Books › The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871 › scan 70
Scan 70
The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1but if we place it near the nut, its motion will be contrary to that of the bow. This phenomenon proves that the curve in the half of the string nearest the nut makes an angle in the opposite direction to that produced by the bow at the point of attack.
3The weight necessary to stretch a violin string is as nearly as possible 20 lbs. The first string often requires 22 lbs. to bring it up to pitch; for the second 20 lbs. are required, and a little less for the third and fourth. Let us take a first string, having exactly the length given to it on a violin, and making it sound E, by stretching it by the appropriate weight. We will now see what part of the weight is supported by the belly when the whole tension of the four strings amounts to 80 lbs. To this E string, stretched horizontally, we will suspend a weight, at the exact point where the bridge would be, sufficient to cause the string to make at that point the same angle it makes when stretched over the bridge, which angle is about 155°; the string will then give the sound F. If we examine the weight we find it to be 6 lbs. 2 oz. Thus the table would support about 24 lbs. for the four strings. After establishing the conditions in which the best violins of Guarnerius and Stradivarius were constructed, and having proved that they contain a mass of air giving do = 512 vibrations, and having also stated that musicians should adopt this diapason in order to get the best possible tone from their instruments, we shall finish by saying, that we shall be able to construct excellent violins on any other tone, by constructing them precisely similar to those of Stradivarius, and
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