David Burgess Posted February 16, 2021 Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 22 minutes ago, GeorgeH said: As a player/collector, I really like seeing the bridge maker's stamp. I think it would be cool to find a bridge with "David Burgess" stamped on it. Or even better, a "Hulk Hogan" stamp. There are still some bridges stamped "David Burgess" around. Wanna buy one, one I replaced with one of my more recent unstamped bridges? I think there is only one instrument I have made (a cello) with a Hulk Hogan caricature glued to the inside. Want me to put you in touch with the owner? I'll estimate that she is now around retirement age, so there's a possibility that she'd be interested in selling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rue Posted February 16, 2021 Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 Hey! I didn't know we could buy component parts! I might be able to afford a Burgess bridge! We'll talk later...maybe after the competition... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Burgess Posted February 16, 2021 Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 1 hour ago, Rue said: Hey! I didn't know we could buy component parts! I might be able to afford a Burgess bridge! We'll talk later...maybe after the competition... Perhaps I should be stamping my soundposts, saddles and upper nuts too? How about factory-made peg blanks which I have personally fit? How about strings which I have personally installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted February 16, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 Thanks again all, yes @Televetits been a challenging year for us all, and I feel any celebration of our work is welcome. I would love to see more global promotion of our art. @David Burgess unstamped bridges would be anonymous to the judges, we did discuss about covering the stamps to anonymise the entries but all felt that if stamped they should be marked as such. Would love to see any of your bridges, and yes hulk hogan stamps would be marked as any other. @rudall I can confirm we will not be judging the fit of the bridge as the bridges will be judged without instruments. A full set of rules and judging criteria is available to download on the site. signing off for tonight but will try and answer any more questions if I can. thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeH Posted February 16, 2021 Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 I recently bought a violin c. late 19th century, and the stamp on the bridge allowed me to contact the luthier who had been maintaining it since 2008. That was both useful and interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Burgess Posted February 16, 2021 Report Share Posted February 16, 2021 3 hours ago, GeorgeH said: I recently bought a violin c. late 19th century, and the stamp on the bridge allowed me to contact the luthier who had been maintaining it since 2008. That was both useful and interesting. If the owner of every instrument I had ever made a bridge for called me, I would have no time left to make a living. Unless I set up one of those 800 phone numbers where the caller pays me by the minute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Dorsey Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 Time is a factor in many competitions. How about one where half the score is based on time and half is based on the bridge that is produced? Or one where there is a time limit -- maybe an hour? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advocatus Diaboli Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 What’s the policy for bench copies of historical bridges? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three13 Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Advocatus Diaboli said: What’s the policy for bench copies of historical bridges? I’d rather have a bench copy of what one of those came off of... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted February 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 Thanks all @Brad Dorsey your idea is a great idea, but the amount of time people take varies and the competition is designed for covid19 restrictions. Perhaps another year. @Advocatus Diaboli worth submitting but you may need a note with your reference but it would still be judged by the criteria above. @Three13 I love chanot stamps they are totally unique, I dont think the vuillaume is one to copy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael K. Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 23 hours ago, David Burgess said: Will there be lotsa babes? Yeah... glad i read something serious Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Dorsey Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 4 hours ago, violinbridges said: ...the amount of time people take varies... That's the whole point of a timed competition. If two people produced bridges of equal quality, but one did it in half the time it took the other, you would have a clear winner. Of course a timed competition would be a lot harder to manage, even without the plague. You would either need everyone carving bridges together in one room monitored by a time keeper, or you would have to trust the entrants' self-reported times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goran74 Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 After reading the competition`s rules, I would like to know if the bridges are returned to the maker? Pictures can be taken in order to upload, (or faster a colour scanning of the bridges) and then shipped back. Shipping cost is minimal I think and can be included at the primal payment. I know (from painting exhibitions to violin makings competitions) that the items do not become property of the gallery or the person that organizes the concept. Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted February 17, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 @Brad Dorsey it would be really interesting to see and compare, but not for this one. @Goran74 originally we wanted to do this differently, but for several reasons, like logistics, cost and mainly pandemic restrictions. it was felt that as a small item, not like a picture or whole violin that we could donate them to the growing static project collection which has been and will be again post covid19 available to loan to violin schools and students. I am sure returns could be arranged if you felt you did not want a bridge to become part of the loan collection.