Violin Forum/Message Board

[Chet Bishop]

I'm tellin' you, man, that is one scary-looking critter.
Do you spray for them, or just arm yourself before opening the case?

You know, Cliff, Virginia is just far enough south that they may be bigger there. Be warned.
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Chet Bishop
https://bluefiddles.com
https://fivestringfiddles.com

[Jacob]

All sorts of things happen for all sorts of reasons.

Where I'm at (in terms of limited experience, but some experience nevertheless), I would look at a lighter gauge A-string, and then balance the tension of the rest of the strings accordingly.

Nevertheless, as Andres mentioned, go with a more-or-less equal-tension kind of setup.

To me the most difficult thing to deal with when making/setting up instruments with a historical construction is to find the correct gauge of string for the size and construction of the instrument, as well as the performance pitch intended. This is an art/science in itself.

For myself I stay with the kind of neckset and string angle which seems to have been the norm during the Cremonese era of Stradivari's time. There is more of an angle to the neck than is popularly believed, and consequently the fingerboard wedge does not need to be as steep as in earlier Cremonese and other traditions. This makes for easier playing of the general Baroque repertoire, but more importantly, it results in more or less the same string angle and bridge height as for a "standard" modern setup. But this is only part of the plot. Assuming that the same kind of saddle and tailpiece assembly is used as those by the classical Cremonese makers, the decisions regarding overal string tension and tension grading can be critical. In this regard the equal tension argument needs to be considered and experimented with, especially as regards the use of wound strings on violin G and viola C and G. Regarldless of what advertised tension tables of manufacturers may show, these strings almost always (in my experience) contradict by their performance what the tables show. In other words, wound strings, in my experience, need to be of higher tension than the tables show in order to balance the other gut strings.

Apart from that, there is the added complication of what the strings "feel" like to a player. Obviously a wound string at about half the thickness of a bare gut string may seem more comfortable. But then, all gut strings are not created equal. Some are "harder" that others - this may be due to the amount of twist, the material (beef of sheep), the processing, etc.

For luthiers the choice of appropriate gauges takes the place of suggesting a particular string brand for modern instruments. It's really tricky, but enlightening and exciting at the same time. Players are generally clueless about all this. Modern players can drift from one string brand to another until they are happy or their budgets run out. But gut is gut - sort of. Beef or sheep, low or high twist, varnished or unvarnished, etc. No slight intended, but that is not the road most string players intend to walk - which is doing some serious research on what makes strings work on their instrument. Enlightened guidence is required from luthiers in this regard.

Squeeky e (violin) and a (viola), and flabbly lower strings are yesterday's news as far as "Baroque" setup is concerned. There are solutions, some general, and some specific. But one needs to look for them in the contexts of both the setup as well as the strings.

[MANFIO]

Yes Jacob, I am sure the problem will be solved with the correct gouge of the A string. Anyway, the player came here and loved the viola, as well as the modern one I just finished and eventually both are now going to South Africa, perhaps you will see them there someday Jacob!
Thanks!
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