Violin Making / 'The Strad' Library, No. IX.

by Walter H. Mayson

This last of many complicated and difficult stages must be entered upon with a will, and great attention paid to all details. The fittings used must be of the best, and the strings rough Roman, and must be tested to see if they vibrate truly. This is done by twanging, so that two distinct outlines are shown; if any dimness appear, or the lines wobble, as I may say, try again, for such are false. Not always, though; for I have known this rule (for it is a rule) falsified, and a good string appear untrue by test, and vice versa.

Take the Rimer, [15], and work out the peg-holes nicely; then fit ebony or rosewood pegs as you fancy, cutting off the superfluous pieces which obtrude on the off-side of peg-box. Apply a little soap and chalk to ensure close working when tuning.

Then on the nut, cut the narrow channels over which the strings have to pass to the fingerboard. A nice discrimination must be observed here as to the width from E to A to D to G. There can be no rule laid down, because some players will have them nearer together than others, and must, if for double stopping, they having narrow fingers; and on the contrary, wider apart, if for broader ended fingers. What I find a nice medium is seven-thirty-seconds of an inch from the bottom of one slot to another. Take the compass and divide to seven-thirty-seconds of an inch and press one point at G, D, A, E, allowing a fair margin at both sides of the ebony, not above, say one-eighth of an inch good. Then use either of the rat tail files, [27], and carefully file to depths required, which must be so as to allow a playing card to slip comfortably under the E string when taut, a little more space for the other three being necessary, especially the G. Rub a black lead pencil through the cuts, and work them very smooth with a thin, round piece of steel, which makes all the strings much easier to slide afterwards and minimises breakage.

The nut must then be filed and sandpapered nicely down to the cuts, so as to leave only a shallow passage, as one too deep retards free action of the string and somewhat of vibration, besides making the fingering less satisfactory. The ends or sides must be made beautifully even with the neck and rounded and papered off so that not an atom of friction worries the player, who has often worry enough in all conscience in the work of correct manipulation before him, without the hindrance of bad work on his instrument.

Then we come to the bridge—with two feet, not more my friends; the dear old fiddle has managed these three or four hundred years to crawl along very respectably as a biped: I shall have nothing whatever to do with turning him into a quadruped, be assured.

The importance of the quality and of the correct height, thickness, etc., etc., of this most essential adjunct, cannot be too seriously impressed upon all who seek to get from the violin they are fitting up the strongest and the best quality of tone possible; and, unless the clever amateur be sufficiently so to do it as it should be and can be done by an expert, my advice to him is, do not attempt it as a work of finality—try to do it properly and persevere, and I will help you. But do not show me with pride work to which attaches nothing but condemnation; too thick at top and bottom—feet clumsy to a degree—too high or too low—badly arranged for clean bowing on separate strings, and too deep or too shallow in the cuts for them. What does it matter to me if only a few or but one of these faults be apparent? the bridge is not perfect, and perfect it must be made, so I proceed to the consideration of the work to be done to make it so.

Select a fine, strong, light bridge by either Aubert or Panpi—the former by preference. In using the names of these deservedly popular makers, I mean, of course, either Aubert or Panpi, and the bridges wrought in their workshops, not the nasty imitations we are compelled to see sometimes, but which, rather than use, we would go a day's journey to avoid.

Pare the feet down to about one thirty-second of an inch (this when fitted finally) and proceed to make as accurate a union of these feet with the belly as you can, as it is most important that such should be the case. Then measure the height of this bridge, from belly to its top at centre, as one and five-sixteenths of an inch, nicely curving it so that ease of bowing is obtained, as spoken of before. This curvature should be unequal in height—or, rather, to express it better, the height on the G side should be so that, at the broad end of the fingerboard, the space between the ebony and the string will be a quarter of an inch, reducing as we get to the E, which registers about one-sixteenth of an inch less, or three-sixteenths of an inch. This is a guide, and a good mean to work on, but not a rule, as some people cannot play except the strings are near to the board, others just the reverse.

As to the distance between the strings, where they pass over the bridge, this is also a point somewhat of controversy, and applies, as do my remarks in reference to the fingerboard nut—there is no rule; but a very useful mean distance is seven-sixteenths of an inch. When you have got the angle correct, mark with the compasses where the incisions are to be made with tool [27] round, rat tail file, and work the cuts accordingly, about as deep as the file where it tapers one-third from its point.

Then reduce the bridge in thickness from its feet upwards—very sparingly at these feet, but tapering to pretty thin at the top, say a bare sixteenth of an inch. The reduction must be made by rubbing on sandpaper, and a clean, straight tapering effected, as a bridge, where you can discern a round-backed slope, is bad—looks so and is. When fitted and completed, the bridge must be as near perpendicular as possible; if there be any inclination, it must tend to the tailpiece, and very slightly, thus checking the certain tendency of the strings to pull it forward, which must be always closely watched, as if it fall on the belly of the violin, it is most liable to break—not only so, but to crack that same soundboard. The outer edges may be either filed to an angle of one-sixteenth of an inch bare, or neatly rounded.