Inside the Shop
Acoustic Alignment at the Bench
It was an early afternoon in Dallas.
A woman walked through my door fresh out of Symphony rehearsal.
Setting her case on the table, we chatted for a minute or two. Her instrument simply didn’t sound or play up to her abilities, and as a result, didn’t play up to the abilities of her violin section.
It was a problem.
The Situation
So with permission, I took her violin into the workshop and set it down on my bench.
It was a couple of hundred years old. Italian.
She followed like a mother hen…right on my elbow.
The Process
I took my gages, straight edges, and rulers off my tool board and began measuring.
I measured the neck angles from all the relevant spots. It was fine.
Checked the soundpost and bridge. It was ok…
Then I measured the bass bar.
What I Found
The bass bar is an internal brace, fit and glued on the inside of the top.
Where it’s located is crucial.
It runs just inside the left f-hole. If you get the light just right, you can usually see it.
Anyway, her bass bar was fit closer to the middle of the top than it was to the f-hole.
If I wanted to fit a bass bar in the worst possible place, that would be it.
The Explanation
Visibly upset and desperate, she told me she’d been to a lot of shops. Mostly in New York.
No one had mentioned this problem before.
It was a complete acoustical misalignment.
A Temporary Solution
She had rehearsal again in the morning, so that night, I cut a Frankenstein bridge and post.
The post was set way outside, the bridge so far off center it looked like a Picasso.
But they lined up with the bass bar.
The string notches were almost to the edge of the bridge and just barely over the fingerboard.
But it was enough to limp through a rehearsal.
The Immediate Result
The next morning she broke into tears.
Her instrument responded immediately. It was even. It had a “golden voice.”
The Real Work
After the concerts that weekend she brought it back to the shop and left it with me for about a week and a half.
I removed the top and cut out the old bass bar.
The new bar got laid out with meticulous measurements and fit like it grew there.
The top glued back on, a new soundpost and bridge, and it was ready for pickup.
The Outcome
Walking back through my door a couple weeks later she was almost shimmering with anticipation.
And again, she sobbed.
She’d been fighting the response of this instrument for years.
Still, somehow, she made it through auditions to land a seat in a major symphony orchestra.
She was really good.
And finally, her instrument did her justice.
What This Means
It was as rare for me as it was for her.
Well, maybe not quite as much.
But it was an experiment based on acoustic alignment that won the day.
This is what happens when structure and sound finally align.
Reflection
It was a great day to be a violin maker at the bench.
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