Johann Georg Schonfelder 1820’s Violin

More information coming soon…..

Olaf Grawert Master Set-up

My instruments are easier to play, because I personally do my Master set-up. It is a known fact that many string players fail because the instrument they are playing has not been set up properly and will not do what they need it to do. This can lead to problems with playing in tune and in extreme cases even RSI!  It’s just not worth taking the risk of buying a badly set up instrument.

• Plane the Fingerboard to a professional
  standard. This means that you will have a fingerboard that has the same shape as that of most instruments that you will hear in concert halls around the world
• I will fit a professional quality French bridge crafted by a master violin maker with specialized acoustic knowledge to make the instrument sound the best that it can.
• Fit a professional quality soundpost to really bring out the rich tonal qualities. There is a reason that in many languages the soundpost is called the “Soul”. It takes a master to fit and move the soundpost into the right position to really make the instrument sing.
• I always fit the Instruments with great quality strings for that rich sound.
• Each peg is carefully refitted to make sure that if is very easy to tune the instrument using the pegs.
• The tailpiece is checked and refitted to make sure it is in the best acoustical position
• I check and recheck the string height and spacing to make sure it is absolutely perfect. It is only easy to play the violin when the string height is absolutely right.
• I always play each instrument and adjust it until I’m so happy with it that I want to keep the violin myself. I always try out the instruments far too long, because they are so much fun to play. This way you can be sure that when your instrument leaves my workshop, everything about it is perfect.