th£ Violin Makers ffournal

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1962

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF

THE VIOLIN MAKERS ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

JOSEPH ORTO

(Sec article, p. 14)

I ssued as an Educationa l Feature to encourage and develop the art of violin making.

I

• Eudoxa Flexocor

Complete line of Violinists & Makers Supplies. Send for Art Catalogue.

Oi stri butors of Pi rastro Wondertone Strings in Canada

George Heinl� Toronto J am es C r 0 f t & Son, Win nip e g

Peate Music Supplies, Montreal Landers Distributors Ltd., Vancouver, B.C.

'UltaH lmfort Comfan( 5948 3Itlantic Blv�. + m9(WOO�t Calif+ + U+S.3I.

Strinsed Instruments and Accessories + Old roaster 'Bows + Violins + Violas + Celli + 'Rare 'Books Write for Catalogue and Price List. Discount to Maker and Musicians.

OLD ITALIAN CREMONA VARNISH FOR VIOLINS

Fillers for Tone

Stoin for Shading Easily Applied

Made from Fossil Resins

ALL COLORS INCLUDING NATURAL

Oil or Spirit

Prices Postpaid 2 0%. $1.50 4 0%. $2.50 8 0%. $4.50

S. K UJAWA 1958 East Hawthorne St. Paul 19, Minn., U.S.A.

WILLIAM REEVES Bookseller Ltd.

Considerable stock of Scarce Books

on the Violin Family and Violin Making

Books on Music in all its Branches

SEND FOR CATALOGUE

1 a Norbury Crescent,

London, S.W. 16, ENGLAND

Keep in Contact with the Players, They are Your Customers

The American String Teachers Association is a non-profit

musical and educational organization established in 1946. It serves string and orchestra teachers and students.

Promotes and encourages professional and amateur string

and orchestra study and performance.

The American String Teachers Association has a develop­

ment and progressive program which includes:

1. Summer Workshops for string teachers and amateur chamber music players. 1960 conferences were held at Colorado Springs, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Put-In-Bay, Ohio and I nterlachen Michigan.

2. Publications. A newsletter STRING TALK is published

four times each year. The Official Journal, AMERICAN STRING TEACHER is now published four times each

year.

ASTA has many other valuable publications available.

The AMERICAN STRING TEACHERS ASSOCIATION is only

$5.00 per year. If you are intere .. ted in supporting the art

of string playing AST A is your organization.

Your ASTA contact is:

Robert H. Klotman, 70 N. Broadway, Akron, Ohio, U.S.A.

uke Violin jiake'lJ ;}oUhnal A Non-Profit Magazine Published every six weeks

by The Violin Makers Association of British Columbia

MEETIN GS HELD THE SECOND SA TURDA Y

OF EACH MONTH AT 4360 MAIN STREET.

Opinions expressed and statements made in this paper are not necessarily those of the publishers; Editorials not necessarily those of the Association.

Vol. S no. 7 C ON T E N T S September-October, 1962

Page �ditoria 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • (I • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • " • • • • " • • • (I • • • • • • 0 • • • • • (I • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 2

Local Notes • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 3

A Prescott Double Bass, by Francis Harlow • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 4

The Technique of Violin Making, by Harry Wake • • • • . • • • • . • • • . • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • . • . • • • . • • • • . • S

Supplementary Information about the Microtone System by Kristian Skou • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • . • • • . . • • • 7

The Scientific Approach, by John C. Moessinger • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 9

"Oh Go to the Bee Thou Sluggard;' by Clyde Banks • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13

Testimonial, by C. N. Cardozo • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 13

Living Makers and their Instruments Ooseph Orto), by Victor Angelescu • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 14

Structure of the Wood of Violins, by Joseph Michelman • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 16

Book Review - 1,000 Bows by J. A. Bolander, Reviewed by Carl Farseth • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 17

Vibration Pattern, by Arthur Walker

Native Woods of B. C., Description of Wood, What They Mean, by Leo D. Larsson • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Fiddle Fix, by Harry Wake • • • • . • • • . • . • . • . . • • • . • • • • . • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . • •

The Adjusting of String Instruments, by Henry Littlcboy

The Case for the Modern Violin, by C. F. G. Welstead

The String Section, by Carmen White, Conductor

"The Small Stradivari", Book Review, by Harry Wake

Wolf Notes by The Editor • . . . . . • . • • • . • . • • • • . . . • . . . • • • • • • • • . • • . • • • . • • . . • • • . . . • • . • • • • • • • • • • . • • . •

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If you do not receive your copy of the Violin Makers Journal within reasonable time, please advise us. Notify us promptly of any change of address.

For advertising space apply to the Editor. "The Journal goes right into the Violin Makers Home"

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Lithographed by Apex Printing, Vancouver, B. C., Canada

EolIORIAt PAGE OF uke Violin -Atake'l3 JoUltnal DON WHITE, EDITOR-MANAGER

The Violin Makers Journal is distributed free to all "Active" Members and ''Associate'' Members. Active Membership is limited to British Columbia. Associate Membership is open to anyone interested in String Instruments. Associate Mem­bership fee is $4.00 per year. Back copies may be obtained. When paying by cheque please add 2S¢ to cover exchange. Advertising rates may be procured from the editor. Published at 4631 West 14th Avenue, Vancouver 8, B. C. Address all communications, and make all remittances pay­able to Don White, 4631 West 14th Avenue, Vancouver 8, B. C., Canada.

WHAT IS A VIOLIN GU E S T E D I T O RIA L S

To the concert artist the violin is a means of expressing something within himself for which there are no words, or a means of recreating a few momcnts of beauty some other artist may have felt a hundred years ago. To a mountaineer in his isolated cabin it is a companion on lonely nights, it is peace at the end of a long weary day. To the blind beggar on a street corner it is a mcans of putting a few bits of food in a forever empty stomach. To a ten-year-old bay taking his first lessons it is a clever trick thought up by grown-ups to keep him away from the baseball diamond, but his parents are equally sure that it is an oriental instrument of torture. To a young couple sipping champagne at a candle-lit table, it is romance. To the farmers gathered in the schoolhouse on Saturday night it is fun and relaxation, do se do and swing 'em high. To a band of gypsies gathered around a campfire it is joy and sorrow, the long story of their past and their hopes for the future.

What is a violin to the violin maker? First it is a tree - - a while spruce high in the Tyrolean Alps majestically standing guard over all the lesser shrubs below, or clinging to the peaks of the Great Smokies and thrusting its crown above the clouds. It is a lonely maple tree growing further down the mountain, twisted and scarred by a thousand battles with the wind. It is a piece of wood carefully split and stored away for years of aging, or a cupboard door fashioned by a pioneer, or an old chest gathering dust in a forgotten attic, or even the top of a packing crate. Violin wood, like gold, is where you find it.

To a violin maker the violin is many contented hours of painstaking carving, fitting and .glueing, and in that final moment when a resined bow first kisses the strings it is a feeling akin to what Leonardo Da Vinci must have felt when he first stepped back to look at the completed Mona Lisa.

Dave Sturgill

A MASTERPIECE IS CREATED NOT MADE Really, there are many Makers of the Violin, but only a few Creators of it. Why Creators, but not Makers?

Because to make something is like to make some good furniture, t-hat again means to take good wood, to do nice, clean job, fine finish and to put the piece in the right place. That is all thz.t is needed: the piece should be nice looking to the eyes and longlasting (latter not necessarily today. )

Up to this point is also the Violin making only a Making, i. e. it can have the very best wood, the finest possible finish. Besides, the Violin can have the finest accessories, fittings, with gold and mother-of-pearl inlays, the best super­sensitive strings, etc. So far is the Violin like good furniture; it is nice looking for the eyes only. Now we take also the best available bow, with gold trimmings • • • Why with gold trimmings? Simply because it makes the bow more expensive, which usually means the "best in quality" (! ) And so, we take this golden bow and make some nice strokes on the best-wood, best-finish, best-trimmings, best accessories and best-strings Violin. And while doing so, we start to hear (not to see, and for better results we can even close our eyes to get" blind") the sound waves, which come out and fill the room(s). And only now we will know whether we have the Violin just m a d e 0 r C r e a t e d • • •

C r e a t e d - when ,ou feel that with every stroke of the bow you start to feel and even hear the beats of your heart in unison with the tones of the Violin. Then, and only then, you know that you have er e a t e d an immortal instrument -the real V i 0 1 i n .

But if you have to rush back to your worktable and try to change the position of the soul - the sound post - about half a dozen or more times - or to take some wood off from the outside of the belly or the back, - or even to open the instrument, to make some mysterious scratchings on the inside, - that will mean that you have "lost the fight" and that you are opening a coffin (you can do that any time with a violin). But with all your efforts you will not be able to raise the dead and this will mean that you have only m a d e the instrument - dead sound in a golden trimmed coffin • • •

My advice: never change something in a violin you have made, let it stay as it is - try to correct your mistakes when you make the next one. A good violin does not have to be changed, only adjusted in the right way. 409 W. 'School House La. -Philadelphia 44, Pa., U. S. A-. Arturs Butdis

2

LOCAL NEWS

The most noteworthy event since our list issue is

the Annual Hobby Show Competition. This was held in

connection with the huge Provincial Exhibition the latter

part of August to September 3rd.

The association's Booth again proved one of the

center attractions. It won the Bronze Medal as being the

third best Booth at this important annual event. Credit

for this splendid achievement must go to our energetic

President, Mr. Ragnar Helin, who almost single handed

arranged the exhibit and decorated the Booth. Thanks must

also be extended to the faithful members who brought in

their instruments for exhibit and competition. Many with

no particular thought of prize winning but in order that

there might be plenty of instruments to make a worthwhile

display. This spirit of loyalty is much to be commended.

Competition was most keen, there being violins

from the U. S. A. and Eastern Canada, and one from far-off

Australia.

There were around 35 instruments for competition,

including violins, violas, one cello and one Double Bass,

two bows and two miniature violins.

Mr. Cardo Smalley, the official Judge of the Hobby

Show, Musical Instrument section, was presented with no

easy task and performed his duties to the general satisfaction

of all the members. While Mr. Smalley did reduce the

number of points given for workmanship and finish "N. P. "

feels that there is still too much emphasis on finish and

not enough on tone. This being a hobby show the line is

hard to draw • . A craft show must necessarily display skill

of craftsmanship. We thank Mr. Smalley for, perhaps, a

rather thankless task.

The prizes awarded to members and associate mem­

bers were as follows:

Violins:

Se�ond t 1st prize, Ragnar Helin, Vancouver

2nd prize, Earle Sangster, Dallas Texas

2nd prize, Peder Svindsay, Vancouver

3rd prize, Don White, Vancouver

3

Cello:

Double

Bass:

by "N. P. "

2nd prize, George Wright, Vancouver

2nd prize, Ron Chapman,

New Westminster Violin Bow: Peder Svindsay, Vancouver - first priz� Honour Mention, miniature violin, George Friess, Vancouver

The Don White Trophy for Best Toned Violin was won by

Ragnar Helin.

Floyd Holly was awarded a first prize and The Cardo

Smalley Cup for a Display of three matched instruments.

These were a separate exhibit on the floor of the Hall.

Now a few words about the instruments. The first

prize violin was an exceptionally fine instrument, strong

mellow tone and workmanship of the finest order. Mr.

Smalley played this instrument nearly every evening at a

concert held in connection with the Exhibition. It upheld

Solo requirements in every respect. An outstanding violin!

Congratulations to Mr. Helin! (our President).

Two 2nd prizes were a warded. The violin by Peder

Svindsay, our Master Craftsman, was a fine instrument of

faultless workmanship. We are proud to have such a maker

in our group.

The Judge felt that Earle Sangster's violin was not

quite as good as either of the two violins Earle sent up to

the Show a few years ago, both of which won firsts,just the

same it was a splendid violin with that "Old" tone so

desired by Soloists. The workmanship was very fine.

The third prize violin, by Don White, fell down as

to workmanship but secured high points for tone. Had the

finish been up to the high standard set by the other instru­

ments it might have been placed higher. Two new features

were incorporated in this instrument, an inside brace and a

three piece top. Don hopes to tell you about these some

time. Two violins, one by Cid Welstead, Australia, and

one by Tom White, Ontario, Canada, only just failed to

win. Both splendid instruments.

Mr. George Wright's cello was "a little heavy'but a

fine instrument while Peder Svindsay's bow was, as usual,

a masterpiece of workmanship.

The Double Bass by Ron Chapman arrived at the

Show too late for the regular judging but after seeing it

Mr. Smalley considered it should be awarded a prize. A

work of art and tone. All fittings and even the machine

head were handmade. A nice job, Ron ! The two m inia­

ture violins attracted special attention. The one by

George Friess, perfect in every detail, is the same one

that was presented to Mr. Cardo Smalley last Christmas in

recognition of Mr. Smalley 's interest and h elp to our

group. The other made by William Tullock should receive

words of praise. A gentleman, past 90, to achieve such

detailed work, is something few can duplicate.

In all, a very successful Show. We again thank

Mr. Smalley for his careful judging, also thanks to all

those members who attended at the Booth answering the questions of a very large and interested crowd of

visitors.

A PRESCOTT DOUBLE BASS

by Francis R. Harlow, 1045 16th Street

Wyandotte, M ichigan, U. S .A.

For some years I have been the proud possessor of a

" Prescott" B ass. It is labelled: ABRAHAM PRESCOTT,

Deerfield, N. H. I am told Prescott was a carriage and

umbrella maker who lived in the early 1 800 's and did make

basses of some merit. Some refer to them as " church"

basses because they were designed to lead the singing in

church. Most of the instruments I have seen and were

pointed out to be Prescott 's, had a shape similar to the

Klotz pictured in Introduction to the String Bass by Elgar.

A bassist in Detroit has a Giovanni Lolio, 1739 (Italian)

which also has the same shape. There are some indications

about my instrument which lead me to believe Prescott

didn 't make it but assembled it from parts from another

instrument. It is the only bass I own, and it is used con­

stantly. The wear and tear on it is slowly breaking it up

which is usually the way most basses go sooner or later.

I have measured the contour width across the lower bout

and have noted a change of 5/8ths of an inch from a time

of low humidity to a time of high humidity during the

year ! Is it no wonder they crack so often and badly ? For

your information, I have copied the principal dimensions

h ere so that you may consider it when selecting wood:

top bout width 2 1 "

bottom bout width

waist width

body length

ribs

vibrating string length

total length

27 1/4"

13 5/8"

46"

7 1/2"

42 3/4"

74 3/4"

The top is, two pieced, flat back, semi-slab cut

open grain maple about 1/4 inch thick. The ribs are of a

highly figured maple. The top is made in four pieces. The

center two pieces are 8" \'Vide with the sap grains running

from 5 to 10 to the inch. The " mngs" or side pieces are

of a much closer grained wood wh ich resembles white pine!

4

Could this be? The top thickness seems to average about

5 -6mm over all. Several y ears ago, the top was badly

split. This was repaired and at the time my repairman

advised adding some thickness to the center and a h eavier

bass bar. This did add sonority. This past year, it was

re-necked and the string length increased 1/2" to its

present length. At the same time the neck angle was

reduced by increasing the shoulderblock height above the

top. My repairman was very reluctant to do this and only

went half way with me, but this did add greatly to the

sonority and response in play ing. (For which I am grate­

ful.) At this point, I raise the question. What determines

the angle of the neck? One opinion says to strike a line

along the rib-top glue joint to the nut. Establish the bridge

h eight and string height above the fingerboard and this

will determine the shoulder-block height at the neck block.

Another opinion states that the neck angle should be set by

striking a line across the rib-back glue joint and extend it

to the eye of the scroll. Frankly, I don 't see what the

scroll has to do mth it since scroll shapes do vary in size.

I do hope the Journal can stimulate some interest

in the cause of bass making. Some bass players in this

area have become interested in Mr. Elgar ' s book since I

secured my copy from Wm. Lems [, Son, Chicago. Mr.

