The Stentor Messina is the first in Stentor's range of high-grade orchestral models. These are superb handcrafted instruments, carved from selected and figured tonewoods. The Stentor Messina viola is made in a specialist hand workshop within the Stentor factory, where the most skilled individual workers produce under the close supervision of a master maker, in a traditional luthier's environment that would be familiar to makers throughout the centuries. The result is a fine instrument with a superior finish and sound. The viola is finished with a hand-applied traditional shellac varnish and fitted with professional quality branded strings. All instruments are individually workshop fitted.

Fully Set-up

Before we ship your viola, it will be set-up in our workshop by our specialist string repairer. Unlike many online retailers, we only sell fully set-up instruments. We do not sell 'out of the box'.

The set-up includes:

• Adjusting the tuning pegs so they fit correctly and flush with the peg box.
• Cutting and shaping the bridge - a viola from the supplier will come with a 'blank' bridge which needs to be cut and shaped to correctly fit each individual viola. The feet need to be correctly angled to sit on the instrument and the top of the bridge needs to be shaped to be in line with the curve of the finger-board. If the the bridge is not correctly fitted, the strings can be too high making it difficult to play and the bridge can become unstable.
• Adjusting the top-nut so the strings lie correctly, allowing the viola to play properly.

All this is INCLUDED in our price.