I treated the bar to a thin dressing of hide glue to consolidate it, and had to splint the top end for around 212 of its length. Finally finished fixing the cracks and setting cleats, bass bar, and. Fiber is black, pear wood is somewhat reddish, and maple is white or stained black. When i took the table off to repair the cracks, i noted that i have a thin, shallow carvedin bass bar which had cracks of its own. Usually,we use epacket delivery from chinaabout 721 business days ship to the us, canada, france, australia, russia and so on. Cello bass bar crack repair wallace violins wallace. The bridge is made exclusively in field maple and has a characteristic shape and size for each member of the violin family.
The usual repair consists of removing the old bass bar, gluing the crack, fitting a. The instrument is in nice shape except for this bass. At the lower end of the bass bar toward the end pin mark this measurement plus 0. At the upper end of the bass bar toward the neck, mark this measurement minus 0. May 11, 2009 this process is repeated and gradually more and more of the bar is chalked. The soundpost and the bass bar are made in resonance spruce. Starting with an oversize bar, the luthier carefully removes wood from the bar and retests until he reaches the point where removing wood no longer improves the chladni pattern shapes.
I understand that the majority of all violins out there at least the ones from 50100 years ago are almost all like that. The increase in weight also meant using a slightly different shape for the bar itselfone that is fuller in the center, before tapering at the ends. If the instrument suffers an impact in the bridge, it will be comunicated to the bar and to the soundpost, resulting in a bass crack or in a post crack. A lower bout seam opening is being glued and clamped. After cleaning and gluing the cracks in this area, i made a partial plaster cast of. Finally when the whole bar is marked and therefore in good contact you breathe a sigh of relief, open a can and heat up the glue. Setting the bass bar in fiona one of the mysterious steps in violin making is setting the bass bar. Unknown origin the violin connection of southern africa.
This made it impossible to correctly set up the instrument and get the best sound out of it. Usually,we use epacket delivery from chinaabout 721 business days ship to. Why diy wont do when your violin suffers a major malfunction. Here is a viola that had multiple cracks in the same area. Both a musician and from a family of wood workers, i was drawn to violin making from an early age. Strings violin shop 5842 merriam drive merriam, ks 66203. For inspecting hollow bodies and positions that are difficult to access. The bass bar is a long brace running vertically down the carved top, transmitting string energy from the bridge. If they are subjected to sudden humidity or temperature changes and the plates can not gradually adjust to their new size, cracks can develop.
Ill be adding strings to my shopping cart in the near future. The bridge, the soundpost and the bass bar for violin family. Lorraine worked on my violin after it had suffered a knock that caused a crack to appear down the belly of the instrument. First, gevorkian had to put a protective layer of very thin aluminum foil over the top of my violin so that he could use it to make a plaster cast of my violin top. One of the bridge feet is over the bass bar and the other one is near the soundpost.
Effect of bass bar tension on modal parameters of a violin. As shown in the photos above, we have an example of a crack that runs about 2 inches above the left fhole of a viola. Lorraine did a great job repairing a crack along the bass bar of my cello. Occasionally these types of cracks can be glued from the outside but most likely you will need to remove the top. Bass bar crack repair the pegbox maestronet forums. My clients are not well off, and dont play the violin, although her brother might want to learn. The button was broken and was not supporting the neck tension properly anymore which led to a low neck elevation. Mark out the position of the bass bar on the plate, see the circles in fig. It was caused by some sort of fall or shock to the instrument. Upton bass also services all instruments and bows of the violin family with world class restoration and repair, to view our online restoration portfolio visit upton bass is ready to offer advice and answer any questions. These plates expand and contract with weather changes.