Elgar has informed me he is now collecting more inform­

ation for another book and would like to have interested

persons send h im photographs and dimensions of instruments

of merit. Perhaps this could be a proj ect for the member­

ship. I, for one, am very grateful for the information I

have received through the JOURNAL and the contact that

I did make mth Mr. Elgar. The bass is not a " rumbling

monster." It is a pity that instrument makers have neg­

lected to leave any information about their products.

* * * * * * * *

The Tec h n ique of V i o l i n Maki ng

B Y (continued from August issue)

H a r ry

Continue the cut right through in a straight line and it shoul d j ust touch the outside edge of the scroll, if it doesn't, there is something wrong and you must do it over, however assum ing that all is well, we will now prepare the wood.

The wood for neck and scroll can be purchased through the suppliers and usually runs in size about 1 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches; plane off the face for the finger ­board first, making sure that it is true and flat, as all fur­ther work wil l be from this true face; mark a centerline down the length of the p iece on the finished face; you will now decide the overall width of your widest point which will be at the ears of the scroll; the average width at this point is 155/8" , however some makers use 1 3/4" while others who are probably restricted by the thickness of mat­erial available make them a little less; having decided this point of width, a line is drawn on each side of the centerline and the block reduced in thickness to the lines dra wn, so that you will now have three sides square and true and the block will be as thick as the widest point which as we have noted is across the scroll ears; another line is now drawn on the finished front face at right angles to the center­line to indicate the top edge of the scroll; about an inch or so below this you put another line for the centerline of the scroll button.

The paper patterns are now glued one on each side of the block with the fingerboard edge of the paper exactly at the edge of the neck block and with the centerline of the scroll button on the paper lining up with the button center ­line you previously put on the finished face of the wood; hav ing both paper patterns glued to the wood, one on each side, we are ready to start some cutting; the ideal tool for this job is a bandsaw; if you don 't have one by all means get one if you intend doing much f iddle work, a small machine having about ten inch throat clearance is ample and you can sometimes pick them up second hand quite reason ­ably; with a'one eighth inch width saw blade i n the machine make the first cut to remove the excess wood at the front of the scroll; start the cut on the line from the bottom of the peg box up and under the head; try to keep the cut as close to the line as possible and take it easy ; when you have reached the end of that line you must back out again and start the next cut from the front and cut under the scroll head to remove the first piece of excess wood; you can now remove the top front comer leaving a small flat area at the front of the scroll; then starting at the top, make the cut

Wake " for the curve of the back of the head; thIS cut you Will not need to back out of, because when you reach the bottom of the head, you can continue the cut to the outside of the block to remove the piece, and then start another cut under the head for the beginning of the neck; this line you need not be too fussy about as long as you stay outside of the line; continue down to the bottom and follow the line to the outside of the block when the piece will fall a way: You now have the 'handle ' in the rough, and strange enough it looks something like a neck and scroll, however there is a long way to go y et: Now you should still have the lines on the front face indicating the position of the bottom of the peg box and the nut ; the neck should be a little better than 7/ 8th inch width at the top of the fingerboard, so measure 7/ 16th inch each side of the centerline at this point and make a mark; at the bottom of the neck, at the point where you marked for true cut off 5 3/4" from the bottom of the peg box, the neck will be 1 1/4" wide, so make a small mark 5/8" on each side of the centerline; , using a straight edge or ruler, draw a clean line on each side of centerline from the nut to the bottom, this should outline the true face of the neck 7/8" across at the top, and 1 1/4" across at the bottom . The outline of the peg

5

box will now be drawn on the upper front where you made the first cut. D on't make the peg box too skimpy ; one inch across is good, tapering to 7/8" at the bottom of the peg box, there is some latitude allowed here as everyone has their own ideas as to form, the main points are to leave the peg b0x wide enough and not to leave the walls or cheeks too thin, having the lines marked to outline the peg box the excess wood can now be removed from each side of neck and scroll, this is done on the bandsaw; with the flat face of the neck facing upward start the cut at the bot­tom and follow the line up; stay just outside the line and watch yourself when you reach the peg box; better to stay well away from the line rather than take a chance of cutting in and spoiling the shape that you have so carefully drawn on the wood; on reaching the head of the scroll without touch ­ing i t with the blade, back out of the cut, then with a small hand saw remove the piece; repeat this on the other side of the neck and another step is completed; this is tricky work but with patience and care you should have little difficulty.

You will notice now that there is very little paper remaining on the work, but that which remains on the scroll is important, it being our only guide for cutting the spirals; with a sharp point make p in pricks through the paper

right on the lines of the spiral; then make a new centerline

right up the b ack, over the top and under the head; on

e ach side of this centerline at the top of the scroll mark

the width, and once again; don't make this skimpy; a good

idea at this point is to use a finished sc roll as a guide and

dra w your lines freehand on both sides of c e nterline for the

gradually narrowing upper part and the graceful curves of

the front outline of the scroll; with these lines to mark

your limits you begin your cutting; starting at the upper

part of the peg box where the spiral begins, remove a

small piece at a time from each side, by making a verti­

cal cut just outside the line of the spiral and then making a

horizontal cut to remov e the piece, and watch your lines

carefully all the time because it's very easy to go over; one

small piece at a time on e ac h side, the pieces gradually

getting smaller as you ascend the spiral and you will have

the scroll roughed out; be very careful how you hold your

work in the vise when doing the sawing, don't squeeze too

tight in the vise as there is danger of breaking off the head

of the scroll.

You will now need two or three small gouges from

1/8th" or so up to about 3/8" and with these you can start

whittling; you have the lines on the work, and as you make

your cuts a round the spiral you will have to remark them in

places, watch the spiral outline closely and you should have

little difficulty, use a finished scroll as a guide and have

patience; you can next put the fluting on both sides of

centerline up the back and over the top; carry it well under

the head and don't be afraid to make them deep enough,

especially under the head. S and the work well all over

and put a flat or champfer on the edge all the way around

from the button of the scroll right around the outline of

the peg box, this will leave a finished appearance and

remove the fragile sharp edge before we start to rough out

the peg box. The excess wood is removed from the peg

box by first drilling a few holes to give the chisels a start.

Be careful with the drilling and watch the thickness at the

b ack of the peg box to be sure that you don't go through.

Leave plenty of wood in the cheeks or sides, about 3/16"

or so is good for this. Remove the wood from well under

remember that the neck will sit on the fiddle body ::1t an angle, so this will not be a true vertical cut, it w.ill be however a true v ertical from the bottom face which was cut at an angle; this a ll sounds confusing but it is really quite simple. Y OLl now decide on the width of the small end at the bottom of the neck, 5/8" or a little better is good for this so make a c enterline on the work and put lines 5/16" on e ach side of it, transfer these points to the bottom face and draw two lines on the bottom from the corners at the

fingerboard fa ce to the 5/8" dimension at the back end

where the rieck will rest against the button, cut away the

excess wood and finish off neatly the sides th8:t will be

fitted into the upper block of the fiddle.

The neck can now be hand held in place on top of

the fiddle and a few rough checks made as to correct angle and string length; remember that the neck wil l be

set into the upper block about a quarter inch and that the nut will be placed at the end of the fingerboard; the

string length will be 13" or a sixte enth inch less than this, and the distanc e from the bottom of the nut to the top edge of the fiddl e top or b elly , will be 5 1/8"; set the neck on the fiddle with all center lines lined up properly, and using

the base of the neck as a guide, mark two lines on t he top of the fiddle for cut out area and remove the wood to a

depth of 3/16" for a start; cut the mortise true and flat on

the face and go easy on the sides as you will want the neck

to l)e a snug fit in the mort ise. Having the mortise prepared,

you can push the neck in tight and check again for string

length from the nut to the inside nicks of the 'F ' holes,

check the 5 1/8" dimension from the bottom of the nut to

top edge of b e l ly, and you c an check the angle of the n eck

setting by sighting a l ong the edge of the b ack which should

line up with the button of the scroll. It is most likely that

you may have to go a little deeper with the mortise to

bring the measurements right, however with c areful work

you can make all n:easurements coincide. Watch also for

true square ness of the neck in the fiddle. To check this,

push the neck in the mortise and secure with a small clamp

if necessary, turn the fiddle on its side and set a pair of

c a l ipers to the distance from table top to scroll button. Turn

the head to give plenty of clearan c e for the 'A' string peg the fiddle over on its opposite side and the distance should

and finish the inside straight and true; with this accomplished be the same; if not, you must take a little more wood out of

you can now sand the head and scroll all over to remove any the mortise on one side to correct the error; it doesn't take

blemishes that might have occurred while chiseling out the much so be careful. When you are sure that all is correct

peg box. The peg holes will be drilled and re amed later so you c a n put together with hot strong glue and clamp. Make

now we will prepare to fit the n eck to the fiddle body. a final check after clamping for trueness of setting and put

aside overnight. The button and adjacent top edge of the

Cut off the bottom of the neck block exactly on the back are next trimmed to correct finish size and the neck

line that you marked at an angle of 7 1/2 degrees a nd 5 3/4' trimmed to shape. Don't leave the neck too thick, about

from the bottom of the peg box; measure on the fiddle body

at the upper block the distance from inside the b ack to the

front face of the belly and add 1/4" to this me asurement,

this will be the exact length of the bottom of the neck so

you can mark this dimension on the bottom face by putting a line across; the excess wood here will be cut off but

6

half an inch or even a little less is fin e ; sand to a smooth

finish and we will next prepare to dril l holes for pegs J.nd

tailpin.

S upp l emen ta ry Info r m a t ion about The

Mic rotohe Syste m by Kristian Skou

(continued from August issue)

Seen from a physical point of view it seems obvious

that such a structure will give other conditions for the

formation and trans-formation of vibrations in the wood,

different from those in recent wood. Flexural vibrations in

wood are mainly established by alternating pressure and

pull with corresponding shortening and lengthening of the

fibres, but while wood to some extent can be pressed to­

gether, it can hardly be stretched (without cracking).

When we are bending the ribs, the fibres of the concave

side will be pressed together, but the convex side will not

be prolonged. By flexural vibrations this effect is of a less

scale of course, than by bending the ribs, but the resistance

of the fibres against stretching is very great, and it is

greater in recent wood, with its unbroken molecular chains,

than with old wood where the chains are broken, whereas

the resistance against the pressure will be nearly the same.

All things considered the flexural vibrations will be

facilitated in the old wood, the pressure effect being suffi­

cient to transfer the vibrations, but the resistance against

the stretching so much lowered that longitudinal vibrations

(of high pitch) are not so easily formed, and the plates as

a whole will be better adapted to the formation of sub­

harmonic series. I think a certain moderage degree of

decomposition of the molecule chains, such as in wood

one hundred years old, or a little more, will give the best

result for violin making, whereas a more advanced decom­

position will only be a drawback, resulting in lack of

brilliance and intensity in tone.

Dr. Saunders tells me that professor Pasqualini in

Rome very soon will publich an important work on the

effect of age. It will be interesting to see, if we will

come to the same conclusions.

Rule 5. (Excuse my digressions - I hope the readers

elasticity? Often it will only be a matter of definition.

What is "inner friction"? Well, perhaps we can say that

inner friction in the wood is every braking effect in the

wood that will cause vibration energy converted into heat,

that is vibration energy lost for the emitted sound energy.

But to some extent this may also be the effect of rule 2 and

rule 3b. The rules for tap tone pitch can be set up in a

rather simple equation. A corresponding equation for

microtone pitch will be rather complicated - at any rate

I think it will exceed my mathematical capability.

But returning to our fully damped plate in the start

of this passage. Such a plate is not a violin plate. No,

but microtones are not particularly attached to violins.

They can be produced in every firm material and I have

taken this example to show a microtone without disturbance

from other sources, partly also to show that a microtone

has nothing to do with the airtone of the violin (which has

been supposed). And when building a new violin we tune

the plates before they are glued to the ribs, that is, no

airtone is mixed up with them. We can also test the plates

for microtones afterwards, of course, (we have to do this).

But do we have to damp the plates by our fingertips or

otherwise by testing their microtones? If we want to be sure

we are testing the microtones - yes! But in practice (and I

have written my articles for the practical working violin

maker) we can usually obtain a satisfactory result without

damping, if only we tap gentle enough. But now and then

we have to damp the plates if we are in doubt, especially

along free edges.

For the final tuning of the violin (the violin assem­

bled with only the top plate loose) I can outline a proced­

ure I think many makers will be able to perform with

greater ease and greater exactness than I have hitherto

described. Place the loose top on the ribs (the little plug

of hardwood through the little hole in the bottom end of

will not have forgotten, we are comparing the rules for tap the top will place it correctly). Place the violin on a sup-

tone pitch and microtone pitch !). This rule I have only port resting on the edge. Now (supposing you are not left

given for the microtone pitch, to which the archings are of handed) place the thumb of your left hand on the top, and great importance. The acute archings of the bouts of the ribs,the middle finger on the back with only a gentle pressure

for example, will often, with a thickness of 1 mm, give a in the two corresponding areas you will test. In your right

higher microtone pitch than neighbouring areas of the plates

much thicker. To a certain degree the rule is also valid for

tap tones, but I find it less important here.

I am a ware that some of these rules to some extent

are overlapping each other. For example, what will be the effect of "inner friction", and what the effect of flexural

7

hand take a bit of electric wire covered with rubber or

plastic. Use this as a little drumstick in 5 or 6 rapid, but

very gentle tapping close to the damping fingers, and com­

pare the microtone pitch in the corresponding areas of top

and back. I think that many makers who are not able to

determine the pitch of the very short sound from a single tapping will be able to perceive the pitch from the rapidly

repeated tapping. I can do this with greater ease myself.

It has been objected that I cannot take the pitch

from a certaiL little area of a plate by tapping this area

without the vibrations running to the farthest end of the

plate and from there be reflected, and thus the pitch of

the tapped area will be the pitch of the whole vibrating

plate, which again involves that 1 cannot get different

pitch from different areas of the plate. Chladni should

have stated this by saying that "when a plate (of wood) is

tapped the waves in the wood travel to all parts of the

wood". This statement is valid for a freely vibrating

plate, not for a damped plate. It is valid for tap tones,

not for microtones. Chladni's statement should refer to

any sort of tones, and my statement should imply either

that Chladni was wrong, or microtones are not tones.

Well, microtones are not pure tones, as they are mixed

up with noise (the same can to some extent be said about

ordinary tap tones), but they are so nearly tones, that we

can perceive their pitch. But I think Chladni did not know

anything 3.bout microtones - at any rate, 1 cannot remember

he has given expression to such a knowledge.

But let me try to illustrate the problem. 1 do not ,

like very much to use waves on the surface of water as an

analogy to sound waves in a vlolin because they differ in

nearly every respect, and we cannot use the behaviour of

water w:;tves as a proof for anything that happens in a vio­

lin, neither in the plates, nor in the air volume, but, of

course, when realizing that, and because water waves are

nearly the only form for waves we can observe directly by

our eyes, we can use water waves figuratively, and I will

also do that to demonstrate the different character of ordin­

ary tap tones and microtones.

The scene is a fjord in Greenland (1 go to Greenland

nearly every summer for geological research. ) Hundreds of

icebergs are floating in the water. Now and then a huge

iceberg is "calving" (Breaking into pieces) with a thunder­

like rumble. The water round the iceberg is raising

several meters in height, and great water waves are radia­

ting from the spot with a (for waver waves) enormous speed,

and washing wide up on the shore. (From a wave length of

1. 7 cm the speed of water waves is increasing with the size.)

For less than this wave length the waves will travel faster

again because the surface-tension is involved. The speed

of flexural vibrations in a violin plate is increasing with

the frequency, because the longitudinal factor is increasing

with the frequency. (I shall explain this later. ) And the

speed of the longitudinal waves in the air is the same, of

course, for all frequencies and all amplitudes). Also very

small pieces of ice, e. g. , an icicle that breaks, will now

and then fall into the water from an iceberg, and also in

that case water waves radiate from the spot but their speed

is rather slow, their energy being very little compared with

the mass (and its damping) of the surrounding water. These

waves will die out very soon, and they will never reach the

8

shore.

