The bass bar crack apparently began as a bassside saddle crack, and then followed the outboard face of the bass bar forward. This is a type of crack that runs along the side of the bass bar and the top of the inside top of the instrument. Bassbar cracks usually start at either the ends or the middle duh, but for different reasons. Jan 22, 20 dalton potter explains the function of the bass bar in sound production for string instruments. Solo vbk1 diy beatles electric bass guitar kit solo music gear. In a perfect world every full size violin would have a 41. Remove the bass bar, take a piece of white chalk and rub it on the plate, where the bass bar is supposed to be glued in. Repair crack with patch maple or spruce cut and inlaid then graduated to match interior surface. The bass bar tension is the only intentionally introduced modification of the instrument. The increase in weight also meant using a slightly different shape for the bar itselfone that is fuller in the center, before tapering at the ends. Hidden inside the top, the bass bar is one of the elegantly sculpted parts of the violin. Like all stringed instruments, it requires periodic adjustment to play in tune and sound its best.
Tarisio makes no representation or warranty regarding these reports. Strings violin shop 5842 merriam drive merriam, ks 66203. Dalton potter, violin make and owner of the potter violin company, discusses the issue of one vs. The author alexis schilbach, based in switzerland, is a master violin maker and. Jan 17, 2015 violin bass bar fitting how to trimming violin rib corners video. A cello is devalued if it has a repaired bassbar crack 2040%, a repaired soundpost crack in the top 3050%, a repaired soundpost crack in the back 4075%, although any of the above repairs, or any other repairs, if done properly, will result in the cello not being any weaker in the repaired area than before the damage occurred. I really appreciate the extra efforts you took to give me the straight facts so i could make wise and informed choices. There is much discussion about the bar tension, placement, and thickness. Also all factors that can not be changed after the top is. Buy online the best selection of solo vbk1 diy beatles electric bass guitar kit at solo music gear. One of the bridge feet is over the bass bar and the other one is near the soundpost. Now draw a line between these two new points i pencil in a line using a flexible metal ruler as a guide. This is a crack usually caused by trauma when an instrument is hit or falls or is otherwise damaged with force. The bridge, the soundpost and the bass bar for violin.
At the upper end of the bass bar toward the neck, mark this measurement minus 0. The bridge is set on the top of the violin, between the ff holes. I suspected that the bass bar was possibly cracked or unglued. Play just like sir paul mccartney with a violinbass from marnic instruments. Occasionally these types of cracks can be glued from the outside but most likely you will need to remove the top. The usual repair consists of removing the old bass bar, gluing the crack, fitting a new bass bar, cleating the crack, fitting t. It can be said that the violin is structurally stable. Violin, viola, cello and bass bass bar cracks bass bar cracks can distort the shape of the instruments top because of the strain of the bass bar. This term is used when no crack or damage is evident. Unlabeled new violin with bass bar crack for repair. A small crack in an instrument, which is under kilos of tension will quickly extend, and, even worse. Its all a tricky business, and takes practice and good judgement. Tarisios condition reports are not intended to be thorough and detailed condition surveys and do not necessarily address all of the potential issues referenced below. Violin shops had to retrofit older instrumentswhich, at this point, included pretty much anything made prior to the late18th centurywith new bass bars and, more often than not, neck grafts.
I can appreciate the ops concern with the tuners likelihood of breaking, they are more akin to guitar tuners than bass tuners and the buttons can slip on the shaft or break. It is the smallest and highestpitched instrument soprano in the family in regular use. Usually,we use epacket delivery from chinaabout 720 business days ship to the usa, canada, france, australia, russia, uk. The bass bar is important both structurally and acoustically. The hofner bass was popularized by paul mccartney, who still plays the original one he bought when performing in hamburg with the beatles. The soundpost and the bass bar are made in resonance spruce. Electric violin with led lights electric violin bridge guitar solo, acoustic guitar, cool guitar. With a light on the inside and a small mirror, i could tell by looking through the end pin hole and the f hole that about a quarter of the bass bar near the endpin had come unglued.
