Violin Forum/Message Board

[actonern]

I've read in a number of threads that the unsupported part of the fingerboard extending off the neck can affect the instrument's sound, and that some makers tune? this area by varying the thicknesses of the wood.

Are there any generalizations that can be made about thickness and the resulting instrument's sound, or is this a difficult to control/waste of time proposition?

Any opinions?

Best regards,

E

[Michael Darnton]

The sound of a thin fingerboard is somewhat similar to using a kevlar tailgut, and/or a lighter tailpiece with closer string settings at the string holes.
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[actonern]

Thanks Michael. I've only used kevlar on cellos... violins only the conventional plastic ones.

Can you describe at all what the sound is like? I'm guessing it's not that good?

Thanks,

E

[Michael Darnton]

Someone came to my shop yesterday afternoon promoting a fancy tailpiece: plastic, light, short, longer afterlengths on the lower side, strings strongly converging (tailpiece narrow). I can't use that for my customers, but it would work well for some types of customers with some violins. So I don't want to say thin boards are "bad'--they just aren't what my customers want. Brighter, faster, more open, especially on the low end, lots of "feedback"*. If the violin is already good in those respects, the result of more of that is a violin that lacks density in its sound. If a violin lacks those things, there are better ways to get them.

* "feedback" - energy that goes into making the player feel like the violin is alive in his hands. i.e.: energy that could be making sound, but is instead diverted into making the player feel like the violin is "really alive". Much more appealing to amateurs than skilled pros who are looking for performance more than personal buzz.
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[Chet Bishop]

[actonern]

Appreciate the information... thank you.

E