The proportion between ordinary taptones and

microtones is analogous with the proportion between the

waves from a "calving" iceberg and the small waves from

a dropping icicle.

As there can be many small radiating wave sys­

tems' at the same time on a great water surface without

disturbing each other, we can also at the same time pro­

duce several microtones (of the same pitch - or of different

pitch) in a violin plate, but of course, in practice we take

them one by one.

I can also use another example as an illustration:

an earthquake and its action on the earth.

From the very spot of the earthquake (the hypo­

centre) waves of different character are radiating, but only

in an area (the epic entre) above the hypocentre the effect

of the earthquake is directly destroying. On the other side

of the earth the effect of the waves is so faint that it cannot

be perceived by our senses - only by means of a seismo­

graph. When testing the microtone pitch from a little

area of a plate only this little area emits sound waves

with an effect we can perceive by our ear. In all other

areas of the plate the vibration energy is too faint to give

any audible effect, and there will be no reflections of

practical interest.

As an insertion I shall here treat the speed of

flexural vibrations in a violin plate Which I said increases

with the frequency, as perhaps this is not quite obvious.

Commonly we call flexural vibrations, transverse vibrations,

but this is not quite correct. Flexural vibrations are a

combination of transverse and longitudinal vibrations.

1.

II.

I • • , , " , ••••• , . , •• , . " . ,-,� • • •• e • • • • • , . _ . , • • " , . " •• • , . II •• • , ••• t f . " . ' • • • f . , • •• • • • , ., • • •• •• •• •••• , . . . . . . . . . . . , . . , . . .. , . . .. . . .... .. .

•• , •• , , •• , , •••• , ..... ...... -4 ....... .... .. � ..... ....

" . , , •• •••• • • e •• , ••• • • •••••• • 'e •• , . ' . .. . .. .. . . . . ... . .. . " ... , . ' ..

, . . . . ' . . . ... ... . , . ... " . , ... ' "

� , • " . 4111 ' • • • •••• • • . ... ...... . • • • ••••• •

Fig. I shows a vertical section of a bit of a non vibrating

plate of homogeneous material, marked with points equi­

distant in lengthwise direction.

Fig. II shows the same bit of the same plate, now

vibrating with flexural vibrations (the amplitude greatly

exaggerated, and the wave length diminished to make it

more obvious). We will find the marked points pressed

together in concavities, and stretched from each other in

convexities. If we project the points from the lower sur­

face on a straight line we will find just the pattern for

longitudinal waves. The upper points will show a similar

pattern, only in opposite phase. For the same amplitude

we will find the longitudinal pattern more pronounced

with short wave lengths (high frequency) than with long

wave lengths (low frequency), i. e. the longitudinal com­

ponent is increasing with the frequency, and as the speed

for longitudinal waves is greater than the speed for

transversal waves in the same material, this means that

the speed for flexural vibrations is increasing with the

frequency. A wooden plate is more complicated, of course,

than a plate of homogeneous material, but the statement

will be valid also for a plate of wood. Further on the longi­

tudinal factor will increase with the thickness of the plate,

this involving that high, shrill overtones will be more pro­

nounced in a thick plate than in a thinner one.

THE SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

by John C. Moessinger

2 Danker Avenue

Albany 6, New York

(Comments on Mr. J. Reid's Editorial in the June-July Issue)

The modern scientific achievements have had such

an impact on the imagination of the people, that the word

Science has become a sort of magic key, expected to open

all doors : it unlocks the flavor of tobacco, solves Einstein's

problems and sells chewing gum.

It may appear that the controversy between scientists

and non-scientists is only one of defining the term Science.

Actually it is much deeper. The popular interpretation of

"Science" tends to simplify the problem by anticipating

that some day an established set of rules, theories and

formulae will permit anyone, with some degree of skill,

to produce the perfect violin. To bring this anticipation

to its proper perspective it is necessary to define what is

meant by the "Scientific approach". Up to the present,

violins have been constructed by following what can be

called the "Pragmatic approach", placing the stress on

practical values as standards for procedures. For instance,

to take Mr. Reid's example, if trials with thick and thin

ribs tend to prove the superiority of the thin ribs, a

pragmatic rule to that effect can be stated. It is not

necessary to know why it works.

On the other hand, for the true Scientific approach,

the thickness of the ribs must be discussed in relation to its

material of construction, its action on the belly and the

back of the violin, etc. , a procedure involving innumer­

able tests, as we shall see later. To show the complexity

of the scientific approach, a very simple example can be

developed. It involves two sets of parts which could be

assembled to produce various experimental violins, to

wit:

2 ribs 2 bellies 2 backs

X and M, Y and N Z and 0

9

We assume that rib X has been tested with plates

Y and Z and that it has been found that the tone is poor at

2 mm. thickness (No. 1), but good at 1 mm. (No. 2).

With these two sets of parts, the following assemblages are

possible:

Assemblage No. Ribs Bellies Backs Tone

1 X (2mm. ) Y Z Poor

2 X (Imm. ) Y Z Good

3 X " Y 0 ? 4 X " N Z ?

5 X " N 0 ?

6 M (2mm. ) Y Z ?

7 M (Imm. ) Y Z ?

8 M " Y 0 ?

9 M " N Z ?

10 M " N 0 ?

In spite of the knowledge obtained in assemblages

Nos. 1 and 2, the tonal quality of the other 8 combinations

cannot be predicted. If we test rib M with Y and Z (Nos.

6-7) and again find that 1 mm. is superior, the concordance

between 2 and 7, permits the formulation of the pragmatic

rule cited above. However, only by using the Scientific

approach can we expect to predict all the others assemb­

lages. But in this case it must be understood that:

"the behavior of the part under the influence of external

forces which tend to stretch, compress or twist, depends on

three major factors: the shape of the part, the dimension

of the part, and the nature of the material. The nature of

the material with respect to its behavior under the

influence of external forces is described by: Strength,

stiffness, elasticity, resilience and toughness. Complete

knowledge of the behavior of a substance with respect to

these five primary qualities involve the knowledge of its

behavior under three forces: tensile, compressive and

shearing. The influence of time, temperature and

moisture on the above mentioned properties is also

important. (Ind. 0- Eng. Chem. Vol. 54, No. 8).

If we tested all these properties with 3 different

p eriods of time, 3 different temperatures and 2 degress of

moisture, the full specification for one part only would

require 1 20 tests.

In view of the uncertainties as to what tonal quality

is, the nature of the wood, and the useful life of the instru­

ment, relying on the scientific approach is merely an illu­

sion. Atomic research is a great deal less complicated

than producing an instrument which is expected to keep

its excellence for 250 years or more. Furthermore, as

we have seen, for the mind unfamiliar with the complexi­

ties of the Scientific approach, its popular appeal tends to

simplify the problems and, more important, to belittle the

reliance on the advice and knowledge of the true craftsmen.

The first condition for making improvements is for the

inventor to have a complete awareness of needs and con­

ditions. It has been said that during the last war, when

submarines threatened war communications, over 100, 000

inventions pertaining to naval warfare were sent to the

Navy D epartment by lone inventors, some of them scien­

tists. About 10 ideas were found of some importance but

finally none was ever used in actual warfare. A back­

ground knowledge of needs and conditions -is acquired

solely by long experience in the craft, by trial and error,

by failure and success.

The automobile industry, where scientific research

is indeed highly developed, furnishes an example of the

limitations of the scientific approach. Mr. Ferrari, the

builder of the world famous racing cars, machines of the

utmost precision, is reported to have said: " Th e birth of

an engine is only technically different from the birth of

a man. Why is it that some engines, like some men,

give up easily, and others never? Out of four or five

built at the same time, of identical material and design,

one will have more horsepower and a clear, sure t enor

like voice, while another's voice will be muted, its

power weak. Take it apart, study it, change it in a

thousand ways, and it will never match the other's per­

formance, its strength, its independence. Why is this?

Do they have a soul? I could almost say yes, seeing that

they h ave a voice. " (The National Observer, June 24. 62).

Replace the word engine by violine, and who could des­

cribe with more pathos the tribnlations of th!; " Luthier" ,

and the limitations of Science.

Note :

Abandoning the hope that science will ever give

the know-how for the perfect violin, bring forth a serious

consideration which can be expressed as follows:

"Assuming that someone today is producing violins

which in 200 years will have a Stradivarius-like reputation,

(and this is more than probable), shall we leave enough

information for the future generations, so that they will

know all about the wood, the measurements, the priming,

the varnishing, etc." etc. for each individual outstanding

instrument? "

Or shall we keep them in partial ignorance,

so that they may still indulge in arguing their pet theories,

either on the basis of " Science" , " Pragmatism" , " Extra­

sensory P erception" or just plain "Prophetic Inspiration" ,

as most of us enjoy doing today. "

But this is another subject which involves professional

secrets, which should be argued by someone with greater

knowledge of the problem than I possess. * * * * * * * *

A LEFT HANDED VIOLIN

by H.F . Sleath Brisbane, Australia

I was recently commissioned to prepare for the Professor of Violin at Old State Conservatorium of Music a "left ­handed violin" .

This gentleman, a fine player, and a World Master T eacher, is lately of London. His name is J an S ediyka. This gentleman told me that he wished to study and investigate by actual experience and demonstration the physical and mental aspect of the process of achieving a secure violin technique with everything reversed. That is, with the violin held on the right shoulder andfingered by the left hand. I am sure the process would be bewildering to a con­ventional player.

After having set up and adjusted virtually thousands of conventional violins to have to reverse the position of the Bass Bar and fit every playing adjustment " th e other way" I was almost crosseyed by the time the job was done • • •

and then l. tried to play the instrument • • • Well ! you try it ! .

10

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" OH GO TO THE BEE THOU SLUGGARD CONS IDER HER WAY S AND BE WISE. "

(w ith apo log i e, to the ant ! )

H aving prom iseu you a p icture of my Strad violin, I am sending you a photo that m ight be of interest, espec i a l ly to those members of the assoc i at ion who have a n interest in the idea that Propol i s might h ave been an ingredient in Stra d 's ¥ arn ish . One day this SUlllmer I was p laying my Strad outdoors , and set it down on a bench to rest a b it. Shortly after, a g i ant honey bee al ighted a longside the v iolin and started to sniff at the varnish, waving its fee lers i n an agitated m anner. It stayed r i ght there wh i le I ran to get my camera, and unt i l I p i cked up the violin again.

[ thought th is was pretty strong evidence that th e Propo l is i d e a m ight be correct. S incere ly ,

C lyde Banks, B e l lingham , Wash ington.

* * * * *

Editor's Note : TIle B e e descr ibed by Mr. C ly d e Banks has s inc e been i dent ifieu as a member of the very rare spec ies c la s -s i f i e d as C lydeus J apon i c a . Members may obt a in spe c imens from a n y dep artment store. Be sure a n d look for t h e l ab e l "'rviade in J ap an" .

TESTIMONIAL

Y our J ournal is a most worthy enterprize, not only for its va lue as an informati\,e paper, but because it draws together so many wh o are fascinated by violins but who se ldom meet fellow e nthusi a sts, these being so rare.

On a recent duty trip through Europe I was able to spend some hours in Wittenwald and Wivecourt where I was a� le to v i sit a number of v io l in and bow makers. All were most friendly and prepared to spend considerabl e time talking t� a n ' a m ateur ' . M a ny showed consi derable surprise when shown the latest copy of your J o urnal . T h ey had not exper­i en c e d any such pub l i c at ion in their countries. I know these two towns are often scorned by serious vio l in makers for the ir mass production methods but in fact there are st i l l some v ery g i fted mak ers there and their mass production exper­i qnce has given us all the .accessori e s - -fingerboards, pegs, bri dges and th e l ike, whi ch make l ife so much easier for us ! I ifound some fine woods at WJttenwald and some very well se asoned pernambuco raw sti cks at Wive court. My serv i ce I i'fe does not a l lo w me as much 'mak ing ' t ime as I would wish but when I am well settled in here in G ermany , wher� I e xpect to be for the next two y e ars, [ would very much l ike to try some of your S itka spruce of whi ch I have h eard so much.

I must e nd now or I sha l l m iss ne xt month 's e d it ing !

1 3

M ajor D . N . C ardozo 1st Bn. T h e L ancashire Regiment (P. W . V. )

BFPO 44

(i" . In g m a ke r s A N D t hei r i nstf U«\

,"" e�

THE V IOLINS OF JOSEPH ORTO

by Victor Angelescu

The work of J oseph Orto is little known at present but deserves wider publicity and appreciation. The c areer of this man, who lives and m akes violins at his home in D etroit, M ichigan, is interesting for several reasons. Hungary is his place of origin and he was born in 1 886 in a small town near B udapest. Orto 's father was a wh eel­wright and it was from him that Joseph inherited a love for an knowledge of wood- - informat ion which proved to be of great value when he began th e making of v iol ins. Orto did not follow his father 'S profession or wheelwright, however, and he eventually received a l ic ense as a stationary engineer from the Industri al Museum of T echno ­logy. It was a professional maker in B udapest who first k indled Orto 's enthusiasm for the violin and his first instru ­ment was m ade (at the age of 24) in collaboration with this m aker. But the next year Orto immigrated to America a nd with the responsibilities involved in the raising of a fam ily and settling in a new country, he was unable to pursue actively his new interest, though he did m anage to keep up with new developments in the theoretical aspects of v iolin m aking. Orto always kne w that he would m ake violins, however, and he planned accordingly. Most of the wood used in his v iol ins was cut from logs by Orto over thirty y ears ago .

It was after his retirement from the General Motors D iesel division ten y e ars ago that Orto began making violins in earnest. D uring this period he has completed 21 instruments. The violin illustrated in this issue of the

Journal (front, back, and s ide views) i s number ten and the label states that it was finished in J anuary of 1959.

It i s p atterned after the Dolphin Strad. Orto h as used various p atterns throughout his violin making c areer. Two of his instruments were modeled after the Hoffman (Leipsig) pattern wh ich was once so popular in Europ e, but Orto has since discarded this model. H e has also used the p attern of the late M ichael Bodak, a Detro it maker of a generation ago. But it is the generous proportions of the Dolphin Strad which find most favor with Orto and he

returns to this model again and again, th ough with sl ight variations.

An excellent tona l quality is a prime characteristic of Orto 's violins and h e m akes every effort to cont inuaUy improve the tone of his instruments. As a result of a series of experiments he conducted a few ye ars ago he i s con­vinced that the tonal quality of a v iolin is dependent more upon the b ack pl ate than upon th e top. His search for a good ton e is also reflected in h is concern for th e acoustical properties of various woods. The back wood for some of h is earlier violins was chosen mostly for aesthetic re asons, but Orto now feels that in general it is the plainly f igured maple wh ich is the best tone wood. For the top he prders spruce with the gra in from 1/ 1 6" - 1/8" wide.

Orto modestly refers to himself as , . only a hobby ist" wh e n he speaks of h is interest in violin mak ing. He is ncver sat isfied with his own h andiwork and is always receptiv e to new ideas if he is convinced they are valid. For instan ce, he now follows C armen White 's method of weighing both p l at es and feels that the results are good. He k eeps the top plate at any whcre from 72 - 80 grams. The weight of the b ack plate is left at 1 1 2 grams or more.

Wh en he was asked what advice he could g ive to those new readers of the J ournal who p erhaps m ay not yet have made their first viol in, Orto p aused for a moment in thought and then h is eyes twinkled m errily: " Th e o nly advice I c an give is to tell the novice to s it down and get to work on that first violin. The finer points will come with experienc e. " Orto himself has his chisels sharpened and wood ready for the next year's work -- a p eriod in which he hopes to complete another three or four vi.ol ins.

(See photos on next page. )

* * * * * * * * * * *

F ront, B a c k , and S ide V iews of Joseph Orto IS V io l in

StrUl:ture of the Wood of Violins and Its Influenl:e on Tone

By JOSEPH MICHELMAN

6 3 1 6 Wiehe Road, Cincinnati 37, Ohio, U. S.A.

