Tonal improver

[Michael Darnton]

Something I found today inside of a violin.

[BobH]

Don't know about tonal improvement, but it sure eliminated the age-old tendency to tinker with the sound post!

BobH

[Richf]

Just think about that metal part for a moment (ignoring the fact that it looks like a radiator thermostat). Why not have a two-part wooden soundpost, where one part threads into the other. Then, even a klutz like me could easily position and fine-tune the tension on the soundpost (or poke holes in your fiddle).

[Regis]

And just "how thin" was that top plate?

Or is it 'really' a serving tray at a violin social?

[Marie Brown]

So that threaded thing screws into the end button, right? Does turning it change anything inside the violin? What's that fuzzy spherical object in the upper bout area, lying on the inside of the back plate?

[Michael Darnton]

The threaded endbutton pushes the end of the rod, arching it up to press more against the top. The spherical thing is a tonal dustball--very important.

[jmasters]

Well, did you play it? Any comments when comparing it to other violins of

the same basic construction and materials ?

I notice that the teat on the "bow" does not seem off center as much as a

post should be. Is this an illusion? Does it contact the top where a

normal post would ?

The post is a quasi-node in the top and (some say) also transfers

vibrations to the back. This latter statement might be better phrased "the

post couples the top and back."

Which of these two roles of the post seems dominant, or are they about

equal? I once made a bridge to glue to the inside of a back from edge to

edge at the "latitude" of the post. It did not sound so good compared to

the original violin, but then again, It was a crude experiment and I did not

follow up with refinements. (This was not a string bridge, of course.)

So, were you able to make any conclusions ?

[MANFIO]

The relatevely small world of the violins is full of surprises...

[Kevin Miller]

That reminds me of those arched, central bass bars Félix Savart put in some of his trapezoid violins. Did the instrument have a normal bar and sound post, or does this contraption substitute for one or the other?

[Michael Darnton]

It's a third piece, not a substitute.

I didn't play the violin before I took it apart, so I have no idea how it sounds. It's dead center, side to side, and touches a bit south of the bridge.

[jmasters]

If the top has no bar, everything seems symmetrical. I would expect it to have almost no radiation except for a very small sound up close.

That is one thing that interested me... A regular violin has a high degree of assymetry built in.

By the way, it is funny to make jokes. But for the other readers, Consider what you can learn from a failed experiment........

[jaf67]

Is it just me, or do you think that thing was added at a later time of the instraments life. The inset looks to be of a higher quality than the lineing and block work. Do you plan to leave it in?

[Michael Darnton]

It's definitely added later, and it's definitely coming out.

[Ron1]

Guess this isn't a tonal improver either- looks something like the rod Alex talked about putting in one of his aluminum violins in a previous thread. I think it was maybe added to prevent further "stretching" caused from modern stringing? (the top is quite flattened). Is that a short bassbar? I figured it measures about 224mm. Another picture attempt: [image]mysite.verizon.net/maunesha/insidebaroque.jpg[/image]

[Ron1]

Or, just type in: http://mysite.verizon.net/maunesha/

[Kevin Miller]

I just recently saw a reinforcing bar like that inside a very old viola. At some point in its life, the top was cut down to a smaller size, and it was later restored with new edges. Apparently someone worried that the top might not handle the full tension of the strings.