Introducing The Violare

(transitive) Italian

Meaning: To break, to violate, to infringe, to profane

Pronounced: Vee-ol-are-ee

Violin Ownership:

The construction of a traditional violin by hand is an undertaking abundant with complex processes. Even the most skilled and experienced luthiers will spend weeks to complete one instrument, from the initial wood selection to the final varnish coat. The cost of these hours are part of an investment by the violinmaker that must also include the materials, the best of which can amount to hundreds of dollars for a single instrument.

Of course, the labour and material cost puts most hand made violins by recognised makers out of reach for many players, especially students. Many of the “recognised” instruments are owned by institutions and wealthy individuals, part of the 1% Club who hold 99% of the wealth.

Some of the institutions and individuals loan these instruments to protégés and promising students until they are sufficiently remunerated from their own musical careers to finally own their own specialised piece of history, albeit a less expensive version, and often never. It is an exclusive Club! But nevertheless, even the very best players will still have enormous, almost impossible difficulty in owning a Stradivari, Guarneri or other famous instrument from the Italian school.

The price gap between instruments made by one person in a small workshop and those made in a factory by many people is enormous. If the instrument made by a single person has a famous name on its label, that price gap becomes exponential.

A Resolution:

To resolve the problem of getting quality hand made instruments into the hands of students and many other players, is to make the instrument more affordable. But how? One way is to make the Luthier more poor than the majority already are.

Another way is to change that classical shape. While quite beautiful and unchanged for hundreds of years, embracing design changes is the key to affordable handmade instruments. Changing the design of labour intensive components, while not compromising the attributes of sound quality has been tried by many, and despite the naysayers, many have had success. Generally speaking, it is not that those who have embraced change have failed on the practical side, but have failed to gain acceptance for their philosophy. By the way, I do not expect acceptance for my ideas either. I am just another “trier”.

However, this approach differs from other attempts to “modernise” the violin by simplifying the sound board and enhancing the physics of the resonator. While this is the main difference, other changes have made this instrument easier to construct, and consequently, much faster to build.

Granted, it looks different, but that is unavoidable in context of what I am trying to achieve. However, I believe the design is elegant and the playing attributes are exactly the same as the traditional form. The changes I have made will be considered radical by some, if not many. On the other hand, the rational argument should be to judge all instruments by the way they sound, the way they play and the craftsmanship according to the beholder. Ok, the changes I have made are radical. Below are some of them and the myths that have maintained the attributes of the traditional form for hundreds of years.

Corners:

Myth: Corners on a violin (the pointy bits) are necessary to provide strength and integrity to the construction.

Fact: Corners on the violin family of instruments are ornamental, very beautiful in terms of the instrument in its entirety, but nevertheless, superfluous in terms of sound production. The corners have blocks within that inhibit vibration, and vibration is important to amplitude and projection.

The integrity of the construction does not rely on the corners. Many other forms of stringed instruments do not have corners and have also lasted many centuries.

Arched Plates:

Myth: The top plate has to be arched to eliminate the possibility of a collapse under the tension of the strings.

Fact: A flat belly or top plate vibrates more freely than an arched plate. The sound post is a constant with regard to support for the belly. A more substantial bass bar compensates for the strength of an arch and still allows the belly to vibrate more than the traditional form.

Treble Side and Bass Side:

Myth: For convenience of explanation or simple ignorance, people speak of the bass or treble side of the instrument as being affected by the soundpost on the treble side as one set of circumstances, or the bass bar on the bass side as another set of circumstances..

Fact: The violin is a system where all strings are dependent on the soundpost as an island or fulcrum to maintain stability while the bass bar pumps air in and out of the “F” holes when any or all strings are excited by the stroke of the bow.

Misplaced Belief in Ancient Technologies:

Fact: Experts in many fields believe that a number of artisans in Cremona, Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries (and specifically one artisan) knew more about wood properties, chemistry, physics (especially acoustics), philosophy, maths, geometry and most other disciplines than we know about today.

Myth: All of the above.

“F” Holes:

Myth: The “F” Hole design is based on the ancient Golden Section and the irrational number of Phi to design and position them, and to change them in any way will be detrimental to the violin.

Fact: The “F” Holes evolved from early in the 16th Century to the classic shape that Stradivari perfected over his long life. The shape is largely decorative . However, the holes spread from the lower corners of the instrument to be about 42 mm apart on the centre line of the top, providing a “free plate” area of vibration that includes the sound post and the bass bar. This design is not the only way that sound production can be achieved.

The VIOLARE embraces the “f” hole concept of “free plate vibration” that evolved through the 16th and 17th centuries, but in a very different way. The”slits” that replace the “f” holes produce very little sound because of the small surface area they occupy. Their sole purpose is to increase the area of “free plate vibration” , thus allowing the bass bar to pump the belly more freely when a string is excited by the bow, the amplified sound exiting the body through an elliptical sound hole that is partly obscured by the fingerboard.

This concept comes exclusively from the research done by John C. McLennan, who inspired the VIOLARE when I read this essay on the function of the F-Holes.

http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/publications/mclennan/fholes.pdf .

Two paragraphs from this work inspired my journey with the VIOLARE, and those inspirational words follow:

“The unique shape of the f-holes must allow the bridge the maximum freedom to function in transferring the string vibrations to the top plate with some latitude in bridge placement as seen in early paintings. Other shapes while allowing the Helmholtz resonance, would appear to be more restrictive. Crescent shapes both inward and outward facing have been used. Flame shape openings have also appeared. What has been lacking is the simultaneous inward projection at the upper end and the outward projection at the lower end.

