History of Fine Tuners

[vio.lino]

I have always been curious, but does anyone know the history behind violin fine tuners from the day the were invented and prominent figures who created the idea or violinists who advocated their use?

[MarkBouquet]

I don’t know the answer to your question, but one could assume that the introduction of steel strings made fine tuners obligatory. Prior to that, they really weren’t needed, or at least they weren’t necessary.

[GeorgeH]

I see a collectors' book in the making here...

[Wood Butcher]

47 minutes ago, GeorgeH said:

I see a collectors' book in the making here...

Yes, the bridge book could inspire many others:

E string tuners - a concise history.
Sticky fingers - Used rosin backings & cloths.
Almost as good as an envelope - String packets & tags through the ages.
A horses second career - A picture book of used bow hair hanks.
It won’t  work without one - The history of tailguts.
The sound of sheep - A brief history of gut stings.
I can see inside now - The story of belly cracks.
Eww! - 5000 life size pictures of worn chinrest barrels..
Forte forever - The art of playing badly, but loudly.
Brown and durable - Corduroys of Menuhin shoulder rests.
Good lord, no! - A collection of Menuhin’s shirts.
Won’t get stabbed now - The development of practice mutes.

I’m sure there are still plenty of others just waiting to be written...

 

[Mille regardz]

[bsharma8]

On 10/22/2020 at 5:48 AM, Wood Butcher said:

Yes, the bridge book could inspire many others:

E string tuners - a concise history.
Sticky fingers - Used rosin backings & cloths.
Almost as good as an envelope - String packets & tags through the ages.
A horses second career - A picture book of used bow hair hanks.
It won’t  work without one - The history of tailguts.
The sound of sheep - A brief history of gut stings.
I can see inside now - The story of belly cracks.
Eww! - 5000 life size pictures of worn chinrest barrels..
Forte forever - The art of playing badly, but loudly.
Brown and durable - Corduroys of Menuhin shoulder rests.
Good lord, no! - A collection of Menuhin’s shirts.
Won’t get stabbed now - The development of practice mutes.

I’m sure there are still plenty of others just waiting to be written...

 

This gave me a good chuckle

[Michael Darnton]

It has been MANY years since I read all of the issues of STRAD magazine from the beginning, but I remember that in an issue somewhere around 1905-1910 there was an ad announcing the new solution for dealing with tuning the new steel strings. I believe it was an ad for a Hill tuner, too. Maybe someone with access can hunt around that time period in the archives.

[Craig Cowing]

I'm not sure about violins, but their use on cellos has progressed a lot. I learned to play when I was 10. I'm now in my mid-60's. We were taught that you should only put a fine tuner on the A string. Now having them on all strings is standard.