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bress Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 6 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said: ...Of course a timed competition would be a lot harder to manage, even without the plague. Wait, we have to worry about the plague in addition to COVID?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Burgess Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 7 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said: That's the whole point of a timed competition. If two people produced bridges of equal quality, but one did it in half the time it took the other, you would have a clear winner. Of course a timed competition would be a lot harder to manage, even without the plague. You would either need everyone carving bridges together in one room monitored by a time keeper, or you would have to trust the entrants' self-reported times. Were it done live, one would also need to check everyone's pockets, purses, hair, shoes, and underpants for previously completed switcheroo bridges. Any volunteers? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffrey Holmes Posted February 17, 2021 Report Share Posted February 17, 2021 18 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said: Time is a factor in many competitions. How about one where half the score is based on time and half is based on the bridge that is produced? Or one where there is a time limit -- maybe an hour? Funny... When I've shown my work for feedback, I've never been asked how long it took... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Dorsey Posted February 18, 2021 Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 4 hours ago, David Burgess said: Were it done live, one would also need to check everyone's pockets, purses, hair, shoes, and underpants for previously completed switcheroo bridges. Any volunteers? To check your underpants? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violinbridges Posted February 18, 2021 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2021 The focus for me like the violinbridges project and the book, sry jacob, is promoting and celebrating the art of cutting bridges. To highlight our work, training and the excellence we strive to produce. So much of what we do is lost on the general public. But every one of us who has cut a number of bridges will know great work when we see it and will appreciate the effort, training and skill it would have taken to produce that. Not for everybody but for those it is Deadline is in August. Working on finalising the webinars which will be Bridge Tuning, Bridge Engineering, Bridge Cutting and Bridge Manufacturing. Looking forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowStrad Posted February 26, 2021 Report Share Posted February 26, 2021 On 2/16/2021 at 3:24 AM, violinbridges said: Very Pleased to announce that registrations are now open for THE INTERNATIONAL VIOLIN BRIDGE COMPETITION 2021. A wonderful opportunity to celebrate and promote your work on a global stage.. Please share amongst your networks. www.violinbridges.co.uk I'm a firm believer that a properly made bridge makes all the difference in the sound of the instrument. I purchased a violin once that had a very ornate bridge. Lots of work went into carving it. But in terms of practicality, it was a HORRIBLE bridge. It looked nice but didn't help improve the sound of the instrument at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Burgess Posted February 26, 2021 Report Share Posted February 26, 2021 On 2/17/2021 at 8:24 PM, Brad Dorsey said: To check your underpants? Maybe. Are you as cute as the security guy at the Sydney airport who had his hands inside my pants and groped me a lot more than I thought necessary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Norfleet Posted February 27, 2021 Report Share Posted February 27, 2021 3 hours ago, ShadowStrad said: I'm a firm believer that a properly made bridge makes all the difference in the sound of the instrument. I purchased a violin once that had a very ornate bridge. Lots of work went into carving it. But in terms of practicality, it was a HORRIBLE bridge. It looked nice but didn't help improve the sound of the instrument at all. So..., a rhetorical question... how do you know that it was a subsequent bridge, and not the attention to adjustment which the maker of that bridge put into insuring the instrument worked well after the new bridge was made, that was the reason for perceived improvement? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowStrad Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 22 hours ago, Mark Norfleet said: So..., a rhetorical question... how do you know that it was a subsequent bridge, and not the attention to adjustment which the maker of that bridge put into insuring the instrument worked well after the new bridge was made, that was the reason for perceived improvement? I don't believe the ornate bridge that came with the violin allowed the bridge to "twist" when the violin was being played. There was simply too much wood left on the bridge. So in a bridge contest, it would do well on "looks" but as a practical matter, it should be judged a dud. Let's assume a violin maker makes four violins a year. That's four bridges a year, certainly not a lot of practice making bridges. But a luthier who spends a lot of time not making instruments but repairing them for the symphony (for example), this luthier has a lot more practice making bridges and if done correctly, will have a steady stream of businesses repairing instruments and making bridges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Bress Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 Do bow makers have similar discussions where only workmanship is judged at VSA competitions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sospiri Posted February 28, 2021 Report Share Posted February 28, 2021 On 2/16/2021 at 5:07 PM, David Burgess said: I haven't stamped my bridges for about 30 years now, after I arrived at the notion that this was an expression of vanity, or advertising, not dissimilar to placing a repair label in a fiddle. So are you virtue signalling your modesty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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