Offbeats Violins

Offbeats Violins We specialize in professional repair & restoration and sales of fine string instruments. Call ahead

Come see our wide range of fine new, used, and vintage violins, violas, cellos, and basses! Offbeats Violins also carries fine bows and a wide range of cases and accessories. Lessons for all ages and abilities on violin, viola, and beginning cello! We also offer a full-service repair shop for all bowed and fretted string instruments.

A terrible, terrible clavette gone wrong.This will be a button doubling--button is currently detached. Then to figure ou...
09/07/2026

A terrible, terrible clavette gone wrong.
This will be a button doubling--button is currently detached. Then to figure out what on earth to do with the big hole in the back.

This is a thickening patch because top is very thin, to the point that the bassbar punctured the top, and there was mass...
09/06/2026

This is a thickening patch because top is very thin, to the point that the bassbar punctured the top, and there was massive distortion.
The tiny oval patches replace some awful square, Dutchman style ones. They had swelled and blown out all the cracks.
The post patch is in the exact same bed as the initial one that failed. There is a hole in the top right where the post would go.

Setting up the button doubling. Fitting comes next on this pretty French thing by Maline . The neck will need a heel cap...
09/04/2026

Setting up the button doubling. Fitting comes next on this pretty French thing by Maline . The neck will need a heel cap before resetting, but it will look much better.

Thickening patch. The bassbar had actually punctured the top due to thinning in the worst possible spots.I didn't even t...
09/01/2026

Thickening patch. The bassbar had actually punctured the top due to thinning in the worst possible spots.
I didn't even think that was possible🤷‍♀️
The four little patches replace four terrible old Dutchman cuts that were swelling and blowing out the cracks they were supposed to keep closed.
These are a LOT of work!!!

Vieux Paris is heading for setup
08/29/2026

Vieux Paris is heading for setup

My dad built me this bench. Cutting down a piece like this is much easier when straddling a Roman bench. I am a really s...
08/28/2026

My dad built me this bench. Cutting down a piece like this is much easier when straddling a Roman bench. I am a really small person, and the leverage is hard to get at a standard bench.
This is also how I cut curls for spiral bushing.
Thanks dad❤️

The back of this pretty Graingeot is very radiant now that the dirt is gone
08/28/2026

The back of this pretty Graingeot is very radiant now that the dirt is gone

Cleaning VERY dirty ribs. This varnish is very beautiful
08/27/2026

Cleaning VERY dirty ribs. This varnish is very beautiful

This poor scroll was missing so much. It had been glued on crooked because one side was missing more than the other side...
08/27/2026

This poor scroll was missing so much. It had been glued on crooked because one side was missing more than the other side, requiring some creative shim before the cheek patches and back patch.
The multiple angles of fitting required to get the scroll to point straight was hugely challenging. There were five surfaces to control the angles at every cut, and the last cut brought it home. Gluing was a huge challenge.
The cheek patches afterwards were also challenging, but not nearly as hard as figuring out how to get the scroll apart and back together again, (minus a whole bunch of epoxy

This is hands-down one of the hardest matching projects I ever did.Touching up backs is the absolute hardest because the...
08/27/2026

This is hands-down one of the hardest matching projects I ever did.
Touching up backs is the absolute hardest because there is nowhere to hide anything. There are no vertical grain lines to create patterns in the same way as on the top, and it tends to be much clearer and cleaner, so you have to figure out how to get an absolutely exact match with the original.

I have not changed the color of the original at all, but unfortunately, I did change the room in which I took the pictures, which is why the after version looks like a different color. I had moved my workshop and took the completed pictures in the new location. The last picture shows some of my brush strokes before I took them out in the polish, showing that yes, this was new color and new varnish.
I can find it, but it is hard for me also to see it, and I was the one who did it. That is a result I am always going for, although it is not always possible.
This was an unusual varnish also, very thick, and sort of semi transparent. It was hard to get the same flash in this type. But in the end, it is a very solid match.

Address

307 S Farwell Street
Eau Claire, WI
54701

Telephone

+17155793016

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