Atelierviolins

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Workshop

What looks like an impossible task! This violin was reveresed over by a car. Luckily it was in the case and we were able to save most of the pieces.
The last picture in the slide is the finished restoration.
This was a fairly difficult restoration job.

All repair work and restoration to fine instruments that takes place in our workshop is done to the highest standard and in accordance with traditional workshop methods. These techniques have been established over centuries and can be thanked for the classic instruments that are still with us and making headlines to this day. As a craftsman so dedicated to delivering excellence and perfection, Gerard is himself proud to have featured in national press, radio and to have presented and performed to live audiences over the years.

Atelierviolins provides an entire range of services and sundries to players and is happy to discuss any individual requirement - no job is too big or small. Here's an overview of the services we offer, though if there is anything you need to improve the health of your instrument or a service you require that you don't see listed here, please contact us to see how quickly we can deliver.

New and Old Instruments
Atelierviolins also deal in violins, violas, cellos and basses and offers a choice of instruments by other leading European makers, to compliment our own instruments. We are dedicated to providing the highest level of service to our customers, so if there's something specific that you want, we will do our best to source it and ensure you're 100% satisfied.

Our workshop is fully equipped to create and restore fine instruments to the highest standards possible and produces violins, violas, cellos, basses and bows and sundries for all varieties of player. Here's a guide to prices that we would normally charge for new violins:For beginners we produce violins from 400-800 . For intermediate players we have instruments from 800-1500.
For advanced and professional players we have instruments upward of 1500.

As each repair situation is unique, we advise contacting Gerard before bringing an instrument for examination and we may need some good quality photographs of the damage in advance. This is to ensure that you're not without your instrument for longer than is absolutely necessary, and we can better assess the time needed in order to achieve the perfect repair.

Damage and Repair
If your violin or bow has been involved in an accident, particularly if it's serious, be sure to collect all pieces and any slithers of wood and bring them to our workshop. The more fragments and shards that you can bring with you, the better - it makes our job easier and keeps the cost of repair low. The violin shown above in the slide show was reversed over by a car and thankfully all the pieces were in the case, though Gerard still had to insert some new wood when the original was irrecoverable. As you can see, a seamless repair was achieved and the owner was delighted with the finish and sound that were professionally restored.

We also specialise in bow repairs. Even those very difficult ones where the bow snaps off at the tip. We mainly carry out this sort of repair to salvage expensive bows.

Maintenance
We provide the highest level of repair and restoration services to owners of violins, violas, cellos and basses. As well as creating and working on instruments for individuals, Gerard can offer an educational and training discount to schools and students and can be contacted to discuss this.

Players may be interested to know that we now supply and fit Perfection Planetary Geared Pegs to violin, viola and cello, which completely eradicate tuning problems often associated with friction pegs. Without being visually different from the classic peg that we are all familiar with, your tuning issues will be resolved for the life of your instrument.

Whether you would like your instrument's varnish cleaned and polished, or you've purchased a violin that looks the business but perhaps doesn't sound so great or your existing instrument just doesn't sound as happy as it used to, Atelierviolins is able to assess, diagnose and ensure the very best is achieved from your instrument. There are usually a combination of factors that result in an instrument not sounding its best and we guarantee to get the optimum sound from your violin, viola, cello or bass.