Instrument Services at Mystic Violin

Instrument Services at Mystic Violins

Mystic Violin provides professional set-up, repair, restoration  and appraisal services. All work on your instrument is done on-site at out Mystic, Connecticut workshop by our qualified staff of professionally trained, experienced luthiers.

Instrument and Bow Appraisals:  At At Mystic Violin, we offer appraisals on all stringed instruments of the violin family. Our set rate for documentation and certification is $250 (US) for an instrument valued at less that $10,000 (US).  For instruments exceeding $10,000 (US) a flat rate of  1% is charged.   Found an old violin in Grandma's attic?  The knowledgeable staff at Mystic Violin will be happy to assist you in determining what you have and assessing the instrument's value.  We have inspected, repaired, restored, and appraised thousands of fine instruments and offer expert advice on how to keep your violin, viola, or cello looking and sounding beautiful.

Instrument Setup:  At Mystic Violin, we know that you want only the best set-up for your instrument.  Many variables come together to make a stringed instrument play and sound the way it should.  Mystic Violin has setup thousands of instruments!  Whatever style of music you play, we can make your instrument play and sound better with our professional set-up service. 

On nearly every instrument we see, even from prominent shops, there are things that need to be addressed and corrected.  We feel the term “set-up” is often times misused and usually quoted by someone who gives an instrument just enough attention to make it “work”.  A Mystic Violin set-up includes an evaluation of both the player’s needs and the capabilities of the instrument.  We invite you to bring your instrument in for a free set-up and tonal evaluation by our expert staff of luthiers.

Our luthiers spend time with you to get a feel for not only how you play, but what you play.  Mystic Violin setups can include:

* Top-quality French bridges are meticulously fitted, carved, and tonally adjusted.  The top radius of each bridge is custom carved to meet the specifications of your playing style.  Once a bridge meets our standards, it is then branded with our logo.

* English style grade "AAA" ebony tail pieces are hung with our own "HiTec" tail piece cable.  This lightweight, flexible cable is stronger than steel!  Each tail piece is carefully tuned to maximize tone and minimize or eliminate wolf notes.

* Seasoned German spruce sound posts are hand selected of various diameters and fit by us to ensure each instrument reaches its maximum tonal capabilities.  Our sound posts fit 100%.  No bevel! No domes!

* Fingerboards of the highest grade (AAA) ebony are dressed and polished to perfection.

* Ebony nuts are brought to exact tolerances.  Other than the bridge, the nut is one of the most important (and most overlooked by other shops) aspects of your setup.  Incorrect string angles can prematurely break strings and cause buzzes.  Incorrect spacing can make it difficult to play and grooves that are not correct can damage the string as well as take away from your instruments tone.  Incorrect string heights can not only make your instrument difficult to play, but may cause long term medical problems!

* Each instrument is played by our staff.  It is not uncommon to see the entire workshop shut down when a instrument utters its first notes.  If something is not quite right, it is done again until it is.  Simply put, the level and quality of service we offer is second to none!

Repair & Restoration: We  love instruments....we all do....right?  That's why your here!  If you work on violin family instruments, you have to love them.

At Mystic Violin our goal is to offer you and your instrument the highest level of quality repair & restoration services.  We are sure our commitment, knowledge, and the quality of work we conduct on every instrument is evidence of our dedication to this goal. 

Mystic Violin has done something unheard of in the violin business...we put our work on public display.  Gone are the dark days of secrecy when it comes to the repair and restoration of your instrument! We initially created the picture portfolio website called www.stringrepair.com so that our customers could follow along with the work we were doing on their instrument.  This simple website, which was aimed at keeping our customers informed with the progress that was being made on their instrument,  has turned into one of the most visited and linked string repair websites in the world!  It  is talked about in every professional circle, whether it be musician or luthier centered.

Please visit www.stringrepair.com for more information.