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Hello there.
I know it's been covered in the past, but I am just curious and would like to know what we all do to maintain our violins. I don't do any tinkering... end of story. I change strings. That is it.
So I always wipe down with a cloth. I have a separate cloth for the body and a separate cloth for my strings.
Should I take my violin to a shop once a year for an inspection since I don't do any sort of sound post adjusting? Should I remove pegs and clean the box.. or maybe just use q-tips to swab it out?
Is there a chance that dust can build up in the violin? If so does it make a difference, and how should we clean it out.
If a violin is brand new, is it okay to just play for years until some wear is noticed on the Bridge, or nut? or does that even happen?
Thoughts and input? Also if anyone wants to talk about bow maintenance and care that would be good too.
Toni
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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Great questions Toni.
coolpinkone said
...............1) Should I take my violin to a shop once a year for an inspection since I don't do any sort of sound post adjusting?
Not if is sounds good. New violins tops lift in the beginning but lift less and less over time. New longer posts 'might be necessary'.
Should I remove pegs and clean the box.. or maybe just use q-tips to swab it out?
Don't remove the pegs unless you have a reason to.
Is there a chance that dust can build up in the violin? If so does it make a difference, and how should we clean it out.
Dust may build up but usually not much and I don't think it's likely to affect the sound. Some people use rice (uncooked of course) inside, shake the fiddle then dump it out. Don't reuse the rice, just in case. 
If a violin is brand new, is it okay to just play for years until some wear is noticed on the Bridge, or nut? or does that even happen?
Yes. Perfectly OK. The nut usually doesn't wear but the bridge can warp and the fingerboard can get grooves that eventually need to be planed. However the fingerboard issue takes a long time and a lot of intense playing to get to that point.
Wiping the violin and strings is a good idea but don't sweat it if you don't get around to it.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Thanks Pierre... that is my kind of maintenance....if it is not broken, then don't fix!
You rock.
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
Regulars
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I already have grooves in my fingerboard. Well not actual grooves per say, but definite wear. I assume that meant it was a cheap fingerboard and I used too much pressure. I've only been playing for less then 3 years.
Opportunity is often missed because it wears suspenders and looks like hard work.
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Probably not the best quality Ebony on your violin but even the best Ebony will eventually get grooves.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regulars
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keep it clean, dont spill beer on it or subject it to extreme temp changes. Love it and play it
There is no shame in playing twinkle, youre playing Mozart
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"love it and play it"
I love that answer too Barry.
Vibrato Desperato.... Desperately seeking vibrato
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One bit of maintenance that I would suggest is that any time you change strings, graphite the grooves on the nut and the bridge. Just take a sharp pencil and carefully color in the grooves while there's no string in them. It will save you some fuss when tuning, and will help keep the strings from cutting into the wood nut and bridge.
That also can be troubleshooting/repair. If you felt the peg move when you were tuning, but there was no pitch change, a little graphite would likely fix that.
Graphite is a fine dust and it vibrates out over time as the instrument is played, so redoing it when you change strings or if a string doesn't seem to move when you try to tune it can save some headaches.
"This young wine may have a lot of tannins now, but in 5 or 10 years it is going to be spectacular, despite the fact that right now it tastes like crude oil. You know this is how it is supposed to taste at this stage of development." ~ Itzhak Perlman
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