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My lunch time tuning exercise has ended badly, after much plucking I wasn't getting anywhere so I decided to tighten a bit then bow whilst blowing my tuning pipes and so on. Having just gotten the E string to match my E pipe I was elated, unfortunately tightening my A string was then met by the bridge flying out and snapping 
That will be the end of my practice until I can get it replaced then. I had even read Chinny's post about her bridge and been extra careful to ensure it was straight and vertical.
Gutted.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
King
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What brand/make violin do you have and was that the original bridge?
My guess would be a flaw in the bridge wood grain (?)
But it seems odd this might be true for two members.
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
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The brand of the fiddle is unknown, according to the friend who lent it to me it was made in 1910 possibly in Malta.
Anyhow I just dashed off from work to a luthier quite local to me and he said all the right things. Apparently the bridge was cheap and badly cut also it had warped forward slightly and this was why it broke. That all makes me feel a lot better, it was also apparently strung with a mishmash of different cheap strings! So I have asked him to replace the bridge and fit a set of dominant strings which is costing me £100 which does not make me feel so good 
it's a good job I don't have to by my own violin any time soon because I just blew half the budget 
At least he said he should have it done by tomorrow so I will soon be back to practising with a vastly improved instrument by the sounds of it.
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
King
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Hey, one bridge every 100 years is not an outrageous toll 
Hope your troubles are just about over. I would guess that a 1910 violin with a good set of modern strings should sound pretty good !
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
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He just rang and said he had noticed the pegs were not so good, which is true. So I am now also having a 4 string fine tuner jobby fitted for another £20. On the plus side he is working on it now and I can pick it up on my way home
I'll just have to make sure he has tuned it for me so I don't have to break it again for a few weeks 
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
King
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If you have a new set of strings you will be tuning for a few days 
but your worse catastrophe will be to over-tighten any string. Do you have a tuner …. or a piano ? Use a reference.
Silly me ! Fiddlerman has an on-line tuner !
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
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Yup I also have a little set of four tuning pipes which I find easier for whatever reason.
In a further update apparently the bow I am borrowing is more akin to weight of a viola bow as well so I think I shall be asking for a nice new carbon fibre bow for Christmas...
For a man who doesn't even own a fiddle I seem to be spending an awful lot of money lol!
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
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Shame Sam,
I don't want to make you feel bad but a set of Dominants are only between 25-30 pounds online here 
Though your luthier has to make a living and this is the US price not European. I spent a lot more money on strings in Sweden too. Some of my colleagues were smart enough to order online from the US.
I applied and will soon have a resale license and will be giving members a great price on strings.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Well he is charging me £60 for the bridge replacement so that makes £40 for the strings plus fitting inside 3 hours. I can live with that.
I could of course have gotten the strings cheaper from the net and then broken the violin again fitting them. But I feel that would have been false economy 
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
Regulars
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Guys! How do you do that? Breaking bridges i mean.. I changed strings, replaced them from violin to violin (from electric to acoustic) and back again.. Never knew about bridge- and nut- lubing. Moved the bridge back and forward just for experiment.. Tuning my violins almost every day (every playing day), and sometimes several times a day.. Am i lucky or i have super durable bridges?
Please, remember what happened right before the bridge was broken.. You tuned E, then tuned A and bridge broke? right? That for me, for any case in future.. what not to do.. 
You scare me .. maybe that is a kind of curse? 
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That's great. I'm relieved, I misunderstood you. I was thinking to myself, "poor guy just started out and has to dish out soooooo much money".
That price is reasonable. In the future you might be albe to save a little on strings and you'll be better equipped to change them yourself too.
Should be fun to hear the difference when you pick up your fiddle after work.
So new Samuel Boogie video tonight right?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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You want another minute of horrible noises already!
If I can get half an hour out of the misses I will make one for sure
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
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If you can get one hour out of your wife are you sure you want to play the violin?
I know what it's like with babies and such. When we had our children my new favorite hobby was to try to get some sleep.
I love your ambition. You're going to be a great student.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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lol! The violin can't roll over and go to sleep, much safer option!
The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
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Kids are sure important. I was not a great father cause I was always on the road but we're all close now and they understand my life choice of being a musician. Ya really need a talking to with your wife if she can't handle you practicing music. Hope she lets you practice 
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