Violin Forum/Message Board

[Lemuel]

This is a topic I don't hear much talked about. Nevertheless, I thought I would open a discussion on different types of wood used for fittings and their effects on the sound of an instrument.

It's probably a complex topic and will more than likely bring in many other related facets and/or factors of violin making on which the fittings depend upon.

So here goes.

There is boxwood, ebony, rosewood, pernambucco and snakewood (any others?).

Boxwood tends to bring out mellowness, warmth, feminine and sweetness. It smooths out the sound.

Ebony brings out a brighter and more focused sound. Brighter in this case would mean "wood" bright as opposed to metallic bright or brilliance. Results in too much "reed" or buzz in some cases making boxwood a more suitable alternative.

Rosewood tends to open up the instrument. The sound is darker, more masculine.

Snakewood somewhere between ebony and rosewood.

Pernambuco More brilliant and focused.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciate. Please bring in other factors that may be important. I would like to get a better picture here.

[rs]

I only use boxwood or ebony as a rule. Boxwood is about half the weight of ebony which means with boxwood about four grams less weight at the head. A pencil weighs about four grams, so that is just less weight a player has to prop up.
_________________
Randall Shenefelt

[actonern]

Then how would we propose to distinguish between the effect of wood choices in the pegbox and the weight of the scroll/pegbox itself?

[Lemuel]

In general lighter material means less work for the player, because it vibrates easier. However, lighter wood can lack quality and/or power and definition. A heavier piece of wood has more mass and therefore would require more tension to vibrate it. A higher tension means more pressure, which would bring out the tonal characteristics of the violin (if it could handle the higher tension).

Therefore, I would be more inclined to match heavier fittings with violins made with higher density material (a sort of impedance match).

I was told and have witnessed that changes in sound are most noticeable when the chinrest is changed from one type of wood to another.