• Your instrument is sturdily constructed, but should still be treated with the same care that you use when handling an acoustic instrument. The lacquer is not as hard as the finish on an electric guitar, and may chip if hit by an audio-cable plug or other hard or sharp object.
• Your instrument is probably set up to be able to stand on end for display, but the absolute safest place to store it is in its case, in a cool place and with the instrument cable unplugged.
• Clean with a soft cloth (an old T-shirt that has been repeatedly laundered, works best), and do not use any solvents without contacting me first, as you might ruin the lacquer or polyurethane finishes. Avoid using abrasive cleansers of any type.
• The bridge rests on two pointed bridge-bolts, and can pivot towards and away from the scroll while seated on these bolts. The correct position of the bridge is for it to be as close to the tuner side of the bridge slot as possible, without touching the edge of the slot. Over time, the repeated tuning of the strings may cause the bridge to lean away from this position; simply grasp both sides of the bridge and pivot it back into position.
• When replacing the strings, use only medium-tension strings. I set up instruments with D'Addario Helicores, and you should use replacements that are identical to what's currently on the instrument. Be sure to take careful note of which way a string is wound around its tuning post, before removing it - you must NOT change the winding direction!
• If you are experiencing buzzing sounds, your bridge may not be seated correctly on its bolts, or you may have changed the direction of the windings of one or more strings around their tuning pegs, unbalancing the left-right tension across the top of the bridge and thus allowing it to lift slightly off one of the bridge-bolts. Replacing some of the strings with strings of a different model or tension can also cause this issue. Bridge-bolt adjustments are generally not necessary to correct this problem, and may create other problems such as misalignment of the strings over the fingerboard, so be sure to contact me before you consider attempting such an adjustment so that we can rule out other possible causes.
• The spine-bolt that passes through the center of the bridge should NEVER be adjusted by anyone but me - your local violin technician will not have the experience to properly calibrate this bolt, as it is a structural element found only on my instruments. Any adjustments made to the spine-bolt by anyone other than myself will void your warranty and could result in your instrument's spine breaking.
• Modifying your instrument in any way without my explicit consent will void your warranty.
If you have questions about your instrument, or if you need tips about an older instrument (such as those with electromagnetic pickups), you are always welcome to contact me for assistance; please be prepared to tell me the instrument number (located at the base of the spine or on the underside of the bout) so that I can call up photos that may help me give you advice specific to your particular instrument.