1. Always keep your bass dry: away from windows, moisture and excess humidity.
2. Do no allow your bass to dry out or heat up excessively. Make sure you store it away from sunlit windows, heaters or fireplaces.
3. NEVER leave your bass in the car. Sun and internal heat can severely damage varnish and bows.
4. NEVER clean your bass with household cleaners or solvents. Varnish is very delicate. Proper stringed instrument cleaners are available for this purpose. Removing dry excessive rosin dust while fresh greatly reduces the need to clean your instrument.
5. Keep your fingernails trimmed to prevent damage to strings and the fingerboard.
6. Covering the bass with a cloth in its case further protects it against bow-scratches and helps to insulate it slightly.
7. The inexperienced player should have the teacher tune their bass.
8. The spike should not be left out while the bass isn't being played.
9. It is advisable to leave your bass in its case while it is not being used.
10. Never allow others to play your bass.
Bow
Avoid touching the bow-hair (made from horse hair) with your hands and fingers. Even the smallest amount of grease or dirt from your fingers can affect your performance.
Keep anything greasy well away from the bow.
Always loosen the bow while it is stored and not being used.
The bow must never get warm.
Do no over-tighten the bow. The correct amount to tighten your bow is until the hair is pulled away from the stick only about 8mm (a pencil's thickness) at the narrowest point. It is imperative that the bow remains curved. If the stick looks parallel to the hair, it is far too tight!
Keep a soft flannel cloth in your case to dust off rosin dust.
More serious accumulation of dirt and rosin may be removed with a specialized violin cleaner periodically e.g. every 6 months or so.
Strings wear out both physically (corrosion and damage winding or breaking) and in tone (deteriorating quality, volume and clarity). Thus it is advisable to replace synthetic or gut strings approximately every 6 months. Steel strings may last longer, but should also be replaced after approximately 1 year.
Tuning pegs naturally vary their fit with climatic alterations but they should not slip unduly, nor should pegs be extremely difficult to turn with correct usage.
Always check the appearance of your bridge to ensure it looks upright and straight, i.e. not tilting or warped. If you suspect that it has moved, tilted or warped, bring your instrument in for professional care immediately.
All repairs should be carried out only by a professional repairer. If you are renting an instrument from us, all repairs must be done by us.
If you have any problems or questions, seek professional assistance in care of your valuable instrument. Never carry out any repairs yourself. For advice contact us
All prices are in Australian dollars and include GST. Prices subject to change without notice. For all enquiries please call 1300-VIOLINS or email us at enquiries@violins.com.au