Finally when the whole bar is marked and therefore in good contact you breathe a sigh of relief, open a can and heat up the glue. Smaller violin type instruments exist, including the violino piccolo and the pochette, but these are virtually unused. For me at least bass bar fitting is not one of the most exciting episodes in making a violin. Repairs are completed with highquality bridges, strings, bow hair, and other professional quality fittings. They use them for asthetic reasons on the violin bass to get that look and to balance the small body but because of the low tension short scale they work just fine. Split a piece of spruce 350 x 20 x 8 mm, ideally the same spruce you used for the top plate plane down the sides so that they run perfectly parallel to each other and the thickness if the bar is about 6 mm for a flatter arch or 5. Sound post cracks or bass bar cracks usually need to have the top removed and patched. Im back only with a little information about another instrument i found details. Learn how violinmakers place the bass bar on fine violins, violas and cellos in. Capuzzi, a concerto d major for violin or bass and. Its somewhat difficult to give prices without seeing the instrument. The top of the violin, sound post, and bass bar are made out of spruce.
Violins for sale from brands like becker, cremona, and stentor on reverb. Dalton potter explains the function of the bass bar in sound production for string instruments. One of the mysterious steps in violin making is setting the bass bar. I had to steam the top loose from the crack around to the lower bassside corner block to get the crack to close properly, but i did not have to take the top completely off. According to the a dictionary of music and musicians by george grove. Violin bass bar fitting how to trimming violin rib corners video. Effect of bass bar tension on modal parameters of a violins. One day, from curiosity i mapped out how a normal bar, which has a sweeping, scooped look on the contoured violin top, would look if it were on a flat top rather than an arched one, by mapping the heights on a flat line, and was i. Setting the bass bar in fiona one of the mysterious steps in violin making is setting the bass bar. It strengthens the front plate and helps transmit low frequency vibrations from. Now draw a line between these two new points i pencil in a line using a flexible metal ruler as. Stagg evnx44mbk silent violin set w case, headphones. Crack repairs in string instruments must not only be carried out as gently as.
The bass bar is a reinforcing strut which is fixed inside the front of the violin and lies under the line of the g string. The bridge, the soundpost and the bass bar for violin family. This is to ensure that the grain runs straight along the complete length of the bar. You listened carefully to my likesdislikes to help me find. Condition report terminology the following is a guide to terms used in tarisios condition reports. In the members of the violin family in the members of the viola da gamba family in some archtop guitars and in many other string instruments. In a string instrument, the bass bar is a brace running from the foot of the neck to a position under the bridge, which bears much of the tension of the strings.
The recollections of early, key employees, is the major source of info. A crack to the bass flank of the pegbox is repaired with a graft the inside of the flank. Ive talked with michael and there is not a lot of official info available from hoshino on anything from the early days. No matter what youre looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you find unique and affordable options. The bass bar tuning process attempts to return the patterns to a shape close to the shape prior to adding the bar. Capuzzi, a concerto d major for violin or bass and piano yorke edition. Using a template, use pinpricks to create the outline of. Palatino vn350 campus student 44 fullsize violin outfit w case, bow. My clients are not well off, and dont play the violin, although her brother might want to learn. The instrument is in nice shape except for this bass.
The bridge is made exclusively in field maple and has a characteristic shape and size for each member of the violin family. Bass bar, an oblong piece of wood, fixed lengthwise inside the belly of the various instruments belonging to the violin tribe, running in the same direction with the strings, below the lowest string, and acting as a beam or girder to strengthen the belly against the pressure of the left foot of the bridge, as the soundpost does against that. Violin and viola same 3 pieces, cello 7 pieces, bass 10 pieces. Bass violin is the modern term for various 16th and 17thcentury bass instruments of the violin i. Bass bar tuning is another method that is used by some luthiers to arrive at the right size and shape bar for a particular instrument. Today violin maker derek roberts makes the bass bar and fits it to the inside of the front plate. When perfectly fitted, the bar is glued into place with violin making glue, usually perpendicular to the predominant contact surface as the curvature changes throughout the length of the bass bar.
Bass bar cracks can distort the shape of the instruments top because of the strain of the bass bar occasionally these types of cracks can be glued from the. Every string instrument has a bass bar, the wood piece inside that enhances the quality of sound and impacts the volume. Using a template, use pinpricks to create the outline of the scroll shape. Bass bar crack repair the pegbox maestronet forums.
