Wall Independent
Violin
& Viola Set-up, Repair and Restoration
Douglas
Wall
585-392-3478
Hours
by Appointment only
Email: WallIndependent (at) Rochester.rr.com (to avoid email harvesters)
Website
Links:
HOW TO FIND US SALES WHAT'S IN THE
SHOP
CUSTOM WORK INSTRUMENT GALLERY ACCESSORIES FOR
SALE
Wall Independent specializes in
violin and viola set-up, repair, restoration, and sales. Hilton, NY is located
near the south shore of Lake Ontario, just northwest of Rochester, NY. We are
about a 25 minute drive from the center of Rochester. (How to find us) We are located a short
drive from the towns in western
My training
includes courses with Hans Nebel at the Massachusetts
College of Liberal Arts Violin Workshops. This includes both external and
internal repairs, proper set-up, and some restoration work.
In June of
2007, I continued my education with a week of training in bow rehairing and some other bow work with Lynn Armour Hannings at the University
of New Hampshire, and a week of varnish retouching
with Hans Nebel at MCLA.
My
training continued in June of 2008, with a week of neck resetting with Hans Nebel at MCLA.
In June 2009,
I continued my education with another workshop at MCLA. It was a pleasure working
with master restorer Hans J. Nebel again. The topic
for this years workshop was
block replacement
and rib repair.
June
2010 found me back to MCLA for another week long workshop with Hans J. Nebel. The topic for this year was “Advanced crack repair
and reinforcement”.
The
2011 workshop covered neck grafting, fingerboards, and ebony button crowns.
2012
Workshops were back to varnish retouching. Perhaps the most difficult of the
restoration skills
LATEST NEWS FROM WALL INDEPENDENT
07/12 They’re here:
The
solution to you shop problem of lighting the interior if instruments.
06/12
Refresher
course on Varnish Retouching at MCLA this year. Still a humbling
experience to see the work that a real Master can do, and try to emulate it.
04/12 Another year has passed by, and we’re still chugging along
here at Wall Independent. Just for laughs, I estimated the number of hours that
I’ve spent in professional development workshops on violin repair and
restoration. It comes out to about 350 hours!! All, very
enjoyable learning, under the watchful eyes of real masters of the craft.
04/11 This year’s workshop
at MCLA covered neck grafting. This involves replacing the neck between the
body of the violin, and the pegbox. This allows us to
keep the original pegbox and scroll, which are often
part of the signature of the maker.
10/10 I have several
very nice restored instruments for sale, and a very nice, new, Johannes Kohr violin for sale.
I’ll be continuing to work on a few others that are
in process.
Here’s an interesting article about Hans J. Nebel, my violin restoration teacher for the past five
summers at MCLA.
04/10 You can also
connect with me on Facebook. I’ve set up a discussion
area, where you can ask questions, or discuss a violin related topic.
11/09 I needed to get some “Bow Bags” to protect my client’s bows after rehairing. These are 1.5 mil poly bags, 2” wide, and about 34”long. To keep my cost down, I purchased a
large quantity of this material, and I’m offering the bags for sale to luthiers and shops. I’m making them up in bunches of ten,
and bags of 50 (five bunches of ten)
Prices: $3.00/10, $14.00/50. NYS sale tax applies
to New York sales. Shipping will be determined by quantity.
See my Shop page for more details. Click this link. Bow
Bags
09/09 I have just become an authorized dealer for the fine line of instruments
and accessories carried by the Howard
Core Company. Their line includes the Kohr instruments, and a wide variety of accessories including their own
line of cases, and the exceptional cases offered by GEWA and Negri.
06/09 I’ve just
returned from another workshop with master restorer, Hans J. Nebel. This years
topic was block replacement and rib repair. The instruments that I had along to
work on didn’t have any really tricky repairs (I just replaced blocks and
linings, and shortened ribs), but one of the interesting things in the class is
to see how other luthiers in the class are dealing
with repairs on their instruments. Master violin maker Sonja St. John was one
of the other attendees, and she did a masterful job of repairing a through hole
in a rib.
Master restorer Hans
J. Nebel putting a patch under
the upper block area in an instrument, prior to replacing
the block and
reattaching the ribs
04/09 I’m
offering an experimental bow head spline material to
my fellow luthiers. This is a Micarta
sheet, about 0.028” thick. It’s available for $3.00 (US) plus a stamped, self
addressed envelope, for a 3 inch by 6 inch sheet (enough for many bows!).
Contact me for further details. See “What’s in the Shop”.