For me at least bass bar fitting is not one of the most exciting episodes in making a violin. One of the mysterious steps in violin making is setting the bass bar. Violin shops had to retrofit older instrumentswhich, at this point, included pretty much anything made prior to the late18th centurywith new bass bars and, more often than not, neck grafts. Sound post cracks or bass bar cracks usually need to have the top removed and patched. What was wrong with the old one was that it wasnt quite long or large enough and slightly installed crooked. Dalton potter explains the function of the bass bar in sound production for string instruments. A crack to the bass flank of the pegbox is repaired with a graft the inside of the flank.
Now draw a line between these two new points i pencil in a line using a flexible metal ruler as a guide. It very easy to use, it will be the best solution for the luthier. Hidden inside the top, the bass bar is one of the elegantly sculpted parts of the violin. In a string instrument, the bass bar is a brace running from the foot of the neck to a position under the bridge, which bears much of the tension of the strings. Notice the slight tilt, causing the bar run a bit across the grain, reinforcing the arch even more. Dalton potter, violin make and owner of the potter violin company, discusses the issue of one vs. With quite a few cracks the bassbar crack and the line underneath the bridge are the most worrisome, one has to be willing to invest in future. The bass bar serves to prop up the arching as well as tune the plate and put it in balance. It can be said that the violin is structurally stable.
Its somewhat difficult to give prices without seeing the instrument. The bass bar runs right under the bass foot of the bridge. This is a crack that runs along the length of the bassbar on the top of the instrument. Jan 22, 20 dalton potter explains the function of the bass bar in sound production for string instruments. The bass bar is a reinforcing strut which is fixed inside the front of the violin and lies under the line of the g string. But that flexibility makes them vulnerable to a sudden impact, which can result in a crack. It caused the bassbar itself to come loose it didnt fit so well in the first place. The bass bar tension is the only intentionally introduced modification of the instrument. Fiddle talk violin discussion forum playing the violin. Fitting the bar is perhaps the most precise step in making an instrument.
The usual repair consists of removing the old bass bar, gluing the crack, fitting a new bass bar, cleating the crack, fitting t. Violin and viola same 3 pieces, cello 7 pieces, bass 10 pieces. Bass violins were usually somewhat larger than the modern cello. The bass bar is a piece of wood on the underside of the faceplate or belly of stringed instruments such as violins, violas or cellos it runs along the bass string of the instrument down to the bass end of the bridge, counterbalancing the pressure of the sound post under the treble end of the bridge, reinforcing the top plate and allowing extra string pressure. Upton bass also services all instruments and bows of the violin family with world class restoration and repair, to view our online restoration portfolio visit. Violin, viola, cello, bass supplies we offer a wide variety of string instrument supplies, usually at a 40% discount off the list price. Airmail via economy china post office about 2045 business days ship to worldwide. This is a button repair i made on a violin by jansen miller, nyc, circa 1930. Repair and restoration upton bass double bass string. This also covers a small crack to the edge of the upper left bout of the top, and to a minor crack running from the lower edge of the bass cbout downwards for about 3 cm.
Zaret has developed a new design for the bass bar which allows precise and effective adjustment to achieve the most desirable qualities of sound in all instruments. Finishing the thickness and making the bass bar for a guarneri del gesu il cannone model. Experimental modal analysis on a violin with three different tensions of a bass bar is performed. This process is repeated and gradually more and more of the bar is chalked. One day, from curiosity i mapped out how a normal bar, which has a sweeping, scooped look on the contoured violin top, would look if it were on a flat top rather than an arched one, by mapping the heights on a flat line, and was i surprised. Cello bass bar crack repair wallace violins wallace violins. Bass bar, an oblong piece of wood, fixed lengthwise inside the belly of the various instruments belonging to the violin tribe, running in the same direction with the strings, below the lowest string, and acting as a beam or girder to strengthen the belly against the pressure of the left foot of the bridge, as the soundpost does against that. Interesting, i see that a jarring impact to the bridge can affect either or both sides of the table, at the bass bar as well as the soundpost area, and of course through to the back via the soundpost well.