This article first appeared in the October 1952 issue of violins and violinists published by Wm. Lewis & Son, Chicago, Ill.

The writer wishes to acknowledge assistance kindly given in the preparation of the article to the U. S. Forest Service at

M adison, Wisconsin, and to Ernest N. Doring in editing for publication.

What are the queer spone -like substances illustrated?

Of what interest are they to violinists and violin-makers.

These pictures are of considerable interest to us because

they are actual drawings of the structure of the wood from

which violins and other stringed instruments of the type

are made.

We are indebted to Mr. Donald G. Coleman and

Mr. F. J . Champion of The Forest Products Laboratory, U.S.

Forest Service, Madison, Wisconsin, for permission to use and

publish these illustrations, which are contained in T echnical

Notes No. 209 and 210. Illustration A is a drawing of a cell

structure of a minute block of soft wood--white pine-- from

which the top plate of a violin might be made. Illustration

B is a drawing of the cell structure of a minute block of

hard wood from which the back plate of a violin might be

made.

A glance at these pictures will reveal that " wood

instead of being relatively solid material like steel or con­

crete is seen to be composed of many tubular fiber units, or

cells, cemented together. "

Let us consider for a momel.t what occurs when a

violin is played and tone is produced. Vibrations of the

strings are first communicated by the bridge to the top

plate of the violin. Then the sOWld waves are distributed

with at least two effects: (a) vibration of the top plate as

a whole and (b) transmission of the sound waves t h r o u g h

a n d i n s i d e the wood of the top. Every violinist knows

that the top and back plates vibrate as a whole . But,

the wood of the top also transmits the vibrations to the

sound post and to the sides of the violin, which in turn trans­

mit the sound waves to the wood of the back, which then

vibrates also.

This raises an important question: Is a material

possessing the cellular nature of wood ideal for the trans­

mission of sound?

As these illustrations show, wood is sponge -like in

structure, and the cells of the wood contain air spaces. Wood would sink in water were it not for these air spaces,

16

because the solid weight of the cell wall substance is about one and one-half times as heavy as water, having a den­

sity of 1 . 5 3. A cellular material containing air spaces

may act adversely toward the transmission of sound waves,

in fact, it may dampel, vibrations. This is the b as is for

the construction of some sound absorbing materials which

are intentionally perforated with small holes.

S ince we are considering the .presence of air spaces

in wood and the transmission of sound in wood, it might be

ilJteresting to consider also the velocity of sound in air and

in wood. The velocity of sound in air is 1 129 feet per

second, in pine wood along the fiber 10, 900, and in maple

along the fiber 1 3, 470. The velocity of sound in wood is

approximately ten times as rapid as in a ir--presumably an

average of that in the air spaces and solid cell wall sub­

stance. If the air spaces were reduced, the velocity in

wood m ight be increased and become more uniform.

Theoretically, this should be desirable and contribute to

responsiveness.

In addition, another effect of vibration inside the

wood may occur. It has been recently noted by the writer

that the cellular structure of the wood itself may also be

set in vibration, which was reported in a paper entitled

" Chladnian Movement Inside the Wood of Violins. " 1 It

is doubtful if vibrations of the cellular structure contribute

favorably to the production of a desirable "violin tone" and

to responsiveness.

We should add to these facts that wood is a natural

product, uncontrollable in growth and formation and variable

in composition and structure. Wood is far from being a

homogeneous and uniform substance. Furthermore, wood is

hygroscopic and will absorb or give off moisture, depending

on the humidity of the surrounding air. This results in wood

having a variable moisture content. The inside of a violin,

unvarnished as it is, is exposed to varying atmospheric

condition through the ff holes.

When all these facts are considered, then some

preliminary treatment of the wood is indicated in order

to obtain the maximum beneficial effects on its tone ­

producing properties. The writer in his book "Violin

Varnish" 2 suggested the use of linseed oil. This treJ.t­

ment produces many highly desirable effects, which a

number of violin-makers, -having tried it, also found and

reported. In a discussion of the structure of wood and its

influence on tone, it should be mentioned that the treat­

ment with linseed oil should improve the elasticity and

uniformity of wood, both of which are conducive to the

transmission of sound waves.

" Only God Can Make a Tree" are the words of the

poet. But before it is ideally' suitable to fulfill the exact­

ing demands required by the violin, something is needed

to be done by man to the product of that tree--the wood!

References: 10hio Journal of S cience , Vol: L. , No. 5,

S eptember 1950, page 235.

2 " Violin Varnish, " J oseph Michelman,

Cincinnati 1 3, Ohio ( 1946).

BOOK REVIEW

by Carl Farseth on

B o w M a k i ng

1, 000 Bows and a Tribute

by

J ohn Alfred Bolander

This limited edition booklet is to be followed by a

more detailed account. Let us hope Mr. Bolander will

also reprint the present interesting text. Only five per cent

of the bows credited to the great French maker Francis

Tourte are said to have been made in his shop. But the

future will hold in higher esteem this frank son of Califor­

nia who has shown us all how to make first class bows.

A good preliminary stUdy for violin bowmakers is the

making of archery bows.

For a long time Spanish yew was considered the best

material for the hunter's bow at the very time when the

short composite Turkish bow could outshoot the yew bow two

or three to one . This composite bow had a sinew back, a

hardwood core and bone for its belly. Some modern com­

posite bows have hickory backs. Most self-wood bows are

of yew, osage orange, lemonwood, red cedar, etc.

An archery bow is composed of a thick handle and

two limbs. The side closest to the hunter is the belly and

the far side the back. A violin bow is only half an archery

bow -- the handle (frog) and one limb (the stick).

The stresses in a bow are compression on the belly

side and tension on the back. Excessive compression on

belly causes crushing of wood fiber, which is called

chrysaling, and excessive stretching of back results in

tearing of wood, which is called feathering.

A hickory bow weakens easily on belly side and the

" bow follows the string. " But the solution lies near.

S trengthen the belly on a new bow by widening and flatten­

ing and by narrowing the back.

Mountain ash was frequently used as a bow wood in

Europe in olden times. Such bows dug out of bogs have a

17

wide belly and narrow back.

On the other hand favor a weak hack by widening

and flattening it. Many poor and otherwise unusable woods

would behave reasonably if such precautions were taken.

The English longbow with near circular crosssection

is no longer the fashion with archers; y et the round cross ­

sectioned bow stick is still the violin bowmakers ' model.

About 1930, e ither in Ch icago or Asheville, N. C . ,

the modern heavy handled, p addle limbed bow was born,

wh ich is said to have a ten p er cent greater cast than its

predecessor.

For several years the writer p estered bowyers from

coast to coast with the idea of a heavy, non -bending han:lIe

(a base for the l imbs to kick aga i nst) and C a lifornia Indian

Ishii 's paddl e -limbed bow. Wh ether my efforts inflllenced

any maker I do not know, as I lost interest in archery at

that time.

F rank Barstow, the v io lin maker, believed the handle

should bend too. We made a red cedar bow with an extra

thick (front to b ack) h andle. We flight shot six arrows,

pla ned an eighth -inch off the handle, and repeated the pro ­

cess several t imes. The cast of th e bow kept on diminish­

ing from over 200 yards to 100 yards. Mr. Barstow a lso made

a bow with the grain running the wrong way which became a

wreck in t wo months.

The orthodox cross -section of a v io l in bo w is c i rcll­

l ar. The writer knows of no one experimcLt ing on wide

flat sticks. The Frenchman J . Henry and a few others made

bow sticks with an oval cross -sect ion. Some thirty ye ars

ago a Ba1timore maker made bows of hamboo. Glassfiber

is worth trying.

The modern hammerhead bow is stronger where the

head jo ins the stick because the wood fibers at this weak

point are twice as long as in th e old-fashioned swan -neck

bow. Bolander says the most important part of the bow is

the i ns ide curve where the h e ad meets the stick. He makes

it the arc of a c ircle of 3/ 1 6 inch radius.

Wh at bowmakers called Pernambuco, botanists call

Brazil wood. But don 't say that to a bowmaker with a low

boi l ing point. The white sapwood is adzed off before the

billets are shipped to the States. Pernambuco was in com�

man use as a bowwood b efore Francis Tourte began h i s

famous experiments. These pre -Tourte bows were a lso

reflex, but tightening up the hair humped their backs.

Most P ernambuco billets are from 6 to 10 inches in

diameter and 40 i nches long. Why so sm all when the trees

m ay be 3 to 4 feet i n d i ameter? It may be a problem of

18

timber c utting or the superiority of wood high on the l imb.

The color of wood means nothing to Bolander. But since

many fiddlers prefer dark bows, some bowmakers darken

the sticks in ammoni a fumes in boxes for sev eral weeks,

as Georg Gemunder did with h is wil ite v iolins. The best

st icks show prominent spiegel and rays.

In bending bows with dry heat, there comes a time when the stick seems to melt in one 's h ands, but the

next moment it stiffens. Lay the stick aside now or it

may break. Work on other sticks t ill the bow cools off.

This may have to be repeated several t imes. It may

explain v'Ihy some violin makers have so much trouble

bending ribs.

Bend the stick to the outline of a curved wood

gauge. All T ourte bows are said to have the same curv a ­

ture. What i s that Curvature?

Authorities on the bow have been quoted from Saint

George to F etis. Permit me to introduce another authority.

It is Dr. Frederick Castle on page 204 of his " Violin Tone

Peculiarit ies. " Castle speaking :

" There is truth in saying, 'Tis more difficult to find

a good bow than to find a good v iolin. ' In approaching

dotage I repeat that saying. But two times in fifty y ears

use of the violin do I recollect of holding in h and what I

call a good bow. During those y e ars, I have held in hand

many good viol ins. What I call a good bow is one that

balances at a po int seven inches from the frog; that springs

back into the position of rest with the cel erity of tempered

steel ; that has the lowest point of the 'cambre ' in its upper

third, and well up towards the tip ; one that seems instinct ­

ively to hug th e strings. "

The virtue of P ernambuco is its fast cast. But two

st icks from the same billet may v ary greatly in cast.

Bolander discards all inferior sticks. A ll bowm akers

choose straight-grained, unblem ished v.:ood. Bolander 's

cho i c e is quarter-sawed outside heartwood with th e head

turned towards the p ith of the log.

Bolander stresses a fast cast. Making a bow stock

catapult buck shot should be a s atisfactory test. Since

humidity aLd temperature influence cast, prepare a table

giving all the data. A fast slashing release, limited to a

fixed distance, is necessary.

N ext to a fast cast, Bolander stresses the proper

balance of a bow, but he never shows where this b al ance

is . It is placed at 7 to 7 1/2 inches from the thumb seat

on the frog, which would average 10 inches from the very

tip of th e button.

The frog, button and wrapping all influence the

bal ance of a bow. wrving in the sides wil l lighten the

weight of a heavy frog. The author says bo vl's weigh from 2 to 2 1/4 oz.

Bolander says " for better control of the bow, a low

frog is much easier to handl e . " Average total he ight of

head on a Tourte bow is 7/8 inch and one inch at frog.

But there are bows j ust above 3/4 i nch high at h ead and

7/ 8 at frog.

Th e author also stresses that the frog is harder to

make than the stick. He says a good workman makes most

parts of the bow himself. No viohn maker does that. Even

at the time of S tradivari, spec i a l ists in Paris made bridges,

pegs, tailpieces, fingerboards, bows, necks, v arnish, and,

of course, strings. A nd violin makers in northern Ita l y

bought their wood i n Bresc i a and Venice.

Stradivari employed workers in his shop but they

all were working on Stradivari violins.

Bolander does not varnish his bows but rubs them

with oil, then h ardens them in the sun.

A c ertain stick performs b est with a frog of a

c ert ain height and weight. An adjustable j ury frog should

show the way . With a bow stnmg up with howh a i r of a

c erta in d i ameter, removal of hairs from both s i des should

revea I the best number of h a i rs for subse quent reha iring.

O rdinarily 150 to 200 h a i rs make the ribbon. Tourte used

less than 150, but then h i s h orse ha i r was coars e .

The author soaps the metal slides between frog

and st ick and oils the tension screw in the h e el.

By " ba l anc ing weight" I a m not sure what the

author means. By " tension" he finds out how stiff or

flobby a bow is, and I am i gnorant of h i s method.

Bolander says nasty th ings about repairmen.

L i censing may be the solution. But then he sets out a

tasty meal for us hungry sparrows.

Le t us thank J ohn A lfred Bolander for his revela­

t ions on bow making.

*' * * * * * *

Editor's Note: $ 1 , 000 Bows a nd a Tribute" may be obt a i ned from Wm. Reeves, Bookseller Ltd. , lao Norbury C rescent,

London S. W. 16, England.

M r. Bolander is presently engaged in writing a complete treatise on Bows to b e published late in 1963.

VIBRATION PATTERN

by A rthur Walker

907 Ramona Ave. , Berkeley, C a1if.

T here have been countless theories about what

vibratory action takes place in the body of a f i ddle when

the strings are bowe·d. Why so mud) research should be

expended on a problem so simple and so easily proven,

is more of a mystery than the problem itself. This

vibratory action or pattern, as we call it is quite s i mpl e ,

logical, and e asily proven by an actual demonstrat ion

that can be seen, h e ard, and proven, thus lea ving no room

for doubt.

. A theory that will not stand proof is not much of a

theory . A theory is what some one thinks about what

occurs in any given operation. This "think" may be right

or it may be wrong. Many of the wrong ones l e ad us au

an intellectual wild goose chase with failure at the end.

M any of the " right" o nes are skoffed at as " radical" and

discarded as of no account. A bsolute proof is needed to

indicate to us which is right and which is wrong.

T h e violin though made of wood, is a machine, a

machine for turning the motion of the bow into sound. To

1 9

be effi c i ent i t must operate in a machine like manner,

obeying the laws of mechanics where these are involved,

and not sacrificing these l aws for some of the rules of art,

for some of these rules of art are b ad for tone. Much of

the research heretofore done h as attempted to combine

artistic perfect ion with tone perfection. This makes

rather a poor m ixture, as m.any very artistic ally made

v iolins attest by their poor tone. Moreover rules of art

are resist i v e to change. This condition is static, and does

not lend itse If to progress. If we are to make progress i n

tone research , w e must do the things that make for better

tone, instead of hanging on to the things that a re a detr i ­

ment t o good tone, for contrary to popular be.lief there

are quite a number of things that make for more and

better tone.

In striving for improvement in violin tone, how

many of us know j ust what we are striv ing for, where to

start, how to start. Do we know the starting point ? for

there must be a starting poi.nt if we are not to wander

blindly in a search wil ich a l ready has been going on for

several hundred years.

;:hi� stal't i llg [" ' int I n st he defin ite; whe n we

climb a ladder we h ave a very definite starting point, the

ground. Without this starting point we would have

nothing to rest the bottom of the ladder on. The source

of tone should be our starting point, to rest the bottom of

our research ladder on.

How do we find this source of ton e ? It i s very

simple and done very easily. The tone of a fiddle is

generated i.n the strings. The vibrations of the strings

fo llow the legs of the bridge down to the belly where

these vibrations a ct in two ways. The normal vibrations

act in a vertical m anner, causing an up and down motion

of the be lly. These vibrations also fo llow the grain of

the wood lengthwise and are ca lled the vibrations of con­

duction. A n d right h ere it is well to add a word of cau­

tion.

As everyone who h as ever done any woodwork

knows, wood wi l l split two ways, with the visible or

vertical grain, and across the visible or vertical grain.

In other words wood has two kinds of grain; the

vertical or visible grain ; and the horizont a l or invis ible

grain. This grain carries tone l engthwise of the belly

and if uncut covers pretty much the length of the b e lly.

The vertical or visible grain acts much like a lot of

small joists running lengthwise of the b elly , and h elp to

stiffen this member. The horizontal or invisible grain

also carries tone in th e same way as the visible grain. The

main trouble with this grain is that due to the l e ngthwise

curve of the b el l y this gra in is c ut close to the soundpost,

and the lengthwise p ath of these vibrations is therefore

cut. This leaves these vibrations "no track" to follow.

