Books › Violin tone and violin makers, 1916 › scan 37
Scan 37
Violin tone and violin makers, 1916
12 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 17. See the scan on archive.org.
1players although Guarnerian tone is preferred by some—to quote the opinion of one celebrated expert, "The tone of a good Joseph beats that of the average 'Strad' into a cocked hat!" Stradivarian tone has been said to combine the good qualities of both Brescian and Amatisé. It possesses in a marked degree that rich woody quality admired by connoisseurs. To appreciate the meaning of "woody" quality, one should hear an organ containing both wood and metal pipes and note the difference in tone quality between them. The best organ of this kind I know of, and one of the richest toned instruments it has ever been my pleasure to hear, is located in the Tabernacle at Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A., and was built by an Englishman, Joseph H. Ridges (1826–1914) about sixty years ago.
3(Antonio Stradivari 1700–1724 period.)
4Length of body … … 13 15/16 to 14 1/8 inches
5Width across lower bouts … 8 1/4 inches
6Width across upper bouts … 6 1/2 to 6 11/16 inches
7Arching variable but always tending to flatness.
9Of all the five types of tone Stradivarian is the most plentiful. Apart from the violins of Stradivari, which are more numerous,* perhaps, than that of any other famous old maker, the
11* It has been variously estimated that Stradivari constructed during his lifetime between 1000 and 1500 instruments.
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