01/09 Here’s
something that I’ll be evaluating. The Wrist Assistant™.
It’s to help students learn correct wrist posture.
Click on the picture for a link to Wristassistant.com.
I should have one in for
evaluation soon. If I get interest in this product, I’ll stock some for my
local clients, at a very reasonable price.
10/08 Latest
updates to the “Latest in the Shop” pages will be indexed, and show some
updates on projects.
07/08 We just
got back from a two week tour in Ireland with the Dady
Brothers. Had a great time! Saw lots, and heard some great music. Click here for details
Organ Trophy
(1724), St. Michan’s Church,
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I am pleased to be able to
offer the following lines of instruments and accessories to my clients:
The John Juzek™ line
of new instruments.
The fine
line of Eastman Strings instruments.
Fine Instruments
and cases from the Howard Core Company,
including Kohr
instruments, Core cases, GEWA and Negri cases.
Cadenza
and K. Holtz bows from Eastman Strings.
Kun™
Shoulder rests,
D’Addario bowed strings.
As I am mostly a luthier, and my shop is in my home, my stock of new instruments
and cases is limited. Please contact me if you’re interested in any of the
instruments or cases from my suppliers to discuss price and availability.
I’ll also be carrying some other
accessories such as rosin. I’ll continue to expand my offerings to fill the
needs of my clients. If you have something that you would like to get, or have me carry, contact me to see if I have it, or can get it for
you.
Thinking of buying an inexpensive
violin from an internet dealer? Click on the VSO link below.
|
(Violin
Shaped Object) |
My philosophy:
Quality work at a reasonable price, and have the instrument back to the
player’s hands as soon as possible.
Wall
Independent currently accepts cash or checks. New York State sales pay NYS
sales tax (Monroe County, 8%).
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Some of the services that I can provide are:
*Cleaning
and polishing
*Fingerboard planing
and replacement
*String installation
*Peg fitting
and replacement
*Soundpost setting
and replacement
*Peg hole bushings
*Bridge adjustment
and replacement
*Internal repairs, including bassbar work
*Nut
adjustment and replacement
*Varnish touch-up
*Crack
and seam repairs *Neck
resetting
*Bow
rehairing and minor repairs
I will work with you to determine how
much work needs to be done to bring your instrument into playable condition and
present you with an estimate for the work. My prices should be competitive to,
or lower than many other shops.
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So, you’ve got this old fiddle that you found in
the attic
What will it take
to get it into nice playing condition? That will depend on what repairs and
restorations need to be done. In the best cases, it might just need a good cleaning
and some new strings. Old “attic” violins in this condition are a minority.
Most will need at least some repairs and adjustment. Most commonly, I see
instruments with some open glue joints, worn out pegs, cracks, worn finger boards,
and poorly fitted bridges. In many cases, repairing cracks will require opening
up the body. In some cases, the cost of the repairs can exceed the value of the
instrument. In some cases, I can use slightly non-traditional repairs to
“salvage” these instruments at a slightly lower cost.
Let’s take a look
at some repairs.
Crack repair- This
instrument had extensive cracks in the belly. Part of this was caused by
extreme thinness in the lower part. This picture shows the cleating
that was necessary to repair the cracks. The linen patches in the thin areas
will prevent further cracking without excessively stiffening the area.
Pegbox bushing- This is a fairly common repair. As the pegs
are used, there is some wear and enlargement of the holes. When it gets to the
point where the holes are too large to fit new pegs, bushings are in order.
Shown here are spiral bushings. These are very strong, and less intrusive than
full bushings. These are also used to help repair some pegbox cracks.
Bass bar replacement.
– Not commonly done, but in the picture shown, it was a necessary part of a
crack repair right at the bass bar.
Bridge replacement- Necessary in the case of any neck angle
change, or if the bridge gets broken. Neck angles can shift as instruments age,
or be the result of repairs. Fingerboard replacement will also require a new
bridge. Very inexpensive instruments are often not set up well, and may reqiure
bridge replacement or adjustment.
BOWS
Yes, I can also do bow rehairing,
and some repairs such as tip and frog repairs. Below are
before and after pictures of a ca. 1897 bow that I’ve worked on. The pearl eyes
and slide on the frog were replaced, and a new grip was installed. The bow was
also rehaired.
The pernambuco used to make fine bows has recently been declared an endangered species. There are only about 1200 trees left! I support the efforts of the International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative (IPCI). One dollar from each bow rehair will be donated to help with efforts to plant trees in Brazil to insure that future generations will be able to play with pernambuco bows. Conservation efforts also include keeping old bows in playing condition. Old bows that many would consider to be junk can be refurbished and turned into decent student bows.