Im also well aware, and have done, the standard repair for a bass bar crack. Often you have to make some compromises and lean the bridge to match the angle of the neck and still overhang the bass bar while sitting on the acoustical center of the instrument. I recognize that a bass bar crack is a serious crack, and will devalue an instrument. It strengthens the front plate and helps transmit low frequency vibrations from the string to the body of the instrument.
Keep the violin, fingerboard, strings and bow hair as clean as possible. Located in historic mystic, ct, one mile off exit 89 on i95, upton bass string instrument co. At the ends it is often a either a dryness crack, like a saddle crack, extending upward, or due to the weakness of the top just adjacent to the bar, which is inherent to the violin design, but can be exacerbated by a thin top, weird, arching, or ill fitting of the bar. The violin typically has four strings, usually tuned in. I was wondering, why a modern italian violin with a somewhat big. All repairs are done by craig scollard some of the more common repairs are listed in the left menu violin bow rehairs viola bow rehairs cello bow rehairs bass bow rehairs violin crack repair viola. Yorkes edition of a capuzzis concerto in d major for violin and piano or bass and piano includes violinbass part and score. We provide high quality products in canada at an affordable price. The proper way would be to remove the entire top by separating it from its ribs, apply animal glue to the crack joint, and secure the crack further from opening in the future by means of studs or cleats beneath the crack. New violin bass bar clamp luthier tools, violin making. With quite a few cracks the bassbar crack and the line underneath the. Thank you for all of your patience in answering my many questions. Violin top crack repair fixing a short crack on a violin top. Effect of bass bar tension on modal parameters of a violin.
Just a quick note to let you know how much i am enjoying my new upright bass. It has proven to be a worthy instrument for bass players worldwide who appreciate its distinct sound. Gold label violin bass eco ivory white this item is temporarily out of stock 1. May 11, 2009 this process is repeated and gradually more and more of the bar is chalked. Sometimes, if a bassbar must be replaced as a part of a repair procedure, the customer has very little choice in the matter. Zaret has developed a new design for the bass bar which allows precise and effective adjustment to achieve the most desirable qualities of sound in all instruments. The violin, sometimes known as a fiddle, is a wooden string instrument in the violin family. An interior patch to the center bouts of the top or back as specified. Solo vbk1 diy beatles electric bass guitar kit solo. One day, from curiosity i mapped out how a normal bar, which has a sweeping, scooped look on the contoured violin top, would look if it were on a flat top rather than an arched one, by mapping the heights on a flat line, and was i surprised. The bass bar runs almost the length of the violin and sits directly under the instruments gstring.
Starting with an oversize bar, the luthier carefully removes wood from the bar and retests until he reaches the point where removing wood no longer improves the chladni pattern shapes. At the lower end of the bass bar toward the end pin mark this measurement plus 0. Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and oneofakind products and gifts related to your search. The bass bar serves to prop up the arching as well as tune the plate and put it in balance.
Experimental modal analysis on a violin with three different tensions of a bass bar is performed. He is a site with some detailed info on tuning with chladni patterns. Lashof violins is one of the repair facilities for mcps and many other local music stores, serving other school systems and other regions in the greater washington, d. Repair crack with cleats maple or spruce cut to a traversing support cleat that holds crack together. This also covers a small crack to the edge of the upper left bout of the top, and to a minor crack running from the lower edge of the bass cbout downwards for about 3 cm. How to adjust the intonation on a hofner bass our pastimes. It strengthens the violin and adds depth to the sound.
Fiber is black, pear wood is somewhat reddish, and maple is white or stained black. Extreme weather can cause open seams and even bad cracks that are difficult and expensive to repair. Bass violins were usually somewhat larger than the modern cello, but tuned to the same nominal pitches or sometimes one step lower. It does mention the violin bass starting in 1974 and speculates that the replicas might have lasted thru 76, perhaps early 77.
As shown in the photos above, we have an example of a crack that runs about 2 inches above the left fhole of a viola. Gold label violin bass eco black this item is temporarily out of stock 1. It very easy to use, it will be the best solution for the luthier. Jun 25, 2016 finally finished fixing the cracks and setting cleats, bass bar, and neck. Put the bass bar back in place and move it about 2 mm up and down, as in fig. The role and romance of the bass bar strings magazine.