Help please! The little "cable" that attaches the tail piece to the button on my violin has broken. I took it to a local repairman and he replaced it with some sort of strong 'string' but it snapped again as soon as I tried to tune the violin. What is the proper material for this "string" and what is the proper length of it?

Jana, February 2010

You probably need to replace the "tailgut" which is no longer made in gut, but plastic these days

Anne, June 2011