Simmers Violins in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | Shopping & retail

Simmers Violins

Locality: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Phone: +61 7 3368 3866

Address: 20 Argyle Street 4059 Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Website: http://simmersviolins.com.au

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• Shopping & retail
• Musical instrument store

24.01.2022 Don't clean your instrument with a commercial violin polish! I am aware of two recent incidents where well meaning owners have seriously damaged their instrument’s varnish while trying to clean them. A lot of the varnish on one instrument was removed and the remaining damaged varnish was no longer stable enough to remain on the instrument. The varnish on the other one became very soft after the player applied a common polish. Simmers Violins doesn't sell violin polishes or cl...eaners because they do more harm to your instrument than good. If they were actually any good at cleaning the varnish, they would be too dangerous to use. The best thing you can do to minimise the build-up of rosin dust and dirt on your violins, is to wipe them down regularly with a clean flannelette or microfibre cloth. If you do that often, your instrument will look good for many years before you have to take it off to be cleaned professionally. There are many different types of varnish used on stringed instruments, and they all require different solvents to clean them safely and effectively. Most bottles of polish contain waxes, oils and weak solvents. The oil residue will look a bit shiny for a while, but will dry in a layer over the dirt and rosin, trapping it and making it harder for a professional to remove later, while leaving the original varnish intact. In some cases, the underlying original varnish may be softened by the oils and solvents. The oil will soak into any open cracks, seams or bare wood, making it very difficult to glue or retouch them in future. Cleaning a violin is a highly skilled operation, which should only be trusted to a trained and qualified violin maker. This is not a plot for violin makers to make more money, as cleaning instruments is something we would much rather not have to do! The best thing is not to allow them to get dirty in the first place.

22.01.2022 The latest violin by John Simmers is now available for trial. Call us on 0408 217 560 if you would like to make an appointment to try it. We allow instruments to be taken on trial for up to a week and have insurance cover available.

16.01.2022 It’s nice to have this violin from 2015 back in the workshop for a check over and some new strings.

11.01.2022 Sunday afternoon cutting and thicknessing ribs with some funky vibes on the stereo. I’m starting my first new instrument for the year. Choosing, assembling and preparing wood is one of my favourite aspects of violin making.

11.01.2022 I have had a very fine violin on the workbench this week for cleaning and adjustment. It’s always a pleasure to work on well maintained, beautiful old instruments. It has now gone back to its lucky owner.