Violin Forum/Message Board

Jack London · Junior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 22

On a different forum, Michael Wrote this:

"As far as gross dimensions of the bar, I don't feel like a mm here or there matters much....When I feel the bar needs to work differently for a different top, I do it by moving the bar in or out from the center, not by changing the size."

I was hoping Michael would elaborate a little. What would moving the bar toward or away from the centerline do for sound? Do you ever play with greater/lesser angle? What would be sacrificed using a shorter bar?

Michael Darnton · Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 2:16 pm Post subject:

I have gotten less effect out of bar changes than anything else I've done to a violin. Consulting with several friends, I find they're pretty much in agreement. The only thing that's had a discernable effect was to change the angle down the top to being less parallel with the centerline. This was a bad change, and choked things up considerably, so if I have a choice (grain direction in the top; you don't want to put the bar following the grain down the length, which will encourage cracking) I put the bar straighter, or more straight rather than the other way.

I have not made shorter bars, but from some other things I've done, I think it would be less desirable, resulting in a loose, rubbery G string, if anything.

I've done quite a few experiments with bigger bars, smaller bars, and changing the relative position to the bridge foot to solve tonal problems that were supposed to be solvable by these bar changes. My conclusion is that those things just don't matter that much. Now I look to other strategies, with more effect, and don't waste time with bars.
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Jack London · Junior Member Joined: 19 Dec 2007 Posts: 22

Thank you----that really helps a lot.

Lemuel · Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:33 pm Post subject:

Mat Roop · Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 9:12 pm Post subject:

Lemuel... my guess is that because the bar is normally at an angle to the centerline, grain parallel to the centerline is good.
Its when the grain runs parallel to the standard bar position that cracking might develop.
Cheers, mat

Lemuel · Posted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 10:41 pm Post subject:

Hi Mat,

Yes, you are right. I get it now.

From Henry Strobel's book, "Violin Making Step by Step", the usual rule is to divide the upper and lower maximum widths by 7. Then you measure from the centerline to find the angle and approximate location. The bar would be further from the center line at the lower bout than upper bout.

Michael Darnton · Posted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 8:24 pm Post subject:

Yes, and if you do that, then next you have to move the bar in or out a little to get it right relative to the bridge foot. Then you go back and check what numbers you should have used at the ends rather than the 1/7 proportion, and you'll find that since violins are virtually identical, it comes out to 12mm from the center in the upper bout and 15mm from the centerline at the center of the bottom bout almost all of the time. So now I just use those numbers and check them against the bridge and maybe nudge the bar in or out a bit if I need to.

Right, the reason you don't want the bar to follow a grain is that if a bassbar crack starts on a tilted bar it quickly runs under the bar and stops. If the crack starts next to a parallel to the center bar, it can run from one end to the other. That's the theory, anyway, but bassbar cracks really aren't very common in the overall scheme of things, and certainly not common enough for me to ruin a violin's sound just to protect against a potential accident that might not ever happen.
_________________
new blog at my site! http://darntonviolins.com/blog
my work sites: http://darntonviolins.com and http://darntonhersh.com