They come to where the cut is, and continuing right on in

a straight line , run off the belly, and are lost to our

violin and its amount of tone, thus cutting down by just

this much in its output.

The visible grain is also cut by the ends of the

sOlm dholes, l eaving a strip i n th e c entre of the b el l y on e

and three quarters inches wide, containing this vertical

grain. Th is grain of course runs the whole length of the

instrument.

Now if we want both visible and invisible gra in to

run the whole length of the fiddl e, inste a d of breaking or

cutting the grain of the invisible or horizonta l grain close

to the bridg e, we bend this centre inch and three quarter

strip to the curve of the i ntended arching, by this m eans

we keep continuous grain the whole length of the fiddle

in both vertical and horizontal grain.

20

The gain in tone by this procedure is sometimes

surprising.

This l e aves us a strip fourteen inches long and an

inch and three quarters wide as the sounding board of our

fiddle, or in other words as the source of tone , which is

the thing we were looking for.

Many will scoff at these findings, however they

can all b e proven, and proven by actual demonstration,

a demonstration that can be seen, heard, and proven thus

l e aving no room for doubt.

Any theory that is inclined to be what is c a l led

radical, should never be put before the public, without

proof, proof that is so underst andable that it is beyond

argument.

We h ave such a proof here; when we can see a

thing done, hear the results of what is done, and under­

stand the reason why all of this is done, it is pretty hard

not to believe.

What we h ave here is not a theory, but proof of

what vibratory action actually takes place in the body of

the fiddle when the strings are bowed.

This experiment is e asily m ade, anybody can

make it if they know how.

We take a violin in the wh ite and make two

sa wcuts down the middle of the b e l ly , one inch and

three quarters apart, and the length of the belly.

This mutilated instrument is then strung up, sound

post put in and it is p l ay e d upon. Strange as it m ay seem,

we find the tone is just about as powerful as before the

sawcuts were made, but due to the lack of resonating

action by th e a ir-m ass in th e body of the fiddle, of great

flatness of tone.

This proves that almost all of the tone of a fiddle

is generated in this inch and three quarters strip of the

b e Uy.

Tonewood of the best must be used in these experi­

me nts. There are several ways of m aking this e xperiment,

but the results are always practically the same.

* * * * * * * *

• I .

N AT I V E W O O D S O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A S U I T A B L E F O R

V I O l l N C O N STRU C T I O N . by Do n W h i t e

The publishing of a series of articles on a given subj ect generally produces comments by our readers. Th is is a

healthy condition and we would invite even more members to express their viewpoints. Earlier in this series I gave a

short description of the different " flame" found in Maple wood and defined the terms I intended to use. This inspired

Mr. Leo Larsson to send me the following article. Readers will note that Mr. Larsson has presented a more detailed

account of the different flame, or figure and cuts necessary to produce them. He h as also, I fear, given more correct

definitions than the attempt made by myself, for which I thank him, and as a compliment to my friend Leo, I would

suggest we change our Main Heading to read, " N ative Woods of the West Coast of North America. "

DESCRIPTIONS OF WOOD - - WHAT THEY MEAN

by Leo D . Larsson

27 H attie St. , S an Francisco 14, Calif.

U. S . A .

T h e story i n the B ible o f the confusion o f tongues in Heron-Allen, in his book written about eighty years

ancient Babylon, the misunderstanding of the spoken word, ago, goes into detail as to the cutting of the logs, splitting

is actually with us today all around us and includes the writ- with an axe, p ieces in wedge or pie cut. Mr. Harry Wake

ten word. In the world of violins this is present so this in his e xcellent manner has drawn this in the February _

article on the descriptions of wood is being written hoping March issue of the J ournal, however these descriptions in

to clear up some of the confusion in the message conveyed this day and age are just academic. So much romantic

by c ertain descriptive words used by writers and spe akers hogwash has b een written about " Rare old violins and the

when referring to woods used for instruments of the vio l in makers", how they selected their materials, etc. etc.

family. and more etc. I have great reservation in accepting stories

of men climbing around mountains with hammers pounding

Some of the following words will be found in various on trees to select ones as suitable wood for violin making.

public ations relating to violins, some will be almost unknown

e xcept in c ertain geographical are as, others to lumbermen. The photograph is the stump of a maple tree with

lines drawn to indicate the possible milling of the log from As a little test for yourself write down the descriptive this tre e. Note the center of this tree is not the mathe-

message each of the following words convey to you.

1. Whole b ack: 2 Whole top ; 3. Jointed b ack :

4. J o inted top: S. Quarter cut : 6. Slab b ack :

7. H al f S lab back : 8. Birdseye maple : 9. Wild figure:

10. T iger striped: 1 1 . H erring bone : 12. Fl ame :

1 3 . Figure: 14. Fiddleback wood: IS. Shell maple:

16. Q uilted maple: 17. Figured maple: 1 8 . Curly m aple.

matica I center. There are firms in Europe who specia l.ize i 1 supplying woods for vio lin makers at premium prices.

The premium price allo ws for the special m ill ing of the

logs wh ich , in turn, return a greater rlHlOlmt of suitable cut

wood for violin mak ing.

The forests of North Amer ica supply large trees

part i cularly on the P rlc ific Coast where much of it is virgin

t imb er. The logs are processed in the mills in a routine

If you wrote for # 1 - any instrument with a one manner and from the planks ones o f suitable cut can be

p iece b ack, you are wrong, also the same for 6 and 7. se lected for violin making. Out of one log will come

For number 2 if you wrote any instrument with a one piece sev era l varieti es of cuts g iving varieties of figures, thus

top you are correct. Number 3 me ans a two piece back, the llse of the descriptive words listed.

but th e description is incomp l ete as a true picture of the

b ack materia l . Well, let us examine each one while

discussing old and modern m ethods of cutting th e log.

2 1

Now we refer to our photograph. The sect:ions

marked " C" indicate the wedge or pie cuts which usually

come from the European suppliers. To obtain these, the

log is first cut in half lengthwise as at ' 'A' ' . Then each

half is again cut in half ''B' ' making quarters, elms the ex­

pression quarter cut. These ' 'A -B" quarter pie cuts are cut

with vertical grain and in the case of the back the flame

extending across from edge to edge, in an unbroken line.

TO REPEAT -- - this vertical grain with the fiddle back

flame is only obtained in maple cut at or near the quarter

into smaller wedges " C" , and are referred to as quarter cut cut " C" " D " , and when the back is in one piece. This

blockso It can be seen that after cuts ' 'A'' and " B" are made particular cut is called WHOLE BACK ( 1 ). The top is

jt would call for spe cial handling to cut lumber in this manner, called a whole top, something not very often found. ( 2).

thus the reason for the specialists and the premium prices.

This quarter cutting shows the figure of the maple to

great advantage as it runs almost straight across the block.

The growth rings have been cut across so the grain between

the two sides of the wedge are almost vertical. This last

factor is not a must in back wood but definitely required in

the pine for the tops. The log these wedges are cut from

may not be very large so two of these wedges are jointed at

the thick edge so as to get enough width for an instrument

top or back. Now we have a quarter cut jointed top or back.

Our l ist 3, 4, 5.

Some maple has little or no figure, but wood for

violins is usually selected with figure because of the decor­

ative effect. The figure brought out in the quarter cutting

will usually be of light and dark stripes in somewhat regular

pattern running across the block. These stripes are the re­

sult of cutting the twisting grain of the wood. Terms used

to describe wood with a decorative figure are curly or fig­

ured maple ( 17 and 1 8) , and when striped across, is some­

times referred to as tiger striping, ( 10). Sometimes the

striping has quite an angle and when in a jointed back the

strips match at the center joint so as to form a series of

V 's, occasionally it is called a herring bone back, because

the appearance being similar to the skeleton backbone of a

fish. ( 1 1)0 Generally maple showing this stripe appearance

is referred to by lumbermen in the U. S.A. and Canada as

fiddle back wood ( 1 4) and they ask a premiwn price for

this cut. Naturally under the conditions of standard commer­

cial milling there would be a very limited amount of this

wood show up as it would only be in a few cuts as "D" on

either side of "A" outlined in the photo. Under these condi­

tions cuts "A" and " B" would not be made, the log being

slabbed a 11 the way giving cuts "D" and " E" .

A further description of the figure in maple fre­

quently refers to it as flame. The twisting grains reflecting

light when properly treated resembles fire. ( 1 2). The size of

the figure is also classified as large, medium or small flame

and the strength of contrast between the light and dark pat­

tern as strong, medium , light or faint figure.

Our number 1 and 2 Whole Back, whole top will

come from cut "D" or if the log is a large one it is poss ible

to get them from the quarter cut wedges " C" if they are of

sufficient width. You then have a one piece top or back

22

The further cut "D" gets away from the center of

the log the angle of the grain is changed in cutting and the

figure of the flaw e becomes broken up. It is in this area

between cuts "D" and " E" that the half slab backs are

obtained and some of the most beautiful wood for violins.

The figure becomes very lively and most interesting. (7)

As we get over to cuts " E" the cutting of the hard and soft

grains are slashed at quite an angle. When the back is

contoured these grains twist and swirl, the flame also

becomes quite broken up. Whereas the half slab back

wood will be found occasionally in a jointed back, I do

Ilot recall ever seeing a slab back jointed. (6) As a gen­

eral rule whole back, half slab back and slab back are one

piece back instruments, the cutting of the wood making the

difference.

The Broadleaf Maple of British Columbia and

Washington frequently has a very large flame and it is

from these, half slab and slab backs cuts that the Quilted

and Shell Maple figures are produced. They are very

beautiful but fit the larger instruments better than the

violin. ( 1 5 and 16).

That leaves us to mention birdseye maple and wild

figure. Birdseye is wood with little black spots and has

never been very popular with makers. It is frequently found

in hard maple and usually makers stay c lear from real hard

wood. ( 8) . Sometimes an instrument will be described

as having � back with a wild figure. This can come from

the half slab, slab or wood cut near the root base of the

tree or where heavy branches were junctioned nearby. (9).

This type of wood is usually quite hard and difficult to

work.

That takes care of the eighteen descriptive words.

It should make clear to anyone selecting his own wood at

the lumber mills in the U. S. A. and Canada what to look

for, also what not to pass by. You are not going to be able

to buy at the lumber mills the wedge cuts " C" , however you

can get the same thing by selecting wood cut as "D" and

keep your eyes ope, for those half slab cuts as there are

more of those offering.

Now I suggest you make a copy of the nwnbered

list, adding a brief description of each as outlined in this

artic Ie and hold for future reference when examining

instruments as well as wood, until you become familiar with the various wood figures and cuts.

End of log showing different cuts

A WORD FROM

Carl Farseth,

M inneapolis, Minn.

Like the scent of lavender or the sweet reasonableness of a flute comes J ack Batts ' message in the current Journal.

You can 't believe everything you read should be the first experience of an amateur viol in maker.

The flat ribbon of wood a long the edge of a plate is narrowest in the C 's and widest at the ends. But how can any­

one looking at even a cheap fiddle ignore the beading of the rounded edge, from 10 to 1 2 s ixty, fourths of an inch thick.

This beading is circular in cross-section on many violins, though the Me'5iah Strad is different. Incidentally, because the

purfling may weaken the edge, the l inings should be thick and l i e on the inside.

More power to Jack Batts !

2 3

FIddle ;rx¥

By H. S. WAH£' .

To repair body cracks on a 'cello or bass can some ­

times present quite a problem; to do the j ob right, the top

should be removed, this being necessary because the crack

should be cleaned and drawn together using fresh hot glue,

and then cleated on the inside to prevent the crack from

re -opening: Removing the top means that it must be

replaced and this i s usually where the problem lies because

few of us possess all the necessary clamps; however, there

�a way to repair and re-glue the crack, and also place

several cleats over the crack on the inside of the instru­

ment without taking the top off, no matter where the

crack might be ; sounds impossible but it can be done and

h ere 's how.

Should the crack be an old one that has opened up,

it must be washed out with hot water to remove all old

glue and present a clean surface for fresh glue. Prepare a

few cleats and of course the size of these will depend on

whether you are working on a 'cello or on a bass; for a

'cello they should be about 5/8" square and about 1 / 1 6"

thick; drill a very small hole through the center of each

cleat ; having the crack cleaned and ready for glueing,

drill also with the same small drill a few holes RIGHT ON

THE CRACK, these holes should be a few inches apart

depending on the length of the crack; now pass a length

of nylon thread or fishline through each hole on the crack;

do these one at a time and working through one of the 'F '

holes with a wire hook, bring the end of the line that you

threaded through the crack, out of the 'F ' hole. Now

thread the end that you brought out of the 'F ' hole through

the hole in one of the cleats and tie a substantial knot on

the end of the line. You can see now that if you pull on

the line from the outside of the crack you will bring the

cleat right up on the inside of the instnunent behind the

crack.

Having some fresh hot glue ready and your cleats

on the ends of the lines coming out of the 'F 's ; run the

glue into the crack first and work it well in, then apply

some glue to one of the cleats and pull it up in place

behind the crack; do likewise with the remaining cleats,

pulling them all up tight and securing them around some ­thing on the outside, put a clamp across to draw the crack

together and leave overnight to set. It remains only to

cut the line off flush with the instrument; the holes that

you drilled are filled by the line and if you work h as been

carefully done you won 't know the holes are there. Fin­

ally it must be remembered that this is an emergency pro ­

cedure only and the writer does not recommend that it be

used on a fine instrument.

24

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P r i c e $ 15, 000. 00

1 5 5 E a s t 4 2 n d S t . , N ew York, 17, N . Y .

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including the Violin, and other items of Musical interest,

including Autographs, Prints, Photographs, etc. Rare, S carce and Out-of-Print. Catalogue free upon request.

Oscar Shapiro, 2901 1 8th St. , N. W. Washington 9, D. C. ,

U. S. A.

Careful craftsmanship by Kaplan for more than half a century assures superb tonality . . . the finest performance.

for Violin, Viola, Cello and Bass • GOLDEN SPIRAL • TRU-STRAND

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"" . . /;:� * ".

C HO I C E B R I T I SH C O LU M B I A WOO D Now available to all members and Associate Members of The Violin Makers Association of B. C .

5 I T IC A S P R U C E T O P S

For violins and violas. $4. 00 to $7. 00 each

M A P L E B A C K S

Fiddle b ack or curly Maple one or two piece b acks

For violins and violas $ 6. 00 to $ 10. 00 each

EXTRA CHOICE CELLO WOOD. PRICES ON APPLICATION.

Also Western Red Cedar and Cottonwood.

ALL PRICES POSTPAID

For further particulars write to 1 he Editor,

DON WHITE, 463 1 West 14th Avenue, Vancouver 8, B. C . , CANADA.

MODERN M USIC LI M ITED

SHEET MUSIC SPECIALISTS

VIOLIN ACCESSORIES AND STRINGS

INSTRUMENTS

I m p o r t e r o f F r en ch Bo w s

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Patron ize you r local dealer

209 Church Street

TORONTO, CANADA

TO N E WOOD

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P rofessiona l references. Write for price l ist to:

W. L. LAU BI

SPECIALIST IN TONE-WOODS AND MANUFACTURER

DU BENDORF, near Zurich (Switzerland)

S H E E T M U S I C - B O O K S - I N S T R U M E N T S

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- under the expert management of Mr. Lajos Kalfmann

Over-the-counter and MAIL ORDER Service

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570 Seymour Street, Vancouver, B.C.

MUtua l 1 -9548

I

Th e Ad i u st i ng of S t r i n g I n s t r u m e n ts IY H E N R Y S . l l T T l E B OY

Comments and Questions Welcomed.

Address communications to Mr. H enry Llttleboy, 7 Sentry Hill Place, Corner of Pump Lane, Boston, Mass. , U. S . A.

