and the correct tools.
1d. Starting with the G string (thickest), place this string into the relevant groove on the
bridge and carefully tension the string by
Diagram 5.
turning the appropriate tuning peg (see
diagram 5). DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.
Repeat this procedure for the remaining
strings. Your bridge should now be held
in a upright position (see diagram 6).
Diagram 4.
Diagram 6.
Re-tighten
strings.
2. TUNING YOUR INSTRUMENT
Once the bridge is in its correct position
you should now tune your instrument to
concert pitch (A=440Hz). Achieve this using
a set of pitch pipes, an electronic tuner, a
piano, or a tuning fork for pitch reference,
tuning each string to the relevant pitch.
Gently turn tuning peg clockwise.
WARNING! DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.
IF YOU NEED ADVICE ON THE SET UP OF YOUR INSTRUMENT OR ADVICE ON THE SOUNDPOST
CALL OUR HELPLINE ON 0113 2320082
John Hornby Skewes & Co Ltd, Salem House, Parkinson Approach, Garforth, Leeds LS25 2HR.
OVER

• MUSICAL MERCHANDISE •
W OR LD WID E DIST RIB U TIO N
WARNING! DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN VIOLIN STRINGS!
They are easily snapped and are not covered under warranty. Replacements can be purchased from any good music store.
3. THE POSITION OF THE SOUNDPOST INSIDE THE INSTRUMENT
The soundpost is an unglued cylindrical piece of wood, held in position by tension and accurate fitting. Any sharp blow to the instrument
may dislodge it, or move it into an incorrect position.
The soundpost should stand erect when viewed through the right hand ‘f’ hole, and should be approximately 3.5mm behind the foot of the
bridge, under the E string, and 1mm in from the outside edge of the foot of the bridge.
These measurements are not absolutely crucial for your purposes, but are the standards that a skilled violin maker or repairer would normally
work to. If you find that the soundpost is positioned substantially outside these measurements, or is leaning considerably, take the instrument
to violin specialist for correction.
Similarly, if the soundpost has become dislodged, it needs to be relocated by a violin technician using a specialist tool that operates through
the ‘f’ hole.
Diagram 7.
Correct positioning of bridge and soundpost are essential if the instrument is to play well.
4. PREPARING THE BOW
The hair on the bow when used for playing should be taut, but not overtaut.
4a. To tighten the bowhair, turn the button on the end of the bowstick clockwise (see
diagram 7) until the bowhair becomes taut. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN as such could damage
the bowhair and/or the bowstick.
4b. As a rule, tighten the bowhair so that there is a gap (approximately the width of your
little finger) between the bowstick and the underside of the bowhair.
Turn button clockwise to tighten
Approximately the width of your little finger
Turn button clockwise to tighten
4c. Apply rosin (supplied) to the bowhair by running the block of rosin along the length
of the bowhair several times (see diagram 8).
Diagram 8.
If you do not apply sufficient rosin to bowhair, the instrument strings when played will not
respond correctly. This is because the rosin creates the friction between the bow and the
strings, which in turn is transmitted through the bridge and amplified through the body
of the instrument.
Tip: Score the surface of the rosin block several times before applying to the hair. If scoring the
surface of the rosin does not achieve the desired result, grind a small amount of rosin into a
fine powder and rub it onto the bowhair before continuing with the normal procedure
described above).
4d. After playing we recommend that the bow be slackened off to prolong the life of the
bow and ensure it retains its correct shape. Do not overslacken.
Antoni
www.jhs.co.uk/antoniviolins.html
IF YOU NEED ADVICE ON THE SET UP OF YOUR INSTRUMENT OR ADVICE ON THE SOUNDPOST
CALL OUR HELPLINE ON 0113 2320082
John Hornby Skewes & Co Ltd, Salem House, Parkinson Approach, Garforth, Leeds LS25 2HR.
WARNING! DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN VIOLIN STRINGS!
They are easily snapped and are not covered under warranty. Replacements can be purchased from any good music store.