Sal Sees a Theorbo

Regular readers of Travels with Sal know that I've been taking violin lessons.  (See this post from August and this post from October for details.)  Well, after experiencing the ease of tuning offered by the ukulele, I found tuning my violin to be ridiculously difficult.  At each lesson I would hand the violin to Jessica -- my patient teacher -- to tune.  At home I attempted it, but it was a very frustrating process, as the pegs kept slipping.  The result of this was fewer practice sessions, as I experience enough frustration in my daily life already.  Music is supposed to be a stress reducer -- not another source thereof!

After much slipping (by the pegs) and swearing (by me), I decided there must be a better way.  I have geared pegs that look like tension pegs on my Walnut Flea, which made me think there should be similar pegs for violins -- and there are!  There are Pegheds for violins!  Jessica did not encourage me to get them, for reasons both philosophical (wooden pegs have been used for hundreds of years), and practical ($$$), but I wanted to go ahead anyway.

Despite her reservations, Jessica recommended a fixer of violins named Reese Williams, so I called for an appointment and went to see him.  Mr. Williams made some recommendations about my violin and suggested that I start with adjustments to the existing pegs to make them work better.  We could talk about the Pegheds later if I still wanted them.  I agreed to this and returned the following day to pick up the easier-to-tune violin.

I also brought Sal with me, so I could get some photos of her with an amazing instrument Mr. Williams had been working on -- a Theorbo!?  (Click on that bold word to learn all about the Theorbo.)  It was in the workshop when I dropped off my violin.   I'd never seen anything like it, and it seemed to me that a photo of it with Sal would be necessary.  I think you will agree that Sal and the Theorbo make an interesting pair.

The Theorbo had been moved from the workshop into the front room, as it was ready to be picked up.  I wonder what sort of vehicle the owner drives, and how he maneuvers this giant instrument through doorways and around corners.

Looking at the many strings on the Theorbo, it seems silly that I find it so challenging to play the ukulele with its paltry four strings!

If, after seeing this really cool instrument, you are still interested in the fate of my violin, I will tell you that the old pegs work much better now...  but I still want the Pegheds!