Click on the picture to link to the ICPI website.
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* Instruments, Bows, and Accessories For Sale
**
Click above to see the instruments and accessories that we have
available.
USED/ VINTAGE
INSTRUMENTS AND BOWS:
My interest in
repair and restoration leads me to seek out instruments to work on for my own
collection, to play, and to restore for resale to a new owner. I would be
interested to hear of any old instruments or bows for sale. Condition is, of
course, along with the quality of the instrument or bow, a major factor in its
value, either bought or sold.
The
instrument on the right is a Fiddl-ette ca. 1930.
This unusual instrument was sold by the Gamble Hinged Music Co..
It was originally created by Edwin H. Bergh and Carl Wheeler Mott as
an inexpensive student instrument. It was only produced in limited numbers for
a very few years, and sold in the Illinois and Wisconsin areas. (from my
personal collection) Click on the picture for an enlarged
view
Find out more
about the Fiddl-ette at http://www.vandercook.edu/archives/collections/hvbergh.htm
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In order to
show the type of repair/restoration work that I’m doing, I’ve set up a page so
that you can see some of my current and past projects.
Check here often to see what’s new.
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Wall
Independent is pleased to be an authorized dealer for Eastman Strings,
Metropolitan Music, Howard Core, GEWA and Negri
cases, and D’Addario Strings.
Because of my low overhead, I can order these
instruments and accessories for my clients at a considerable discount from the
list price. I will also do a complete check on each instrument before I release
it from my shop. I can also custom outfit many of these instruments with your
choice of strings,
pegs, tailpiece and chinrest. For example, If you see
a Juzek, Eastman Strings, or Howard Core instrument
that you like, but would prefer Dominant strings and Rosewood fittings, I can
probably do that for you at a reasonable cost. Contact me for details
You can see the entire line of Juzek instruments
at:
You can see the entire line of Eastman
Strings instruments and bows at:
Here’s a link to the fine
instruments, cases, and accessories offered by the Howard Core Company:
Wall Independent is also a dealer for D’Addario products
I’ll be keeping a stock of bowed strings
to support my repair and restoration business and to sell to my local clients.
I’ll be stocking :
(Current prices are listed. Prices
may need to be adjusted, depending on my costs.)
Prelude violin strings (steel core) $17.00 (violin)
Pro-Arte violin strings (Perlon core) $27.00
(violin)
Helicore violin and viola strings (multi-strand steel core) $38.00 (violin 4/4)
I’ve used the Zyex strings on several instrument, with very nice
results. I’ll be using these strings for a lot of my restorations.
$42.00 (violin 4/4)
I’ll be offering other D’Addario
products (on a special order basis) to my clients, at a substantial discount
from the list price. Contact me for details.
I’ll also
be keeping Thomastik-Infeld Dominant
strings in stock, $42.00 (violin 4/4, med).
I
can order most other strings on a special order basis, usually at very
competitive prices. Turn around time for special
orders, is usually 3-4 days. Contact me for a price quote and availability.
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Wall Independent also does
custom woodworking, custom assemblies, and consulting.
I also have experience in other fields. My original
career was as a chemist, with 34 years at Eastman Kodak. I’ve also done some
nice furniture, that
you can see by clicking on the kink below. My experience with Townsend
Associates has included responsibility for some innovative mounting designs for
some of the artwork, and the associated LED lighting. Quite a few of the pieces
that I’ve worked on can be seen at the Milon Townsend
link below. .
Please contact us for further information.
Here’s a link to some other interesting stuff in our
world.
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Visit some of
our interesting neighbors and friends at their websites:
The
Dady Brothers. Great musicians and friends! 
www.dadybros.com
Fine
Glass Art from Milon Townsend at: 
http://www.milontownsend.com
More
great Glass Art from Sabra Richards at: 
http://web.mac.com/sabrarichards
Some
great quilts and fabric art from Anne Fischer at: 
http://annemfischer.com/index.html
Bernunzio’s Uptown Music: 
http://bernunzio.com/
We
don’t do guitars. Stutzmans is great for that: 
http://www.stutzmansguitarcenter.com/
A
comprehensive listing of violin shops around the world: 
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Here’s a link to some other interesting stuff in our
world.
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St.
Cecilia
Patron
Saint of Musicians
and
Luthiers
“sub
titulo Sancta Caecilia”