scordatura
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Posts posted by scordatura
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Retouching even with clear can be a slippery slope. Matching the level of gloss or matt is tricky. Color matching is one of the most daunting things in restoration.
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"When the band you are in starts playing different tunes, I'll see you on the dark side of the moon..."
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I would suggest contacting Eugene Holtier on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/eugene.holtier. I'm sure he would answer your concerns. Please let us know what you find out as I have this varnish but not have used it yet.
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2 hours ago, Don Noon said:
There was life before the rover program. And jobs even before I started at JPL. I'm that old.
Don't tell me you worked on Explorer 1. You look very young for your age. Did you know von Braun? Lol
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Wow Don the Hubble mirror problem was quite a bugger. The tolerances are crazy. And I just thought you were a "rover guy".
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Does anyone know if there is a program that color codes the thicknesses of plates? There used to be a program by Hans Pluhar but it is down http://www.hanspluhar.com/violingraduation.html.
Something like this would be nice;
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Greg Alf’s article in the Strad about the Messiah neck is very interesting.
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Caliper purchased from Metropolitan Music. Works perfectly. No longer needed. $50 shipped to continental US. PM if interested.
SOLD!
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Complete Herdim Kreisler Guarneri template set. Cost new $140. Price $85 shipped. PM if interested.
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8 hours ago, Don Noon said:
Top, back, ribs, neck, scroll, pegs, and fingerboard are all torrefied on what I build these days. Unless someone orders mechanical pegs.
That is what I figured. The piece on the left is lighter than I would expect and the even lighter resawn rib wood made me think about how deep the color change goes after treatment. Perhaps it is the image. I have seen treated wood that on the outside is quite brown.
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1 minute ago, Don Noon said:
Starting the next batch of violins...
There's not often a need for the Big Bandsaw, but occasionally it comes in extremely handy... such as for slicing off the top of a thick 1-piece back for matching ribstock.
Have those been torrefied? I have been listening to a bunch of guitar luthier podcasts. Lots of use of torrefied wood in that world. Big makers and corporate enterprises using it.
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Tasty varnish and back wood.
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6 hours ago, catnip said:
I like this tool!
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39 minutes ago, Marty Kasprzyk said:
I've found that tall players with long arms can easily play my 17.5 inch violas and I've noticed these players also usually have large hands and long fingers. I may have made a mistake by putting a standard width fingerboard and neck on my large 4 string 17.5 inch viola.
My 5 string17.5 inch viola was made with a wider fingerboard in order to have the normal spacing between the strings. A very good viola player (Masters at Juilliard) with rather big hands liked the feel of my 5 string viola neck much better than my large 4 string viola or his own modern Italian viola (Romeo Antoniazzi).
I have read that viola necks shouldn't be any thicker than violin necks but this might not be a good practice for large violas. I also suspect that the string spacings should also be made a little wider. Maybe this is a custom fitting vs. standard size debate.
My large 5 string weighs 588g total with a chin rest and its deep bent back plate shape eliminates the need for separate shoulder which saves some weight. The top plate weighed about 85g. Nobody has yet complained about its response.
Can you post some pics of your violas?
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On 1/3/2021 at 9:30 PM, Marty Kasprzyk said:
I made a 17.5 inch 5 string viola last summer and I just finished one that is nearly identical but with only 4 strings. I thought they sounded quite similar. A student has them now and he will be making a video of him playing each of them.
You can go the other way and take a string off of a violin or viola to see if the sound changes much on the remaining 3 strings. You can extend this idea and take two strings off to see how the remaining two strings sound and so on. But I found that if I took off all four strings the results were disappointing.
I would bet that playing the 5 string feels different than the 4 string in terms of the response or playability.
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After spending some time with Fusion 360, I have to say that I am underwhelmed with the loft capabilities of the program. For those not familiar with Fusion 360 that is what you use to create the arching surface. It seems that creating a surface for violin arching gives Fusion 360 fits. I can deal with interface and program quirks but the loft problem is a deal killer. I realize that some have had success but I am finding that I am having to compromise the modeling/design too much or having no success at all despite different approaches. OK the program is free but I am thinking of cutting my losses and using Rhino. After all my time is worth something...I think.
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I play a 5 string violin almost daily. It can be a bit awkward to switch between 4 and 5 string instruments. Even when well setup, the neck is wide. And as Don mentioned the string angle takes some finesse. Although it could said that playing bowed string instruments is all about fine motor skills.
Tonally 5 string instruments are difficult to make sound especially on the C string. Higher ribs and a larger plate area can help. I have made some improvement with using light gauge strings to reduce the load on the bridge/top. Even with that, it is more like playing a viola than a violin. It has what I call a higher impedance. Meaning you need more bow pressure/energy to get the desired sound. For the amplified crowd, the above issues are not an issue.
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Sorry it is not a genuine Guarneri. Looks German from the 1900s. The chinrest, gut string, and old case are good indicators of the age.
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Sorry Chris for hijacking the thread...If it is Chris Germain.
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24 minutes ago, Three13 said:
Who do you think I am?
Who is the gaucho, amigo?
Why is he standing in your spangled leather poncho
And your elevator shoes?A friend of mine from music school plays with the Dan. Lucky bastard!
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12 hours ago, Bodacious Cowboy said:
I don't like "Acura Meister" fittings. Generic Indian with a substantial mark up.
One more expensive kiss off ;)
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23 hours ago, Don Noon said:
The second viola of the new design is getting closer to the "finish" line. Varnish is on, soon to be assaulted to be made to look a bit more used. While varnish was drying, thoughts were given to the next instruments. As I have 2 commissions for my "large" 358 mm model and only had one form, I fired up the CNC and made another collapsible high-tech aerospace overkill form, with a few minor tweaks from the last one.
I should have a more interesting post in the next few weeks when I finish the latest vioa.
Don would you mind elaborating on the model concept you are using? Is it an expanded "Noon" violin? Rib heights? Arching?
Like you I think that light wood is a good idea. Requiring less effort from the player to get the instrument to sound. Granted this is coming from a violinist who plays viola...
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3 hours ago, Ratcliffiddles said:
Depending on how it's lit, it can look quite stunning.
Yes! Very sexy!
Varnishing Idea
in The Pegbox
Posted
True Jackson. Played some that were pretty underwhelming.