Violin Forum/Message Board

actonern · Super Member Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 444

I have been fending off persistent requests from some small viola players to make a 15 inch (380 mm) viola.

Could anyone point me in the direction of a model that has good DNA for getting the most out of such a small instrument?

Best regards,

E

MANFIO · Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 12:56 pm Post subject:

Never made a 15 inche viola, but made many 15.5. Perhaps you could give a look on a Guadagnini model. The Andrea Guarneri Conte Vitale can be reduced perhaps too.

But it is hard to make a small viola that sounds good.
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Chet Bishop · Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 1:31 pm Post subject:

The 1580 Gasparó da Saló viola is a 15" as I recall--maybe it was 15-1/2". Anyway, it is still in professional use at 433 years old, so it evidently works well. I would not go so far as imitating the scroll, myself, but the body is extremely high arching both front and back, and evidently functions just fine.

BTW, I got a close look at a David Rivinus Pellegrina viola last week. It is 15" measuring the standard way, and 18" on the overall corpus length, diagonally, but the fingerboard is violin-sized, very playable. Looks like something Salvador Dali might have painted.
http://www.rivinus-instruments.com/Pellegrina.htm
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Michael Darnton · Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 3:31 pm Post subject:

I second the Guad viola idea if you can find a pattern. I once saw a 15-1/4" one that someone unfortunately was in the process of enlarging. It looked like a dinner plate, just as wide as it was long. :-) I think it you have to shorten something, it's best not to narrow it at the same time, but leave it as wide as you can dare.
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MANFIO · Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:05 pm Post subject:

Yes, make a wide model. This is my 15.5" viola:

I developed it in this way: I draw a line and marked over it some points corresponding exactly to these proportions of the Guadagnini viola (Strad Poster), from bottom up: widest part of the lower bouts, inflexion point on lower bout prior to the corner, narroner part of the central bouts, point inflexion of the corner on upper bout, widest part of the upper bouts. Than I had many xerox copies of the Conte Vitale of these sections, the same size of the original, some reduced (98, 97, 95, 94%). I cut these parts and choose those which fit the Gudagnini's proportions, creating a new model, I don't know if you got it from my poor English...

It is 25.5 in the lower bouts. String lenght is 375 mm. The short corners are good for easy bowing. Try to use light wood. I have one of this model with a very tall player of the Gewandhaus Leizpig Orchestra, they play lots of Wagner, imagine playing Meistersinger (almost six hours of playing) in a big viola...
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actonern · Super Member Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 444

Thank you everybody for your suggestions.

Luis, would you be willing to provide the dimensions of the 3 typical widths... top bout, middle and bottom bouts in your last photo?

And, Luis... have you ever used black willow for a back?

Thanks again!

E

MANFIO · Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:25 pm Post subject:

Ok:

Lower bouts: 25.3
middle bouts 13.8
upper bouts: 19.3

It is very very confortable and I sold some to very small players.

I used violin fittings for it

Some more info here:

http://www.maestronet.com/forum/index.php?/topic/321887-my-latest-viola-anna-pavlova/
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actonern · Super Member Joined: 15 Aug 2007 Posts: 444

25.3!!!

Wow; that girl has wide hips!

Thanks a million!

E

MANFIO · Posted: Sat Apr 13, 2013 9:40 pm Post subject:

Yes, not an elegant model, but sounds darn good. I think a 15.5" can serve a very small player, I would not risk making a 15" one...

The main problem of the viola is that the dynamic range is too narrow, if you make a small viola with a generous dynamic range you will sell it quickly .
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John Masters · Junior Member Joined: 13 Mar 2013 Posts: 23