This is a job that I have been putting off for quite some time... I have quite a few violin, viola, and double cases... and mostly they are used for storage, especially the ones that were housing the modern violins that I don't use quite so much. And unfortunately, if you don't open them up regularly... well, there can be certain problems that happen with storing them for ages!

The worst of that can be mould... and I do have one old case that I am a bit too scared to open up, but mould is only going to happen if the storage is damp, and it has been pretty dry... perhaps too dry, in which case, cracking of the wood can be a different a potentially worse problem!

Anyway, I had this particular double case that was mostly empty, but I was using it to store a few modern Classical bows in... and seeing as I'm primarily a period instrumentalist using older styles of bows, well... I had left these in this case for a almost two decades!

And sadly, when I opened it up... the horsehair had been shredded due to mites and bugs... and that means that I have to get around to cleansing this case... for the bows, a bit of playing and isolation was recommended by the luthier... apparently, the vibrations of drawing the bow across the string would get them moving on...

... and for the case, a few days out in the open hot sun should do the trick. And so, I've been leaving this out on the backyard porch area... slowly cooking the mites and bugs and getting them vacate an otherwise useful storage case.

I've been a bit worried that a bird will find it to be a useful toilet seat though...

... and in the meantime, my BASH/DUMP violin... or stunt/outdoor violin... a violin that is a cheap purchase and used in situations where I wouldn't dare bring out one of my good ones... well, it was about time that I changed the strings on it to something less old and crappy... I'm not sure what they had on beforehand, but they were starting to unravel and fray... and so, I figured I may as well change the strings before they snapped in my face...

... but funnily enough, the strings are worth almost as much as the violin itself!

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