Violin Forum/Message Board

[John Cadd]

Two famous violins seem to be breaking the rules for the position of Bridge Feet . X-Ray pictures of the Kreisler violin and the Plowden violin show the left feet of the bridges not sitting straight on top of the Bassbar but hanging off towards the treble side .
The honourable ,esteemed Edgar Russ has shown us the "proper" position for a bassbar under the bridge foot .Call that the "Rule" if you like. He wants the bassbar to be mimicking the soundpost lateral position.Just have the outer edge of the bassbar 1 to 1.5mm inside the left edge of the bridge foot .(For Professionals ---was the mysterious phrase he used ).
But the Kreisler and the Plowden have the left edge of the bassbar well outside the left edge of the bridge. The Plowden top also has very thin patches near the bassbar running out into the central bout areas. Is the left bridge foot (inside edge of the foot) doing some extra work to vibrate those areas ?
At one time I always thought that vibrations from the bridge ran smoothly outwards to the edges , as if the sides were all part of the process , but the thinner areas that occur before the edges are reached makes me think that Guarneri wanted to turn as much vibration into sound before the edges were reached.
That is an interesting topic to unpack right there . What do you think ?

[John Cadd]

I know bridges can be modified in several ways but I was not aware that they varied in width.

[John Cadd]

Bassbars deserve more attention these days .The correct fitting /size/position relative to the bridge feet is becoming better known and understood with Edgar Russ videos . But think about all those factory violins made for many years with outward appearance very acceptable.The fake labels we have seen so often are a harmless nonsense.Harmless untill you see the inside of violin tops that show no skill and built in bassbars carved crudely from the top itself . Little dodges like a flat piece of wood blanking off the bottom corners as if they are blocks.And the top corners left empty to save a bit of work . What did players make of those instruments? How many young players were turned off the idea of playing ? Words like hypocrisy and greed come to mind. Today some skilled makers are able to make a living putting those violins right .Well done for that . But tear your minds away from famous ,expensive violins and look at the massive damage done to the playing public . What were they thinking ? The industry painting itself so glamorously and putting itself on a pedestal when the obvious crimes beneath the bridges was being so calously foisted on innocent players .
Such a waste of players and wood .