An additional round sound hole placed under the fingerboard in some instruments would simply serve to enlarge the sound hole area in determining the Helmholtz resonance. Whether f-holes could be reduced to slits close to the C-bouts to enlarge the central area, and the Helmholtz resonance opening be provided by a circular sound hole under the fingerboard is a development few would welcome.”

Those last five words; “a development few would welcome” may have discouraged me, unless a suitable aesthetic quality could be found. Some would still find this development unwelcome, until they play this instrument, with its big sound, intensity, projection and clarity.

The Soundpost:

Since the early 19th century, probably commencing with Savart’s research, the conventional wisdom has been that adjusting the soundpost by small increments away or closer to the treble foot of the bridge will enhance or be of detriment to the sound of the instrument. Apparently, the thinking was that each individual instrument has its own particular soundpost position, with a standard starting position being 5 mm directly behind the treble foot of the bridge.

In part of the recent research by John C. Mclennan in a review of the soundpost function, he concludes; “This review of the soundpost is a small part of the wider study of violin acoustics. It suggests that the sides may need to be taken into account with the soundpost. It shows that the traditional thinking about adjusting the soundpost (position) is not correct.” http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/people/mclennan.html

The VIOLARE embraces a standard position that is not 5mm behind the back face of the bridge, but 5 mm from the centre of the bridge foot to the centre line of the soundpost. Because the VIOLARE soundpost protrudes through a 6 mm hole in the top, these measurements allow the treble foot of the bridge to sit half on the the top of the post, and locks the post and the top to the sound board with the downward pressure of the strings.

Scroll and Pegbox:

Myth: The scroll is based on the Golden Mean Spiral. The scroll is also an integral part of the instrument and, without it, the sound dynamic of the instrument changes.

Fact: A simple system of modern ultra light machine ends is preferable for students and players alike. Professional players may disagree simply to uphold the tradition.The scroll itself is quite beautiful, but nevertheless, decorative.

Varnish:

Myth: Violin varnish is one of the “secrets” of Stradivari’s fabulous sound.

Fact: Many of the best violinmakers have stated that they think their instruments sound better “in the white”, that is, prior to being varnished.

Purfling:

The excellence of a violin is often measured by the way the purfling is laid down as a border to the instrument. People rave about “bee stings” where the three strips of colored wood or fibre meet at the corners. Other than decoration, the only purpose served by purfling is to prevent splits at the edges of the instrument from traveling into the soundboard and back of the violin. The edgework, including the purfling, is labour intensive when compared to binding, the common way to protect the edges of guitars and many other stringed instruments.

The VIOLARE eliminates the “overhang” that violins have, and uses ivoroid binding similar to the guitar. It also eliminates the edgework or scooping of the edges that is common in hand made violins. The time saved in this process is substantial.

Change for the Sake of Change?

Wanting to change for the sake of change in itself is futile. As one famous saying goes, “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.” The violin in its present form “ain’t broken.” However, if students have to rent or be loaned a hand made violin, there is definitely room in World of the Violin for a more affordable alternative without compromising the finer playing qualities of the traditional, nay, historical form.

Testimonials:

The prototype made its way North from here to be tested by a Phd in Musical Performance (violin) and to be videoed for Youtube. The video, comparing a Lupot violin to the first Prototype of the Violare, appears below these comments made by the player:

“The violin arrived yesterday and I took it along to a rehearsal. The top end is great! Here is where it shines, especially given its ‘newness’. It can even handle Romantic Classical repertoire re projection, intensity and clarity but it also has a sweetness about the tone ‘way up there’. I can’t get the same out of the lower two strings, primarily (I think) due to the very low action – I was ‘fretting it out’ with the pressure of my bow, producing a rattle. However, played gently, it has a warm, airy tone down there – very suitable for Baroque style (18th century/pre-Romantic era) Folk or Classical. A couple of my colleagues think it would sound great with gut strings – the real deal ones – so I might experiment with this, I have a Justin White Baroque violin to compare it to as well.

Interestingly, I found the Baroque style of playing suited your other violin too, perhaps it is in the timbers? My group were also unanimous in hearing a brilliant mandolin, when played as one, and are now very curious about your mandolins! ”

This link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_xrVPgS-8M provides three playing styles in a comparison between the Violare and the Lupot, which, according to its owner, “if you are aiming for volume, clarity/brilliance with a warm tone where it’s needed, the Lupot is a great target.”

Pricing and Ordering:

The VIOLARE is made to order unless, at the time of contact, an instrument is available out of the workshop. Enquiries and Orders: EMAIL :bazguest@optusnet.com.

The cheapest handmade violins are priced around $2,500.00 to $3,000.00 and will typically be the work of one person, providing cohesion in the process and close attention to the detail that inevitably produces the best amplitude, projection and tone – and, most importantly, ongoing support from the person who made it.

The cheapest factory violin can be as little as $100.00, and can typically pass through one hundred pair of hands, providing NO cohesion between the components, which inevitably produces a disappointing instrument with NO after sales service.

The VIOLARE takes half the time that a violin takes to make by hand and therefore can be purchased exclusively from Barry Guest of Sydney for only $1350.00 and includes a basic case. Postage is extra but at cost to your destination Worldwide.