In reply to Roger Wiegand's request for help in tuning the Violano,
perhaps I can offer a little insight.  He is correct in assuming the
felt damper and vibrating tremolo be off when tuning the violin.
He mentions that the notes appear to "wobble" some ten cents when
attempting to tune them.  This is not the case with mine, and this
might be his problem.

If the roll is stopped and a bow pressed against the string, a fairly
pure tone should emanate.  If it's wobbling, I would check that the
bow wheels are properly rosined, that they are in good condition and
that their pressure is correct.  The strings should also be wiped clean
and in good condition.

Bow pressure in most Violanos is controlled only by their travel
distance and the mounting of the violin.  When a bow plays a string,
there should be some lost motion in the bow arm and the spring should
compress slightly.  If this isn't the case, the violin can be raised or
lowered.  If raising or lowering the violin using the adjusting knob
doesn't give consistent pressure to each bow, the violin's mounting
can be "rotated".

Beware that messing with the violin's mounting throws off almost every
other adjustment, so know what you are getting into before you move
the violin.  Mess with this, and you'll spend hours getting it to play
right again.

You should also check that the string is clean where it travels over
its weight arm.  Poor contact there will result in a poorly playing
string.

Work on getting a pure sound from each string.  Do that and it should
then be easy to tune by ear.

Ed Gloeggler
Long Beach, New York