VIOLIN AND VIOLA SADDLE RIDER INSTALLATION:

This 8-minute video demonstrates the installation process of our new Low Profile Saddle Rider Tone Adjuster for Violin or Viola.  

BEFORE YOU BEGIN THE INSTALLATION, please read the updates in the comments below the video.

INSTALLATION CHECKLIST:

1. The Saddle Rider Tone Adjuster is easy to install, but we recommend having a professional luthier oversee the process. It is important to have the instrument in good adjustment, with the soundpost installed correctly, prior to installing the Saddle Rider. Certainly, the sound post can be adjusted with the Saddle Rider already in place, but understanding how the Saddle Rider changes the tone and response is easier without that added variable. The Saddle Rider is intended to optimize and fine tune an instrument — it is not a substitute for a good basic adjustment.

2. When sizing the endplug, it should be cut so it does not extend past the endblock into the violin. If it does extend into the violin, when the instrument is tuned up, the tension on the T-nut will cause the endplug to pop out, to some extent, from the endblock.

UPDATE: If the endplug needs to be removed for instrument maintenance or adjustment, it can usually be pulled out by gently holding the T-nut screw at an angle and gripping the edge of the plug channel with the screw threads, or by pulling it out with a bent paper clip. In some cases, the endplug can become too firmly embedded in the end block to remove it this way. If that happens, insert a section of thin violin tailgut or other similar string into the violin via the endplug channel, and fish it out of an F-hole. Then, tie a knot in the end of the string and pull it back through the F-hole until it presses against the inside of the endplug and pulls it out of the end block.

3. When installed, the slot in the endplug should face the back of the violin. The slot in the Saddle Rider Mount should face the top (bridge side) of the violin.

4. A short video with instructions for tying the included Kevlar tailgut is available at the following link:

5. After the tailgut is tied to the tailpiece, remember to lubricate the threads of the Saddle Rider screw with the enclosed silicone grease before tightening it into the Saddle Rider.

6. After a Saddle Rider is installed, turning its adjustment screw in a clockwise manner lowers the Saddle Rider towards the top of the instrument, usually increasing the focus and “punch” of its sound by slightly increasing the angle of the strings over the bridge. Adjustments in this direction will make the tuning a little sharper, so large adjustments in this direction should be preceded by a slight downward tuning. Turning the screw in a counter-clockwise manner raises the Saddle Rider away from the top from the instrument, increasing the resonance by decreasing the angle of the strings over the bridge.

7. After installing your new Saddle Rider, check out these Saddle Height Tone Adjustment Tips

HOW THE SADDLE RIDER AFFECTS DOWNWARD FORCE OF STRINGS ON THE BRIDGE: