Soundpost Diameter Variations and It's Effect on Sound

[scordatura]

I am interested in people's opinions on the tonal and playability effects of soundposts with different diameters. 

[Michael Darnton]

For the way I work, the instruments I work on, the sound I like, and my type of customers, I don't find harder or larger posts helpful. Harder posts brighten in an undesirable way and thicker ones dampen brightness in a way I don't like. Softer posts can calm brightness but keep the air without choking the sound the way a fatter post will.

More weight or more density in this area chokes the sound, in my experience. In the same way, a harder, denser, harder post will brighten the sound, but it does it with the same choking that a large one uses to darken it.

For me it's a basic rule that the closer stuff is to the strings the more effect small changes in material or weight has.

[moorelia230@gmail.co]

Soundpost topic, I have a fiddle , = Fantastic sound for traditional music. It is fitted with  a soundpost that seems to be a cut Artists Brush, it is about 10mm thick. The fiddle is amazing, it has no corner-blocks at all. it has No rib liners,Except on the bottom of the Middle Bouts . And it has no Bassbar, and never had these. It has a through neck,and is setup as baroque, Inside there is a label that says micael deconet. But it is a fantastic fiddle

[John Harte]

8 hours ago, Michael Darnton said:

For the way I work, the instruments I work on, the sound I like, and my type of customers, I don't find harder or larger posts helpful. Harder posts brighten in an undesirable way and thicker ones dampen brightness in a way I don't like. Softer posts can calm brightness but keep the air without choking the sound the way a fatter post will.

More weight or more density in this area chokes the sound, in my experience. In the same way, a harder, denser, harder post will brighten the sound, but it does it with the same choking that a large one uses to darken it.

For me it's a basic rule that the closer stuff is to the strings the more effect small changes in material or weight has.

Michael these are excellent comments.  Thank you.

What would be your typical go to soundpost diameter?

[Michael Darnton]

@John Harte

I don't find much reason to wander from around 6.2-6.3 mm. I don't usually have much use for US Engelmann spruce, but I suspect some of the posts I've had that I like are made from that--not too dense, not heavy, just hard enough. I find it easier to deal with that direction than the other. In general, I think it's important for the feet of the bridge to move easily rather than be blocked by density, weight, etc,, so I like the same kind of bars as well. For tops, however, I've never had luck with that kind of wood because it doesn't have enough resistance throughout.

 

[John Harte]

25 minutes ago, Michael Darnton said:

@John Harte

I don't find much reason to wander from around 6.2-6.3 mm. I don't usually have much use for US Engelmann spruce, but I suspect some of the posts I've had that I like are made from that--not too dense, not heavy, just hard enough. I find it easier to deal with that direction than the other. In general, I think it's important for the feet of the bridge to move easily rather than be blocked by density, weight, etc,, so I like the same kind of bars as well. For tops, however, I've never had luck with that kind of wood because it doesn't have enough resistance throughout.

Thank you Michael.  Again great comments!

For many years I've ended up using posts around 6.4mm or slightly less.  These have generally been old European spruce, and not hard.  Amongst a number of things, bridge cut characteristics have seemed have at least some bearing on what works soundpost wise...???......

[Michael Darnton]

Probably that's the case to some extent, but I guess I don't think of it that way.

[Michael Richwine]

Seems to me that once you've got a good fit, moving the post a half a millimeter East or West, or a tiny change in length makes plenty of difference. So far, I've not yet found a violin that was improved by a notably skinny  or hard post, over a well-fitted standard spruce post.

[The Violin Beautiful]

I’ve heard many people talk about using a thicker post for more warmth or darkness. In my own work, I tend not to use different diameters. I focus more on fit, position, and wood quality.