PEG F lTTING i\ND i\DJUSTMENT the above -m entioned tre atment it w i l l be necessary to

T h e proper adjustment and fitt i ng of the p e gs is the

area in wh i ch n inety f ive p erc ent of all i n struments can be

improved with a m in i m um of effort. H ere th e rul e is,

" Put the p egs in order and for about on e m inute 's effort

e v e ry t wo months t h e pegs wi l l continue to work p erfectly

for lnany years . "

T h e rules for pegs are simp Ie enough. The length

of th e s h a nk between the peg box and the r i ng near the

head of the peg should be one c entimeter for the v io l in,

two c e nt i meters for the cello and a littl e l ess than one and

a h a l f c entimeters for the viola. The hole for the string

shoul d be located two m i ll imeters from the side of the

peghox ncar the h e a d of the peg for the violin and v io l a.

F or c ellos the d istance sho u l d be three m ill imeters • • • Th i s

w i l l el i m i n ate t h e n e e d for reboring t h e pegs as thlc'y even ­

tually wear their way t h rough th e p e g bo x . The set of pegs

that looks 1 ike " Swiss Cheese" is a com mOll s ight.

for the c ase where the p egs do not need replac .ing,

th e metbod 1 llsual ly fol lo w i s to wipe the pegs shank with

a c J e a n rag and appl y a small amount of peg compound.

H ere I would .. e commend the p eg compound made by H i l l

o f London.

W h en the p egs have wom smooth, c ausing s l ipping,

and d i ff iculty in tun i.ng, you should wipe them off, scrape

t h e m l i ghtly with a "V iol i n Maker 's Kn ife" and apply a

sma l l a mount of the peg compound. Turn th e p e g to see if

it works properly. Wipe off exc ess compound, because too

much call a Iso be a c ausE' of slipp i ng. T h ese are the

procedurcs to restore to proper op eratio n pegs that are

otherwise in good adjustment. I h op e that t h e fai lure

to m cnt ion CHALK h as not been th ought to be an overs i ght.

U nder no condition should chalk be use d since it only tends

to aggravate an already unp l e �sant con d i t i on ! The p l ayer

who J ets h i s i nstrument fa 1 1 to th i s state of disrepa ir i s

c erta i n ly not the exc ept ion, but h e re the process of edu ­

cation will , I hope, convince ev en h im that the t i me

spent h a y ing the p egs adjust ed wil l repay itsel f in that he

w i l l not be wast.ing t ime in try i ng to f i ght h i s i l l - adjust e d

p egs. In TIlost c ases, where the pegs do not respond to

resort to the use of two tools wh ich are not owned by

p layers hut are found in the shops of all makers and

repairers. Th ese are a peg reamer and peg shapero T h e

re amer adjusts the hole i n t h e p egbox and the shaper

adjusts the shank of the p eg.

The process of using the reamer and shaper consists

of a series of steps. F i rst of a l l , the bole in th e peg box

should be made round by taking off a minimum of wood

w i t h th e re amer. Next , the p e g is shaved in the s h aper

to restore its round shape. In the c ase where the p egs

e xtend at l e ast half a c e ntimeter from the p eg box it is

possible to a dj ust pegs that have worn and it will not be

necessary to get new p egs. S ince t h i s adjustment wi l l

m ake the peg e xtend further into the p e g box the end that

protrudes should be sbortened as described below in th e

process of putting in a new set of p egs. F itting of th e peg

should be checked also as descrih e d below.

Now, if all e lse fails, the fol lowing method should

be followe d to replace the p eg or, of course, the whole

set, which requires simply p erforming the operation four

times.

The choice of p e g m ateri a l usually consists of

ebony , rosewood and boxwood. Ebony is c ertainly the

most popular, but all of these materia l s can be successfu l ly

used as long as the fitting is properly p erform e d.

Th e first operation is to use th e p e g reamer to

restore the round shape of the hole. H ere again, be care ­

ful to remove an absolute m i n .i m um of wood from the peg

box.

A t t h i s time you must try tbe p egs .in the holes

( b l�fore start i ng to use t h e shap er). S inc e each t im e the

pegs are a dj usted the holes in the peg-box are en l a rged,

there comes a t ime when the normal d i ameter pegs are

not th ick enough. I f it is poss i b l e you should first try to

obt a i n TH ICK SHANK p e gs from your suppl ie r b e fore

resorting to the process of rebush ing. T here is no add i t ­

iona l c harge for t h i c k shank pegs and they a r e usually

av a i l a ble iu all sty les and materi a ls. Rebushing should b e cons idered as a I ast resort !

27

Assum ing t h ::tt we h ave pegs t h:.lt are of s u i t a h l e

d i amete r, the process c o n s i sts of reduc ing the pq; d i ameter ,

Lls ing t he peg sh:.lper. (The reamer :.Ind s h a p e r ,hou l d be

matched so that they have the same taper. ) 'v\hl'll ,) Oll

beg in to feel that t h e p eg h as appro ach ed t h e r ight d i a ­

m et e r, appl') p e g compound , i n sert t h e peg, and t u rn i t ,

c aw- i ng t wo � is ibk r i ngs to he rubbed on the shank. r rom

t hese r i ngs you can j udge wh eth er t h e t wo sides arc equa l l y

we l l f i tted. Usc t he " V io l i n M aker 's K n i fe " to scrape the

h igh spots for a n abso lut e ly perfect f i t . C areful attent ion

to t hese la;t- l11ent ioned steps w i l l assure perfect p e g aCI i o n .

When the p e g f its p e rfe c t ly w i t h the spe c i f i ed d is­

t a nce o f the head from the peg box, t he opposite end that

p rotrudes heyond th e peg hox is cut off about a m i l Umet er

[rom the p e g box a\ ld f i n ish e d to a smoot h , rounded Sltr­

fac e us i ng a f i l e a n d sandpaper. T h e final h igh pol i sh is accomp l i shed by " et t i n g the peg and rub b i ng it on a

c loth.

T h e next operat ion i s to dr i l l the ho le f o r t h e

str i ng and the f itt ing is co mp l eted . I wou l d l ike to stress

that a lt ho ugh thesc' steps are s i mp le t h e y a re often not fo l ­

lowed. The a m a t e ur f iddl e m ak e r at t h i s po i nt is usua l l y

" chaff i ng at t h e h it" to tunc u p h i s new i nstru m e nt and sce

how it sounds. The add it i o na l L i m e requ i red i s s m a l l and

I hope t h e i n struct ions a re c l ear enough . I c a n assure you

that th e t ime 'Ni l ! be wd l spent.

Thl' proc ess of rebusl , i ng h as b e e n d iscussed i n t h e

J un e -J ul y 1 962 issue o f the j o urna l b y Mr. Wakc a n d I sug ­

gest you fo l low h is e xce l lent i nstruct ions i f t h is p ro c e,s is

necessary. A fter rebus h i.ng , o f coursC', s i nc e we arc start ­

i n g the peg f itt ing process from t he beg inn ing, \\ C should

usc th in -sh anked pegs wh ich afe the type supp l i ed whe n

oversized shanks are 1 10t spec i f ie d.

Be cert a i n that t h e hlade of your peg shaper i s

sharp (as should be a l l ) o u r l'dged tools ) befOfc start ing Lo

usc t h is tool. If the tool is not we l l sh a rpl' n e d it is pos­

s i ble to el,d l ip with a peg t hat i s not conce nt r i c bes i des

cnding up w ith a hI ister on your thum b !

I I I th e case of ce l lo p e gs it is som et imes suggested

t h at about [our m i l l i meters be left on the peg rathcr t han

f i n i sh ing it flusll. T h is comes under the head ing of art i s ­

t i c cho ice a nd I would cons ider e ither method p e rfect I ) a c c epta b l e .

Carl' shoul d b e tahen when lIs i ng t h i ck -sll anked pl'gS

not to reduce the d istance hetwc e n th e bottom of the peg

a nd the p e g hox to the po illt II'h",re t here i s 110 room for

the str i ng !

2 8

B c ware o f go l d -t ipped pq,;' i f , I r'ltt il' i s not i c e d i n , I f i dd l c . Such decor:ll i o n ,; arl' a l l o ltL' l1 unsuspe ct cd

elUSL' of th i s p ro b k m .

In s u m m a ry , I as\UIT you that proper f i t t ing and

adj us tmL' n t o f p e gs w i l l c o nt r i butc' to t h e wo rt l , o f a f idd l e

and \\" i l l b e applTc i a t ed h ) t i l L' p i a) e r.

, 1

Lett er from B. Skou, 1424 Grand l\ Vl' • • S an'\:l B a rh ara,

C a l iforn i a .

D ear M r. L i tt k boy :

In t he J une -J ul), i ,;slle ) ou ask for com ments from

your readers. I thought the follo w i n g m i g ht he uSL' fu l .

Bridge F itt i ng

TIl e curve at t h e br i dge of " Strad v io l i n is th at of

a c ire l e n in e inches i n d i ameter, or w i t h a radi us of 4 1 / 2

i nches.

T h e dra wing shows a j i g w it h t h at c ur v e . Th e t h in

board is 1 / 4 i nc h p l y \\'ood \Vh i ch is g l ue d and na i l ed to a

3/4 i nc h t h i ck p i e c e of m ahogan \ .

It c an be made qu i ckl y and eas i. ly . Saves t i m e ,

m,1kes i t pos,; i h l e to maf;(' ,l snug f it g i ves the r ight

ang le to t h e back (90 degrees), thus a l l ow ing l i lC fro nt to

s lopl' sl igJ lt ly IJ achwards. It prevc- nts poss ible damage t l'

t h e v arni sh by abras ive p ap e r. Makes it cas) to measure

t h e l ' ,act he i gh t of each st ring.

A str ip of sandp a per i s p laced 011 the 3/4 i n c h

c urve and the hack of t he br idge (the s i de fac ing the t a i l ­

p i e c e ) i s h e l d aga i nst the p l y wood guide.

B . S ko u

Dear Ed i tor o f t he AdjustmL'nt Co lumn:

The fo l lo wing m i ght not be t oo c lose ly connected

w ith the :ld j ustml'nt o f st r i ng i nstrum ents but m i gllt be lISl ­

ful to m any mak ers.

O ne of the c urre nt prob l l'ms I 'v e h ad was ho w t f) rl' ­

dllc e a [u l l s ize d set of out I i nl' s down to a ha l f-s ize J w i sh

t o m a k e for my n i n e \ e ,l f o l d son . T h e so lut io n \\ as to m a h l

a Koda l it h Ilegat i v e o f t h l' [ul l s i led p lans a n d lise a phOLO ­

e n l a rger to m.lht' t h e copr pr i nt 10 th e requ i re d s ize. When

using th i s mcthod usc' matte doub le weight paper as t h e

singl e we ight g loss) t' n l arg i ng papers w i l l stretch upon dry ­

ing and t.he sc a lc wi l l no longl' r he correct. Make two pr ints

so that you m al' cut one out t o use as temp lates. The o t h e r

i s kept intact to use as a refere nce. L e land V . W i l l i a m soJi 1 250 S h ady L a ne , A lb a ny , Oregon, U . S. A .

TH E CAS E F O R T H E MO D E R N V l O L l N

b y C . F. G . W E L S T E A D

(continucd from Au gust issue )

th e y se l dom investigate the poss i b i l it i e s of what they

o bserve, in the optical or auditory sense .

To the greater number of p eop l e who are interested

in v iolin mus i c , the greatest m e d i um is per radio or d i s c .

To the c asual l istener, the l o w notes are usu a l l y described

as 'beauti fu l , lovely ' , etc. To the p e rson who h as audit­

ory disc e rn m e nt, th e expression is 'Ti.mbre ' . To those

who are s e e k ing Italian Tone, t h i s goes a long way further,

as we listen intently for m any more factors than just

' b e a utiful low notes ' wh ether on d isc o r d irect broadcast.

A Mirecourt horror woul d g iv e to the m ajority these so ­

c a l l ed ' b e autiful low notes ' if the i nstrument were in t h e

h a n ds of Isaac Stefl ., but to those who recogn i se It a l i an

Tone, a great compassion woul d be expressed for the

p assing of a great Guarneri.

While preparing this l cttcr I f<' c e i v ed thc D ecember

1955 issue of 'Strad ' magazine i n wh i c h I read t h e remarks

of J e ffrey G i lbert who has stated 'It 's a l l bloody luck my

boy ' . A ny m an who bu i l ds a f i ddle w i th t h ese s c nt i m e nt s

i n m ind m ay just a s wel l commence p lann ing a trip t o

M a r s . A l l h e w i l l e v e r produce i n t h i s m anner would b e

j ust another noise b o x - excep t b y merest chanc c , thc

proof! ! The b elly was made from a n old sta i rc.lse

loewel - this was very chancy i ndeed ! The fin a l acousti cs

of any v i o l in depend on establ ishi ng h a rmony between the

unrelated p ie c e s of woo d which const itute the i nstrument,

and which are usually so care l es s l y g lued tog ether in the

have it otherwise ; it represents the old versus the new, v i rtuoso v ersus amate ur, and during m y rese arches I h ave b e e n my own strictest critic in order that no extra­

vagant claims would become m a n ifest at any stage, but

t h at m y find ings woul d be report e d i n a s incere and frank

m anne r .

Wh e n one is conv inced in s p i t e of a l l t h a t has gone

b efore , that th e result of y e ars of study has g iven a sense

of discovery, then it is eneumbent o n that p erson report i ng

same in a ste adfast l y honest m anner. I ch erish the hop e

that t h is h a s b e e n achi eved in this letter, so I therefore

repeat that m y findings represent a cha Ilenge; one does

not spend y e ars of hard work without th e imp l ications

reaching t h is status, and in order t hat consideration c an

be g i v e n to my researches, I enclose with this letter a

compl ete dossier; photographs of both instrum e nt s i n

b l a c k and white , a Kodakrome p l at e t o i ndicate v arnish

co lour and a samp k of varnished wood.

It wi l l be observed by study i ng the photograp hs,

t ha t th e N o . 1 v io l i n i s strictly and closely cop i e d from

t h e famous 'Betts ' Stradivarius. T h e m e asurements are

e xact according to Stradivaria n concept. The colo ur

p h otograph i s a Iso of this violin.

Th e N o . 2 v io l in was m ade according to general

Stradivarian princip l e s , but incorporates modifications in

order t o demonstrate that tone can be established reg ard-

hope that 'Strad ' w i l l b e born a g a in , not by c a reful p l anning, l e ss of design.

but by gambl ing: once more, wishful t h i n k ing.

T h ere e xists no s c i ence wh i c h h a s been subj ect to

more v ag aries than the subj ect of th is discussion. We have

had 'trap ezo i d ' violins, 'G uitar ' v i o l ins and a l l the rest of

it, e ach claiming to give Ita l i an Tone , but could we im ­

agine J ascha H e ifetz or Isaac Stern b01Ning to their audiences

a n d waving one of these monstrositie s ?

When one sets out t o produce a fidd l e , o n e must,

in addition to g iving it our very soul, embody i nto it the

form of convention if it is ever to gra c e the conc ert p l at ­

form.

T h at this, my contribution on a most controversial top i c constitutes a c ha llenge, I a m a ware , - I would not

F i n a lly , I a m at present engaged on produc ing

a long para l l e l j i n es, two v iol in s o n the pattern of Isaac

S t e r n ' s Guarnari - one from very old wood, the oth e r from

wood of recent v i ntage, in order to m e a s ure the m e rits of

old wood as compared wit h n e w.

I look forward to furt h er discussions by your many

re aders on t h i s a l l e g e d l y e l Ll� ive 'It a l i an Tone ' .