The bass bar tuning process attempts to return the patterns to a shape close to the shape prior to adding the bar. Violin, viola, cello and bass bass bar cracks bass bar cracks can distort the shape of the instruments top because of the strain of the bass bar. In the members of the violin family in the members of the viola da. It has to support the top, and it also distributes the vibrations to the rest of the top. These type of cracks are fairly easy if you take the top of the instrument off, but fixing it just from the outside is somewhat of a challenge, plus it saves the customer some money. On this repair cleets are shown over a center crack on a violin top. Violin bass bar fitting how to trimming violin rib corners video. Violin, viola, cello, bass crack repairs violin family instruments have tops, backs and ribs that are fairly thin. A few years ago, a cello i made suffered a drop that resulted in both a soundpost and a bassbar crack. A cello is devalued if it has a repaired bassbar crack 2040%, a repaired soundpost crack in the top 3050%, a repaired soundpost crack in the back 4075%, although any of the above repairs, or any other repairs, if done properly, will result in the cello not being any weaker in the repaired area than before the damage occurred.
Despite their solid appearance that guarantees rigidity are very light. The role and romance of the bass bar strings magazine. Tagged animal glue bass bar crack spruce top violin wood wood glue. Im also well aware, and have done, the standard repair for a bass bar crack. The bridge, the soundpost and the bass bar for violin. Violin top crack repair fixing a short crack on a violin top. Every string instrument has a bass bar, the wood piece inside that enhances the quality of sound and impacts the volume. Mar 01, 2009 but these pressure pointsthe top, along the length of the bass bar and over the soundpost, and the back, where the bottom of the post rests, are designed to be flexible, in order to conduct and amplify the vibrations. Effect of bass bar tension on modal parameters of a violins. The reason for my interest is the very skimpy nature of the bass bar in my own violin. I prefer to preheat the bass bar and top plate to about 100 degrees f. New violin bass bar clamp luthier tools, violin making. The proper way would be to remove the entire top by separating it from its ribs, apply animal glue to the crack joint, and secure the crack further from opening in the future by means of studs or cleats beneath the crack. Today violin maker derek roberts makes the bass bar and fits it to the inside of the front plate.
I recognize that a bass bar crack is a serious crack, and will devalue an instrument. The bridge is set on the top of the violin, between the ff holes. Not only was she able to give me an accurate quote on costs and the time she would need to repair it there and then, she also understood how important to me it was to get my instrument repaired and back to work with me as quickly as possible. A new bass bar and a series of cleets over cracks have been added to this repair. Stone, fwiw, i just had my violin redone, and it had a bass bar that was replaced. Violin, viola, cello, and bass repair, violin sales, custom building, bow rehair home about us hours directions gallery eisenbarth instruments repair price list rental program contact us due to the covid19 outbreak, eisenbarth violin shop is closed until further notice. Usually,we use epacket delivery from chinaabout 720 business days ship to the usa, canada, france, australia, russia, uk. Bass violin is the modern term for various 16th and 17thcentury bass instruments of the violin i. There is much discussion about the bar tension, placement, and thickness. When perfectly fitted, the bar is glued into place with violin making glue, usually perpendicular to the predominant contact surface as the curvature changes throughout the length of the bass bar. It strengthens the front plate and helps transmit low frequency vibrations from the string to the body of the instrument. But these pressure pointsthe top, along the length of the bass bar and over the soundpost, and the back, where the bottom of the post rests, are designed to be flexible, in order to conduct and amplify the vibrations.
Learn how violinmakers place the bass bar on fine violins, violas and cellos in. Bass bar cracks can distort the shape of the instruments top because of the strain of the bass bar occasionally these types of cracks can be glued from the. On deciding to become a violin maker, i left france and came to england to study at the renowned newark school of violin making in 2006. Split a piece of spruce 350 x 20 x 8 mm, ideally the same spruce you used for the top plate plane down the sides so that they run. Besides the crack, the fiddle needed a chest patch and a new bass bar to fit the corrected shape.