Student Instrument repair
Vaughan Violins
Setup, bridge work, soundpost adjustment, peg fitting and nut/saddle/tailpiece work for violin, viola and cello. Nine years on the bench, a lifetime with the instrument, and four kids at home — three of them fiddlers.
Services
What happens at the bench
Every instrument is different. You get a firm number before any work begins.
Shop Labor Rate
- Professional shop hourly rate
- $90/hr
Setup & Bridge Work
- Fit standard/student bridge
- $80
- Fit professional/French bridge
- $150
- Re-cut existing bridge
- $40
- General setup/adjustment
- $130
Soundpost
- Reset/adjust existing soundpost
- $30
- Fit new soundpost
- $60
Pegs
- Refit/adjust each peg
- $30
- Fit new ebony peg set (4)
- $130
- Fit new boxwood/rosewood set
- $190
- Wittner Finetune geared pegs (installed)
- $190
- Peg/button hole bushing (each)
- $120
Nut, Saddle & Tailpiece
- Install new nut
- $70
- Adjust/shim nut
- $50
- Re-glue nut or saddle
- $30
- Replace saddle
- $90
- Replace tail gut
- $30
- Install composite/Wittner tailpiece
- $40
How it works
Bring it in
Drop by the studio or send a note describing what's wrong. Photos help.
Honest assessment
I'll tell you what it needs, what it doesn't, and what it will cost. No surprises.
The work
Most setups and string jobs turn around in a few days. Larger repairs get a timeline up front.
Play it here
You play it before you pay. If something isn't right, it goes back on the bench.
Student program
No student loses playing time over money.
If cost is the reason an instrument is sitting in a closet, bring it in. Students on free or reduced lunch, families in a tight spot, and school orchestra loaners get discounted rates — often at cost, sometimes free.
- Up to 50% off labor for qualifying students
- Free string changes for beginners in their first year
- Loaner strings and shoulder rests when I have them
- No paperwork, no proof required — just ask
About
Self-taught, obsessively.
I've been a musician my whole life and a repairman for the last nine years. Everything I know came from books, from other luthiers willing to answer a question, and from a lot of hours spent finding out what a millimeter of soundpost placement actually does.
I have four kids. Three of them play violin. That means I know exactly what a rental fleet instrument sounds like, what a beginner's fingers can and can't reach, and how quickly a bad setup makes a kid quit. Most of what I do is making instruments easier to play — because the ones that are easy to play are the ones that get played.
The studio is in Corvallis. It's a bench, good light, and time for your instrument.
Bring it by.
Email or call with what's going on — a photo of the problem gets you a faster answer. Appointments preferred so the bench is clear when you arrive.