2 9

Yours very truly ,

" C . We lstead"

1 956

Tbe supposed sec ret of the M ag i c a l B rew of

Crcmona , p araphrased b y l1ackney e d writ ings decade

after decade, does not exist today, simply because it never did exist except in the minds of romantic writers ; th ere came a period of transition from one type of varnish to another, to m eet the dem ands of " progress" - mankind continual ly endeavours to supersede all prior discovery with something " [aster" or " more effic ient" - but not necessarily superior, in order to keep pac e with increas­ing demands for greater output, so that e ach indivi dual who worked and lived during the intense and productive period of violin m aking in Italy , left behind a h erit age to those who followed the art, but in time a dec line occurred, and from the t ime of Amati the founder, to th e beginning of this decl int! the instrument m akers diverged from the common point of established and accepted practice, and in so doing, created what we are p leas('d to call " Indus­tri a l progress" and if the violin makers who followed Stradivari had not ende avoured to " improve" but had util i sed the same ingredients, confusion on this subj ect would not exist today - they were all m emhers of the " Guild" and the so -cal led secrets of the art were passed on from person to person, father to son, but through the influence of the decl ine, th e original recipes were lost and forgotten.

The resultant chaos e ngendered by th i s " progress" is ev ident to all who have thoughtfully considered the m atter in all its aspects, and has resulted in extreme con ­fusion of opinion, part icul arly s inc e th e romantic ists began writ ing on the subj ect, and al l interested people w i l l admit that the greater part of the volumes written concerning th e

The search for this colourant has led more researchers into gross error than any other singl e factor connected with this subj ect for the past hundred y ea rs, and yet they still se arch, and being an observer of this fact myself, I eventually took a detour, firsL Jy by cons igning my stocks of an alines, colophony, dragons blood, madder root etc. etc. to the trash can, where, insofar as viol in varnish is concerned, it rightly belongs ; sheer common sense dic­tated this action, for I had established beyond doubt that none of these substances were ever used to colour the v ar­nishes of Cremona, because they will not under any cir­cumstances, when infuse d i nto drying oils or essential o ils reach a point of sufficient concentration to demonstrate a deep colour unless the pellicle is extremely th ick which defeats our objective, and again, if success is achieved in this direction, defeat is met when the instrument being treated is subj ected to the rays of the sun, because these colourants do not rem ain physically or chemical ly stable under this influence, and since the old Italians violins are, as stated by Karel J alovic, " Ch ildren of the Ital ian sun" (of this we m ay be certain) we must give up this line of thought, for what is at first a beautiful orange to red varnish, deteriorates into a dirty yellow brown whiCh is most unattractive optically ; we can be certain that the Italians left their instruments out in the powerful sunlight for the purpose of what we designate today as polymerisa­tion, and these works of art have come down to us today with all th e flaming glory of a sunset ! ! ! ! What is the answer?

varnishes of Cremona c an be condensed into about ten words The old books (and indeed some of the new ones) of truth. containing prodigious lists of the supposed ingredients

All these researches away from pre-established pro ­cesses has merely introduced a theme of great confusion in tile present time - tak e for instance the eterna l search for th e alleged co louring m atter ut ilised to impart to violin varnish its c lassical orange to red hue - top flight ch emists are sti l l searching for this eltisive factor despite the fact that the best text books decl are it to be a figment of the imagination; there exists no such substance - neither today, or during the time of Stradivari, because it is the Philoso ­phers ' S tone of the violin trade - the red herring across the tra i i , and by being downright about this factor, I do not imply that it is i mpossible. to infuse into an oil varn ish in suff ic ient concentration any of the red colouring m atters, but to state adamantly that it is beyond the scope as yet to make it l ight fast, and this is essential , otherwise we are unable to utilise the effect that direct sunlight h as on th e resonance of a violin.

These high ly coloured varnishes were produced not by scientists or magicians who lived contemporal.eously with Stradivari and his co -workers, but by the phenomenon of cata lytic reaction, which was observed, but not lmderstood by the old Ital i ans.

30

used by the old makers, are for the best part written and compiled by romantic authors in flowery l anguage, and contain mnch in the way of fiction, and l ittle in the way of fact, and strange to relate, there are those of consider­able knowledge today who are sti l l searching for the answer a long this cul -de -sac path - the belief is , generally, that: ''We know what it is, but how did the old Italians infuse it into oil v arnish in concentrated form , and imp art to it the propensity of being light fast? "

This much discussed m aterial in its natural state, is the product of C alamus Draco and trees of the same genus, commonly called gum draco or dragons blood - -it was synthesised by the chemist Perkins during h is e xperi ­ments to synthesise quinine , and has been widely used in producing the red co lour in vio l in varnish. At first the result is good in appearance , but after a few weeks even in reflected sunlight, the co lour become s the old familiar yellow-brown, in other words, this synthetic colouring matter like all the others, after being brushed onto the surface of a violin was found to be fugitive after exposure to slmlight, so acc epting th e fact that a violin in order to become resonant, must be g iven considerable doses of

sunl i ght b e fore and after v arn ishing, it would appear t h at

we are c h e ckmated; wh e n Perk i ns f irst discovered t h e

synthetic cOlmterpart of the dy e g u m draco { a n d named i t

A l izarine) it was hoped that t h e molecule woul d be i so ­

meric and poss ibly fast to l ig h t , but oncc aga i n , those

who Iloped to emul a t e the Mast e rs of C remona via the ut i ­

l i sation o f t h is dyest uff were di s i l lus ione d.

It \\ ould seem on fo l lowing t h e progress ion of a l l

those who have c arried out e xtensive rese arch o n t h i s sub ­

j e ct, have one and a l l , b e e n influe nced by t h e old recipe

books, and e a c h p erson from dec ade to decade has fol lowed

in the wake of the others in a continuance of research along

the same l inc of r e ason i ng wh ich h as led nowhere, bccause

I th i nk , e ach scarcher h as t aken up where the other has l e ft off, and in part i cular I h ave not i c ed during my studi es of the subj ect, that in th e m a i n, one i ngre dient has a lways t a k cn PRIORITY , namely common resin, and each se arch er ill h i s t u rn h as e ndeavoured in his own way to bend the car­bon r i ng this way and th at, but i nsofar as vio l in varnishes

are concerncd, it h as so far remained C loH 16 and regard ­

l ess of a l l t h is e ndeavour with t h e terpene group of common

resins, nothing h as been accom p l ished; it occurs to mc

that the " se cret" l i es not in the formul a e of the Cremonese

period, but within the circl e of the si .mplc processes adopted

to evolve these red and gold varnishes. Once morc I stress

the point that t h ere exists no real secret concerning th ese

fabulous varnishes toda y , b ecause i n my well considered

opinion, no such se cret or m.ystery ever did e xist, but

merely a lot of romantic nonsense perpetrated by genera­

t ions of writers who engendered themse lvcs the mystic

powers att r i b uted to Stradivari and his kin, wh en in fact

these so - c al l e d m a g ic i ans were h ard-working artisans who

ach i eved the ir mark by ye ars of t r i a l a nd error, and i n

this regard 1 assure the readers of th e J ournal that the same

real istic approach h as been my a im in an effort to put

things in their r ight perspecti v e , and in my workshop every

process, both in the making of varnishes, and t h e construc ­

tional part of the work h a v e b e e n carefu l l y c at a logued for

e asy referen c e .

I t m a y app e a r to the reader that I am s low t o reach

the po int, but I counsel you to patienc e , for I must tell my

own story i n my own way , and no lllan can encolnpass some

fift een y e a rs of i ntensive rese arc h in one or two paragraphs,

and i n v i e w of the fact that it is my intention to declare my

hand entirely i n this matter, I m us t begin at the b e g i nning.

If my contribution to the J ourn a l appe ars somewhat

patchy, I e xtend to the readers my apologies, pOil t ing out

t h at th is is my first attempt at putting my thoEghts and

studies on paper, and in so doing I wish to touch on subj e cts

a l l i e d to the main subj ect matter because I consider these

othcr aspe cts to be important ; this m a n uscript i s prepared

from notes and jottings of m any y e ars.

3 1

I b e l i e v e that b y extens i v e experimentation over a

long period of t im e , these gold and red varnishes used by

t h e o l d Itali ans h av e bcen dup l i cated i n my workshop by

processes the same or s im i lar to th e m eth6ds adopted by

th em. Th is varn ish m easures up to all the requirements

spoken of by most writers on the subj e ct ; it is l ight-fast,

homogen eous in constitut ion, durable, flcxible, perfect ly

transparent, and imparts to a v io l i n a powerful resonance

wh i ch c annot b e accomp l ished by any other type of varnish

I h ave made over the y ears - the uppermost thought in my

m ind as I write these words is this: it is a compl ete mystery

to me how it h as occurred that the b a s i c ingredient from

wh ich it is m ade, h a s been comp l et e l y overlooked by top

fl ight rese arch ers l ik e J oscph Michelman, Karl Letters,

and G eorge F ry - not one of them so much as mentions it

as a possib l e , and further, their i nvestigat ions respe ctively

have fo l l o wc d the same patt ern, and g e nerally , all h av e

based t h e i r findings on t h e research into the terpene group

of resins (mainly common resin ) and from where I v i e w the

situation, it app e a rs that th i s ordinary terp e n e of comme rc e

i s the enemy o f v io lin ton e , and it i s a great p ity that these

s incere men of undoubted integrity and intelligence should

h av e their minds c logged with the dust of thi s cheap and

nasty terpe n e resi due col lected by the ton from the forest

dist i l l ing p l ants of A m erica and Europe.

Over the y e ars, I h ave studied the work of these

researchers and in actua l fact , my humble beginning was

influenced by th em, and I took my turn at try ing to re ­

arrange t h e terpene ring, but my only discovery was that

this stubborn h ydro -carbon was most uncooperative in

l ending its e l f to any useful reaction insofar as v iolin var­

nish is concemed; in spite of all my efforts in all the

directions dictated b y Fry , Joseph M ich elman , etc. , I l e a rn e d after y e ars of research that beyond hooking on a

few atoms of oxygen, and cre ating compounds v i a its

use with the m etal groups, t h at the substance was use less

for th e purpose in h and, and that all the v arn ishes produced

from it did not in � of the standards required in a v arnish

of tli e qua l i ty desired in order to establish equil i brium of

the h armonic b a lance built i nto a fine instrument.

One of t he strongest points against the possibility

that the Italians Llsed this material, is the colour factor,

and from the point of view of my own s earcbing into its

structure , a l l my varnishes produced from it were predom ­

i na nt l y brown, and the c larity was never good, and with

the exception of a varnish I m ade with th is material as the

basic i ngredi ent, according to a process nominated by

L<.:o D. Larsson and Gordon Rook in the November 1 957 issue

of t h e Strad magazine - a patent t aken out by the Inter

C h em i c a l Corp. N o . 7 2 1 , 749 in J anuary 1 955 and given

th e name F erro -Organosols. T h i s v a m ish was of a red

co lour, but t he tcxture of the dry p e l li c l e was hard and

britt! e u n l ess an e normous amount of linseed o i l was incor­porated wh ich is definite l y undesirab l e in the extreme ; a lso

its inclusion in th e form ula light ened the colour by dilut ion and again we are returned in chagrin to the usual poi nt when Llsing this material - up the garden p ath.

Further to the foregoing, the processes involved in evolving these ferro -organosols is so technically comp l icl ted that the m ere thought that the old Italians ever llse d them is open to no log ical discussion whatsoever - I stress again that the Cremonese v arnishes must have been the result of simple processes, instigated by simple men !

Q uite apart from the objections already mentioned in respect of colophony in the compounding of violin var­nishes, I have found all the varnishes produced from it to lack flexibility, and most important of all the objections, they are not durable, and this factor is made manifest by the most undesirable instab i lity of the dry pellicle which lapses into fissures of vary ing degrees after a few months -regardless of the amount of l inseed oil used in th e formulae.

It seems to me on sifting the available evidence concerning the varnish arguments over the l ast hundred y e ars, that the only concrete fact to emerge has resulted from the investigat ions of J oseph M ich el man 's researches into the constitution of the old C remonese varnishes - in my considered opinion h is results are conclusively verified by another researcher in Germany (his name I h ave for­gotten) who independent of Mr. M i ch clman arri ved at the same conclusions by the same methods - their investi­gations whi ch h ave resulted in the nom i nating of the " Tell -tale key elements" have set a sea l upon most of the nonsense written ad nauseum for so m any years.

Regarding the foregoing, I must state that in accepting these two independent and concurring discov eries, h as created in m y m ind a state of confusion ; why did Mr. M ichelm an and his German counterpart ON ESTABLISHING THESE IMPORTANT FACTS ? conti nue to endeavour to produce violin varnishes by USING COMMON COMMERCIAL ROSIN AS THE BASIC INGREDIENT ? Would it not have occurred to either of them to locate a natural resin which contained � of these " key elements" by the same means adopted to analyse the Italian varnishes - spectrography.

If this m e ans had been applied, and all the oi l and spirit soluble gums and resins subj ected to close scrut­iny , they would have found that there is j ust one resin which contains each and every element nominated by them, and had they continued to experiment with this resin, they would have discovered that it is the only resin wh ich by s imple processes wil l produce a varnish of intense reds and orange -red - there is no other, of this I am certain, for I have experimented with every type of resin from every country in the world.

32

Th e process which Mr. M icllelman adopted in order to reproduce varnishes cont a i n ing these key elem ents (h is so lution pre c ip itation process) by lls i ng co mmon clay , seems to be the same thing as putting two lumps of sugar in one 's coffee, and then declaring it to be sweet - a foregone conclusion ; if we prepare any compound wh i ch .included the incorporation of common clay, we � find in th e analys is to follow, copper, silicon, lea d, iron etc . , in v arying amounts according to the area from which th e clay sample originated - the e ntire globe is saturated with traces of a l l the elements known to science - regardl ess ' ! !

George Fry ( 1904) m ade his varn.ishes v ia the pro ­c ess of oxidising rectif ied turpentine with flUn ing N itric acid, claim ing that the old ltal ians used this method, but I doubt very much as to whether HN0 3 was ava ilable to them in sufficient concentration to react in the way nominated by him, a ] ,d even supposing th at it was, J oseph M ich elman by h is excell ent work on the spectroanalysis of the Cremonese varnishes (the results of whi ch are accept­able to us all) would demand a more acc eptable story, because the varnishes made by this method do not contain the long list of "tel l tale key e lements" and I state here t hat it is my considered bel ief that th is p art of Joseph M ichelman ' s investigations is conclusive beyond question.

Regarding these red and gold varnishes of the Italian period, much can be said beyond the scop e of th is artic le, but to il lustrate the lengths to which modern m an has gone in an effort to dup l icate them, I refer to an artic le which appe ared in the Sydney Morning H erald some fOLlr y ears ago. A. team of m isguided scientific gentlemen c l imbed to the top of a snow covered mounta i n somewhere in Europe to an altitude wh ere the rarefied air at a cerLl in level was supposed to perform the miracle of homogenising o il v arnish and human blood. The result of this crazy experiment probably resulted in the death of all conc erned from pernicious anemia, for nothing h as been heard of the team or the result up to the present time, and ev en if it could be affirmed that the h a emoglobin had been by this e xpedient induced to rem ain in a state of suspension, the resultant varnish would be b eterogeneous in constitut ion and therefore unsuitable for the purpose of m a intain ing the Harmon ic balance built into a fine instrument - th e prime factor regulating the tonal value and quality of any v iolin i s without question homogeneity, whi ch rules out auto ­matical ly any form of pigmentat ion, corpusc le or c lay .

