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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24.01.2022 Fitting a soundpost is one of the more difficult tasks performed by a violin maker. It is referred to as soundpost fitting, because when the task is completed, it must not only be in the correct location, standing straight and with the appropriate amount of tension, but the ends of the post must fit the inside of the instrument perfectly. The cuts are made with a very sharp knife, to adjust the angles on the ends of the post. As this process is performed over and over, the post gets shorter and hopefully when the post stands in the marked position, it will fit perfectly. It is important not to damage the sides of the sound holes in the process.

23.01.2022 Dear string players, The UK Ivory Bill will come into force later this year. It is expected that Australia and many other countries will follow suit, so this is real and could ultimately affect all of you. If you have ivory on your bow or instrument, in future you may be required to register them and obtain permits to sell them, even within Australia. The International Association of Violin and Bow Makers (EILA) have recently helped establish the International Alliance of Vio...lin and Bow Makers for Endangered Species. The Alliance raises funds to represent the interests of the violin trade and musicians at CITES, an expensive task that until now, the EILA have undertaken at their own expense. John Simmers is proud to be a member of a number of professional organisations that contribute financially to the Alliance. Please read the attachment from the BVMA. Simmers Violins

22.01.2022 9 hours later - all done.

18.01.2022 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.

17.01.2022 It’s nice to have this violin from 2015 back in the workshop for a check over and some new strings.

17.01.2022 Setting up to fit a new bass bar.

16.01.2022 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.

16.01.2022 Catching up on some bow work today. 4 rehairs and 3 thumb leathers to do.

14.01.2022 A violin bridge is the only place a violin repairer traditionally stamps their name. Therefore, as with all our work, it must be a thing of beauty and accuracy. Most makers take around two hours to make a nice violin bridge. Here is a short video of John Simmers making a violin bridge for a customer's instrument where those two hours are condensed into two minutes.

12.01.2022 Did you know that it takes roughly 600 hours to make a cello? In this video you can see John graduating what will be the back of the cello, and trimming the blocks that hold the ribs together.

10.01.2022 I had a visit this week from a viola I made back in 2001. It was here for some cleaning and maintenance. It’s starting to get some nice natural wear, 18 years and two owners later.

04.01.2022 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.

04.01.2022 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.