dpappas

We will never know. So many instruments from this era have been altered, their thicknesses reduced, etc. unless this was a considered a pristine example, you can’t read too much into the intention of design, and just treat it as is. If the asymmetry is important to the sound, either Steiner or someone down the line who altered it would know. But they can’t answer the question for us.

David, I usually keep mine (a korfkerrest) at 9 and 3, but I've been experimenting with a tilt that lets the instrument sit flatter, at the same angle as if it is resting on my collarbone (see picture). So far, no complaints. I will say the korfkerrest is my preferred rest. It feels like I'm playing without a rest, but my downward shifts are more secure and I don't have to support the instrument with my left hand. It's very ergonomic.

What a fun idea! I am actually upgrading from my Bam case to a Musafia that will be here in a few weeks. I'm beyond excited. In the case I've got my violin, two bows that I alternate between randomly. A cake of leatherwood supple rosin, my should rest, spare strings, peg compound, and four different mutes made by Weissmeyer and sons (their disc, viol, dual-tone, and Catrpilr (spelled correctly) mutes). Nail clippers, the torx wrench for my shoulder rest, a DIY sponge humidifier, and a silk accessory bag made by daughter (it has a matching silk bag for the violin that I never use). Not shown, but also present are a few lens wipes (for cleaning my glasses or strings) and Apple AirTag in case I misplace my instrument. It won't work for theft because the thief will get a notification that someone else's AirTag is with them if they have an iPhone. My new Musafia is a Superlegerro and I can't wait.

Davide do modern makers do much with nails/screws unless they are replicating baroque approaches? I am legitimately curious because the mortise has been standard for so long.

Many loaned instruments require the grantee to insure, at their expense. The loans are often very clear on these requirements, as well as sometimes going as far as specifying luthiers authorized to work on the instrument, or requiring command performances. If you think about it, if someone is giving you a high-end fiddle, and asks you to cover the insurance costs for something you might do to it, it's a fair deal. It's not just for antiques. In some cases, the owner pays the insurance, so it being "insured" may not be her choice anyway. The alarm not going off for an hour might be a technical glitch. Let's not jump to conclusions. Here is an example of requirements from one such foundation: https://www.rbpfoundation.org/instrument-loans/expectations-of-recipients/ https://www.rbpfoundation.org/instrument-loans/instrument-bow-care-guidelines/

Cars are expensive (buying one right now sadly) because production stopped for a while for the cars and their components, and because rental companies didn't update their fleets during the pandemic (which affects both new orders and the used market). The used market drying up really drove demand for new cars. Violins didn't suffer chip shortages and individual makers could still make, but probably not sell as well. I can't see even factory/workshop violins suffering. People still needed cars during the pandemic, hence the shortage.

It will be a week or so but when I finish I’ll report back.

I'm in the opposite boat. Narrow upper eyes (38 mm I think), and the BB is about 2 mm in from that, so even with the angle it's a good 2.5-3 mm in from the bridge foot edge. So I ordered a 39 mm blank as suggested by Jeffrey and will spend a good deal of time working on that new bridge. I'll need to fit a longer post to get it in due to the narrower 39 mm bridge foot spacing. I noticed on some of the dGs in the Biddulph book (I have the small edition) and some strad posters that even with narrow upper eyes and "innie" bass bars people stick to the same 42 mm bridges most of the time. So I am not sure if I am chasing something for minimal to no change, but swapping a bridge is easy to undo.

Thanks for updating!

Please do share. I’m following with interest

Christopher it is dead center geometrically, it’s a weird bass bar I guess. The bridge is 41 mm foot to foot, I guess a skinnier one might do the trick.

Thank you very much! I wondered if the bridge could be trimmed, or a new bridge cut, to get the feet closer to the bar. it sounds okay now, but I can always put in a new bridge and see if it's better. If not, the old bridge can go back anyway.

I have a workshop violin that I like very much, but there are some issues with the bass bar placement and the symmetry of the violin (picture attached). The bridge foot is 3.2 mm from the bass bar. The sound post is 1.6 mm behind the bridge foot (North-South) and 1.9 mm inside the bridge foot (East-West). The bass bar is further in I suspect due to the funky F-holes (this is a Scott Can 950 "copy" of the Ysaye). The F-hole upper eyes? are 37.4 (bass) and 36.8 (treble) mm from the edge, but the neck is at an East-West angle, biasing toward the bass side (i.e. it's pointing to the base side). My bridge should probably nudge 1.5-2 mm to the treble side, to better balance over the bass bar. The instrument is 2 years old, so it's varnish marks on the bridge are pretty much as is. With the fingerboard already off, the string balance on the fingerboard will be noticeable. I am not worried about playability, I'm more concerned with a balanced tone. Would moving the bridge be a terrible idea? Of course, if I don't like the sound, I can move it back. I'm just wondering if this bass bar, which is further "in" than usual, is a long-term red flag. Thanks!

I was wondering how one could be happy with the instrument with the packing material still on it. Surely a tonal evaluation would be inaccurate. So what is he happy with?

Fair enough, I agree with the converse/inverse statement.