Books › The violin and the art of its construction. A treatise on the Stradivarius violin, 1895 › scan 14
Scan 14
The violin and the art of its construction. A treatise on the Stradivarius violin, 1895
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1I. OF THE WOOD.
3There can be no doubt whatever that a correct knowledge and choice of the wood for the construction of violins is of the utmost importance. Both these qualifications, however, can only be gained by experience, since that alone can prove which kind of wood is the most suitable and produces the best results.
5The back, the ribs, the neck, and the head should be of maple, and neither too hard, nor too soft, nor yet too deeply grained. In every case light wood should be selected, and I consider Hungarian maple the best for the purpose. For the belly, the so-called white fir or pine should be used, as both kinds of wood possess sufficient resonance, and are easily manipulated. These woods too must be as light as possible, and should have neither very narrow nor very broad, but regular and well-formed concentric circles. The Tyrol and the neighbouring cantons of Switzerland produce the best wood for this purpose. It is to be observed that the pieces used must be split and not cut.
7In my opinion, the much praised American pine is too soft and resinous, and neither do I consider the American maple qualified for the construction of violins. The wood used by myself is obtained from Schoenbach, near Eger, in Bohemia, where large supplies for the needs of instrument
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