Violin Forum/Message Board

[famuswood]

I am curious about what I have referred to in the past as a false string. When I draw the bow on open A and E string the string sounds false. It never happens on the G and D strings. One day they ring false and then the next day they are clear and pure sounding. What is this phenomenon and what causes it? Are the strings bad? The brand is Thomastik Dominant. Thanks so much for any insights.

[rs]

Check your nut. Two things will cause this besides a bad string, especially on fortes. The strings should fit ON the nut, not in the nut. Cut the grooves to only be a spot the strings lay on, otherwise, too deep can cause a false sound.
Second, the space between the E string to fingerboard leaving the nut should be about the same as the thickness of the E string. If it fits closer, on fortes the loop will stop on the fingerboard instead of the nut and induce a false sound into the open string. That fit up is a little tricky because any greater space, and the string action is hard and makes playing the E string a chore on every other note except the open E. On the A, about the same space as the E to about a third of the string width of the A.
To get a feel, look at some of the head shots of some fine instruments and note how they are fit up.
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Randall Shenefelt

[Michael Darnton]

This can also be indicative of weak wolves in the instrument on notes other than the normal C/C#. This can be common, and comes an goes. Many violins do this on the open A string.
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[famuswood]

Thanks for the info. I will look at that closely. Still, I wonder why it would happen one day and not the next. Maybe slight changes in the instrument could make the difference, like temperature or moisture changes.
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I love the feel of wood in my hands - the smell of fresh cut lumber and the challenge of a difficult woodworking project on a sunny day . . .

[Michael Darnton]

These little things are very fragile. I can adjust them out one day, and they're back as soon as the weather changes. Some adjustments stick.
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