Humidity Control and Seasoning Makes all the Difference

rack of various coloured violins hanging

[This article was originally posted on December 14, 2019 but was last updated July 20, 2023.]

Humidity has been a problem for most violin shops for a variety of factors.

In most violin shops plenty of new inventory, including violin cases, violins, bows and other items, have gotten mouldy from too much humidity, even when stored in heated areas.

Many customers have complained about other shops' (particularly massive online retailers' and sellers from the deep humid south of the USA) violins being contaminated with bacteria and fungi resulting in a combination of moisture and affected hide glue and had to be decontaminated. Case have been thrown away as the mould could make players and their families sick.

Yuck!

Fiddleheads' Location

None of those problems exist at Fiddleheads. 

My home-base in Kamloops, BC is the third driest city in all of Canada and experiences hot summers and brief cold, below freezing temperatures. The city also boasts the third mildest winter of any non-coastal city in Canada.

My instruments benefit greatly from this geographical location combined with decades of my experience and expertise and dilient testing and tweaking of each instrument.

Maturing My Violins the Proper Way

The best thing I can do for my instruments is to keep them in a natural environment for drying with careful observation and professionally-designed protective measures. My violins will mature faster and they will sound better than the same models of instruments being sold at other sources.

I sell new instruments exclusively, with the exception of lightly used traded-in instruments sold by me previously. New violins still have much moisture in the wood and need either plenty of time (years) in a humid environment to mature, or simply weeks and months in a drier climate for the same results.

It is particularly important that my new violins from more humid regions of China undergo a more effective drying than is possible in most other locations.

For a violin to go from a humid region to a dry one without proper measures can be catastrophic as the wood will shrink too quickly and crack. This has been a major complaint from customers shopping at a couple larger shops in the Midwest and the gulf region, particularly Florida and Georgia.

Sadly, many shops are in a hurry to make money and don't give instruments the time they need for this process. So you need to carefully consider from where you are purchasing your new baby.

My Process Avoids Future Damage

It's established that sending a violin from a moist region to a dry one is a very bad idea, unless the instrument has been cured properly in advance. Many of Fiddleheads’ customers live in dry regions in Canada and the USA). Their violins must to be cured before shipping from a humid region (such as Florida) directly to them otherwise warping of various parts of the instrument can occur.

My beautiful home-based studio located in Canada’s exclusive desert region, which assures my customers that my instruments are not only cured in one of Canada’s only deserts, but are also accustomed to high heat and low cold extremes and will not experience a temperature or humidity shock when shipping to other regions of the continent or beyond.

Shop With Confidence

Thanks to articles like this one, prospective buyers are realizing there are good and not so good places from which to buy a violin. Thankfully the message is spreading, as Laurel in Michigan wrote:

"Your shop is located in a place that deals with winter, and dryness, and I thought that bodes well for instruments that will be suited to resilience in the changing seasons where I live, despite careful work with in-case humidifiers."

I am happy knowing the message is spreading and players can avoid costly mistakes sourcing a violin.

I will also be honoured to earn your trust and patronage. Please feel free to reach out and also read my other articles and FAQs.

 

green circle with white You'll likely find Rhiannon's Glossary of Violin Terms
to be quite educational and entertaining

 

 

Rhiannon Nachbaur signature

Rhiannon Nachbaur, Fiddleheads' Owner