I have spoken to people who h ave been fortunate enough to see mal�y of th e fine examples of v io lin artistry originating from C remona displayed at Wurlitzers in New Y ork , H i lls of London, and elsewh ere, and despite this, the actua I nuance of the colour has so far eluded me -only in my m ind 's eye do I have a glimmer of this colour, or does it appear to be th is shade because of what Fry describes as dichroism ; (to be continued i n next issue)

Conducted by CARMEN WH ITE

MORE ON THE TERTIS VIOLA

May I reply briefly to Mr. Charles Vystrcil 's excel­

lent defense of the Tertis model viola? I refer to the

article at page 29 of the June-July issue. First, let me

assure Mr. Vystrcil that I certainly found no offense in his

well written article, and I admire his picture, as he looks

like a fine straightforward and capable fellow--a man I

would like to know better. I hope he will continue to

write and express his ideas, even though I may take the

liberty of disagreeing with him. He seemed to get from

my article that my experience with violas is strictly

limited --what I should have said was that my experience

in making violas is strictly limited--as it really is. But

my experience with violas is not quite so limitcd- -in fact,

I have played and listened to violas of all kinds and types

for more than thirty years, and on the basis of that exper­

ience and on the basis of a careful comparison of two of

Mr. Richardson 's Tertis model violas with violas made by

Storioni and Carcassi, and one made by myself, I will

stick to my original statement that these instruments

represent quite a departure both in tone and in appearance

from the ideals of the Italian makers. The picture of the

Tertis model viola made by Mr. Vystrcil and shown on

page 29 under his own excellent picture is a true picture

of the Richardson-Tertis violas I played on and listened to

in actual performanc e - -and I find nothing in this picture to

change my mind except that Mr. Vystrcil appears to have

finer workmanship and nicer woods than the two Tertis­

Richardson violas I played on.

We also tried two Tertis model violas made by a

very expert violin maker here in Texas; both were faith­

ful reproductions with the choicest woods and with work­

manship superior to Mr. Richardson 's. Their tone is nasal,

and it definitely lacks carrying power in ensembles and

orchestras- -these are easily surpassed by commercial

German violas, as we have both right in our section of

the orchestra and I hear them all the time, in rehearsals

and in concerts--so does the conductor ! It could be, of

course, that these four examples of Tertis model violas I

played were all bad instruments, but that is hard for me to accept--Mr. Vystrcil himself said that Mr. Richardson

was the maker who worked with Mr. Tertis until they

" improved this model many times until they got a really

good looking and excellently sounding instrument. " Now,

I am looking forward to seeing one of these, as the ones

I saw and played would not fit the above description in any

sense of the word. I am not impressed by the fact that one

maker sold one of these " five days after it was made" -­

many m akers have made and sold new instruments which

would not qualify for the description above- -in fact, many

inferior instruments, both old and new, are sold every day.

Many of these are sold to fine play ers and teachers who

ought to know better. Frequently, they find out the limit ­

ations of the inferior instrument and quietly lay it aside -­

but the maker i s not informed of this; he just remembers

that he sold the instrument to a fine player and assumes

that it must be doing a great job ! One of the outstanding

viola players in the great Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra

has a new viola made by one of the most outstanding

makers in this country, but in reply to my question as to

how he liked it, he shook his head rather violently I thought,

and said he did not like it � all, and that he was hunting a

viola ! He even requested me to go home from the concert

and bring for his examination an old viola of my own, but

time did not permit that. Now, I am sure that the fine

maker who made this new viola is telling all his customers

that a Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra player is using one

of his wonderful instruments--but I wonder if the player is

really using that instrument today ? My guess would be cer­

tainly not. I did get the opportunity to examine the ten

violas in that orchestra, and not one of them was a Tertis

model viola--I have never seen a T ertis model viola in any

of the maj or orchestras who have played in our part of the

country, but perhaps with Mr. Vystrcil's defense, these

instruments may come into more general use. I do hope

Mr. Vystrcil will write more, however, and that he will be

generous enough to permit an old symphony player to dis­

agree with him on this particular point.

C a r m e n W h i t e

* * * * * * * * *

3 3

THE SMALL STRADNARI

A Book Review by H. S. Wake

This is the title of a new novel by Deane Narayn

that is most pleasant reading for anyone who has anything

to do with fiddles, fiddle dealers and fiddle experts.

Although the book does not deal too kindly with

some of the so-called experts, and the story in some parts

is inclined to be a little indelicate, we must bear in mind

that it is fiction.

The true names of the great violin experts in London,

New York and Chicago are not mentioned; however the

author h as created fictitious names and the reader who

knows can follow the subtle references to them. I thoroughly

enjoyed the reading and can h ighly· recommend it to the

readers of our 'Journal ' ; it can be read from cover to cover

in a couple of hours and makes a pleasant diversion from

cutting 'F ' holes and carving scrolls. The book is priced at

$3. 95 in U. S . and is also on the shelves in the public

library (where my wife stumbled across it).

Here is the Synopsis of the story as printed on the

jacket of the Book.

The Small Stradivari

by Deane Narayn

$ 3. 95 ·U. S.

Published by Abelard - Schuman, London - 8 King St.

New York 6 West 57th St.

Toronto - 81 John St.

Synopsis - Did Clyde Small own a priceless Stradivari vio­

lin, or was the instrument ( which had been in his family for

generations) of much more modest origin?

To answer this question once and for all, Clyde, a

meek, long-suffering history teacher, comes to New York,

planning to sell the violin for whatever it is worth and

buy his shrewish wife , Amelia, a membership in a country

club. Once in New York, he enters the bewildering

world of fiddle dealers, experts, sharpers and cheats.

In rapid succession, he meets Dove, a violin expert

(purportedly Russian); J anice, his bright and amenable

daughter; Hadyn, an officious German who deals in rare

instruments; Medea, his uninhibited ward, who assists

him in his machinations ; Snell, a high-powered musical

promoter; and Devere, the expert of experts, about .whose

curiously constructed mansion, the Villa Viol, much of

the action revolves.

Clyde learns more about the fascinating history of

fiddles than he ever dreamed existed. He discovers that

microscopic differences distinguish an Amati from a

Stradivari, that thousands of dollars m ay hinge upon

the relative proportion of a bow. But he also learns a

good deal about himself and the sophisticated musical

world he admired from a distance. For this is a tale of

innocence, hopes, dupes and corruption, and there is gen­

uine suspense in the question of whether Clyde Small 's

violin is a valuable one, whether the tricksters will cheat

him out of just payment or whether he will come out on

top.

Readers in search of a completely fresh and diff­

erent background handled in a light and charming

manner will enjoy 'The Small Stradivari, Warning:

turning to the last page to see how the story turns out

is illegal, unethical and a crime that can only be expiated

by telling your friends about this delightful novel.

Luckily for violin buyers there are also very many

honest and straightforward violin dealers.

* * * * * * * * * *

F O R S A L E

I h a v e a s t o c k o f v e ry e x c e l l e n t w i l l o w s u i t a b l e f o r

c o r n e r b l o c k s . W r i t e f o r p r i c e s t o :

P a u l C . P e c k

B o x 2 6 4 4

S p a r t a n b u r g , S . C . , U . S . A .

34

Welt l1eteJ by The Ed i tor

Our M a i l B ag

One of the drawbacks of the ever increasing gro Vlrth of our Organization i s th e trem endolls amount of i ncom i l.g mai l . Much of this is, of course, rout i ne matter, such as p ayment of fees, etc. Th e more personal l etters I just can 't pass by and the first thing I know 1 am wri t i n g pages

to some k i nd member or to one who has perh aps i nvolved

me in som e sl ight argument. But no soouer do [ get to the bottom of one p ile of ma i l anoth er has accumulated. This is a personal touch and a very pleasa nt one.

Most members , by now, understand that I am C' n­deavouring to get a l l fees pay able on J anuary 1st of e a ch y ear. This will help to get most of our bookkeep ing cle ared up at one per iod and enab le me to spend more time at thC' enjoyable task of answering the more persona] lettt'rs. We

thank the Membership for cooperating in th is matter of fees.

V i sitors

During the l ast month or so we have had th e pleas­ure of entertaining many out of town M embers. This is a most enjoyable experi ence ; persons who were j ust a name on

our Membership l ist are no w p ersona l it ies and c lose fr i ends.

I h ave admired and p layed the ir instrum ents a n d we have

engaged in much fiddle ta lk. Last week we had a most interesting v isit from J oseph H arvath of C leve land, Oh io. H ere is a maker who wil l bear watch in g. H i s i nstruments are works of art, f inished with real amber varnish of h i s o w n make. /\ reddish bro wn color, wh i c h I personally a dm ire , for I fee l that most m akers who endeavour to pro­

duce a red viol in end up with a most gl aring, consp icuous carmine color that any artist would hesitate to carry on to the conccrt p latform. The tone of Mr. Harvath 's instru­m ents is superb, espec ially his violas. Fel lo w members should take a ti p from J oseph Harvath; he keeps in touch with a l l organizations who encourage string instrument p la ying and is a most s i nc ere member of The Americ:m S tring T eachers A sso c i at ion who have done so much in this direction. (See advert. on inside front cover of J ourna I ! )

Another visitor this same week was none other tha n Mr. L eon La Fosse. Prominent in Mus ica l C irc l es and more

espec i ;:ll ly to Publ ish ing and Mus i c a l I nstrumcnt D c a Ie rs, and now located at 3 1 19 W. C erm;lk Road, C h i cago.

I im ag ine there are few in ,\ m er ic a better a c q u a in ­

ted with viol ins, and the vio l in b us iness, than Mr. La Fosse. In order to be come completely i mmersed i ll th e pract i c a l s i de

he took the V iolin Makers ' course at th e c e l ebrated V i o l i n

S chool at W i ttenwald, Germany. H e tra ve l led a l l over

Europ e , se lect ing m a p l e and spruce and sho \\ed 111C severa l

p i e ces of most beautiful tone wood. What thri l led me most however, was to examine and p l ay four O ld Master v io l ins ,

wh i ch L eon brought ,vith him, inc luding a S a nto S eraph in 1 7 3 9 , wh i cl1 appealed to me part i cul arly . /\ b e a utiful

i nstrument of de l ightful solo qua l i ty , responsive, strong,

and mellow. An education to see and hear, and he l ps to restra i n the conce it one so m et imes fee ls over our o l·" n instrum.:nts, for fe w h ave reached th e standard set by this

Seraph in.

If you are interested in good m aterials and especially old v iolins, you should contact Mr. La Fosse.

Our Italian Correspo ndent

I received an interesting letter from M r. N. N ichol as t e ll ing me about a holiday he had enjoyed travell ing around Italy. Among other spots he v isited were the b i rthplace of Strad and other re nowned makers. N ick 's i nquisit ive eye noted m any th ings which we hope to hear about in his next l etter. I have rece ived m any letters fro m members who find our " Letter from It a ly" most informative.

V a l uable New Ml'mber

A new ml'mber of our group is Mr. Paul Peck of Spartanburg, S . C . , U . S . A . Mr. P eck has sent me much material wh ich can be used in future issues. Last week 11e sent me a copy of a magaline I h ave not seen for some t i me , namely " Workbench" . In this copy I not iced an

art i c le by one of our Members, Mr. Chester W atts of " Watt 's V i ol in Shop" , 480 1 - E. 3 1st St. , Kansas C ity 28, Mo. , U. S . A . Mr. Watts describes i n detai l tl1e bui kli ng

3 5

of a B a ritone U kule l e . Re ade rs will re member a while

a go I suggested members 111 ight I ike to bu i l d a Guitar from

a book by J oseph W a l lo ( \\'ho a dvert i ses with us). Now I

e xtend that s uggest ion to ukule le making. Mr. Watto

s e l l s the most important p arts such as pegs, fi ngerboard,

ukul e l e str i ngs, ctc. , in a kit for $8. 50, or you c an

obta in full s ize p l a n s and instructions from " Ukule l e" ,

Workbenc h , 543 W estport Road, Kansas C ity 1 1 , Mo.

I t h i n k i t does a v i o l i n m a k e r good to get a way from

v iol i ns once in a wh i l e . Spe aking of t h e m agazi n e ,

" Workbe nc h" , it is a sp l e nd i d a i d to all woodworkers.

U sefu l H i nt

Mr. Ed. C h arlton, of Toronto, one of our or i gina l

mem bers, a n d a v a l ue d friend, sent me, the fol lowing,

which he thought would he lp fellow m akers.

" Th e sm a l l L il iput planes which you buy are as

you know not so v ery usefu l , on a ccount of be ing so sm a l l ,

they are a lso very exp ensive at from three to five dol l ars

e a c h , and th e l argest one s e e ms to be no more than a bout

3/4 inc h , and there i s a b i g n e e d for someth ing a b i t

b i gger. W e l l , I rec ently bought a small plane made by Stan l ey Tools ; it measures 3 1 / 2 inches by 1 1 / 4 inch es

with a one inch plane iron. Any way it was a flat so l e

p late, but 1 h a d th e idea that th e degre e of convex ity

needed is so s l i ght, that p erhaps a person eould round it off

011 the emory whe e l , i f careful, th i s 1 d i d l e aving th e iron

i n the p la ne , j ust sl i g ht ly e xposed. Th ere was e nough

me t a l i n the c ast i ng to g i v e it just a n i c e flat ish curv e ,

th e n I rc groUlld t h e edge of t h e iron, and, presto, I h a d a

good useful p l a n e , wh ich i s spec i a l l y use ful for ' c e l lo

1V0rk , moreover J se e liO reason why th is could not b e done

on a s ize l arger p l ane i f one were needed. Th is l ittle

3 1 / 2 inch er cost $ 1 . 65 at departm e nt stores . "

Old and New Viol ins

H e re i s a ne ,,' c l ip p ing wh i c h our Pres i dent wishes me

to pri nt. It contains strong words of e n c ouragement.

Not so l ong ago at the London M usi c a l C lub a num e r ­

o u s a n d representat ive gathering e nde avored t o asc erta i n

"il ether t h e v i o l ins constructed by present -day m a k ers would

st and the test of comparison with instruments of c lassic

orig in. Professor Stan i sl av Frydberg, at whose disposa l had

b een placed two " te ams" consisting of five old a n d five new

v io l ins, p lay e d (beh ind a screen ) a series of extracts

se lected for th e purpose of testi n g the tone of e a c h instru­

m e nt, and the aud i en c e a llott ed marks in a c cordance with

the tone -value t hus estimated.

The c l ass ic typ e of instrument was represe nted b y three

" Stra ds, " a J oseph Guarnerius and a Gabriel l i ; the modem

e x amp l e s were by B e are , VOigt , H udson , Hoing and Rose.

T h e rcsult of th", contest was that a new Rost violin secured

first place, and the second and third places were awarded to

the Ga br i e l l i and one of the " S trads. " M. Mont agu -N ath a n

( d i rector-se cretary of t h e United A rts S ociety ) , who presided,

assured the audience that the s ingle aim o f the demonstration

had been that of ascertai nin g whether publ ic p erform ers coul d

s a fe ly rely on t h e products of the 1 iving craftsm an ; it was

gratify ing to have se cured such evidence as h a d been forth ­

coming.

New A V AILABLE

1 4" STRAD MODEL INSIDE MOLD, TOGETHER WITH

METAL 'HALF OUTLINE ' PATTERNS AND SET OF 'U '

CLAMP S : OR WILL MAKE TO YOUR OUTLINE PATTERN·

'LUTHIER '

1 46 1 Rosecrans

San D ie go , C a l i f.

THE HOMER

by H . F . S l e ath

Brisbane, Australi a

For tcn or a dozen years I h a d in my workshop the wreck of what had once b e en a fine old Eng lish Violin b y

J ohn Foster. It had b e en v ery sadly treated down the y e ars , but I hoped t o find time for a re al ly complete restoration.

M any t im es on the verge of starting the work but som eth ing a lways prevented m e . At last i n frustration and disgust

I regretfully sent the instrument to a C ity Art Auct i o n for a s a le scheduled on the fo l lOWin g Friday morn ing. Exac tly 45 m i nutes after t he c lose of the s a l e an i mportant automob i J e arrived at my workshop and a young m an and his

h a ndsome wife arr i ved with a v io l in for repa irs and v a luat ion. It seems that the violin they had came from England

where it h a d b e en in the w ife ' s fam i ly for generat ions. Could I restore it and what would then b e its v a lue. I made

th e e xcuse that I had too much work on h and and adv i sed them to send it to a repa irm an in another part of the

COlUltry ' Of course, it was the Foster! I neve r s a w or h e a rd of that v io l in or th e young gent lem en and his wife again .

36

Willianl � and Son JS t r i n g I n s t r u m e n t S p e c i a l i s t s I R a r e O l d I n s t r u m e nt s

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AN T O N I O S T R A D I V A R I

1644 - 1737

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