Scan 92
The violin & its story : or the history & construction of the violin, 1905
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 76. See the scan on archive.org.
1of the wood alone that we owe excellence of tone, if the maker of the instrument has exercised judicious care in the selection of his wood. Much more does it follow that the fibres and all the molecules of the wood acquire through playing that mobility which is most suitable for vibration.
3(3) There is no trace whatever discoverable that the wood of the old Italian fiddles, which the imitators most prize as samples, ever underwent any process of artificial drying or any other kind of preparation.
5It is greatly to be desired that this degenerate method of making instruments should fall into desuetude. The experience and practical knowledge which time brings must sooner or later open the eyes of the musical world in respect to such bungled work, which—altogether apart from the arduous and most minute care vainly spent upon it—results in absolutely throwing away the really fine wood which is so often used in carrying out these deceitful practices.
7After all said and done, there is no longer any doubt possible that fiddle makers must hark back to the good old ways of the Cremonese masters. It has long been thought, and is believed still, that their secret has been entirely lost. That "secret," however, reveals itself to every intelligent and experienced violin maker who will take the trouble to study with close attention the construction of those grand old masterpieces. If he will but choose good, sound, well-dried wood; if he will construct his violin with all due regard to the peculiarities of the wood he uses; if he will but make his instrument in its every part on the lines of a good pattern; if, moreover, he understands how to give to the bass-bar its exact proportions, and gives the requisite height, size, and quality—he cannot fail to produce a first-class fiddle. It will from the start yield a strong, powerful tone, and will manifest freedom of speech in all positions alike. With the careful use of years, all roughness will entirely disappear, and the tone will become as clear, as brilliant, and as free as that of his original model.
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