This site, like many others, uses small files called cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on this website Cookie Policy. However, if you would like to, you can change your cookie settings at any time.
In the second of two articles on set-up, Joseph Curtin investigates the acoustical role of the violin bridge and the interconnected relationships between mass, frequency and resonance. The bridge and soundpost are ground zero for set-up.
Where the post is a simple, timeless design β a spruce rod whose important parameters are mainly its length and position, the bridge is a complex structure whose design has changed dramatically over the centuries, and whose important parameters are, after several decades of scientific research, only now becoming clear. That said, the five bridges depicted in Figure 1 suggest a line of development. Comparing the Stradivari bridge 1a with the Hill bridge 1e , the upside-down heart set beneath the waist of the former has become the upright, blunted heart above the waist of the latter.
The Baroque design has, in effect, been inverted β the way the subject of a fugue might be. The inversion of the Baroque bridge design allowed the modern bridge to have a relatively narrow waist with a relatively large amount of wood above it.
The acoustical implications of this will be a central focus of this article. Already subscribed? Please sign in. For a limited period, you can try an online subscription to The Strad completely free of charge. Not sure about subscribing? Free trial. No more paywalls. Online subscribers will only receive access to the digital versions. Site powered by Webvision Cloud. Skip to main content Skip to navigation. Views on the Bridge T Free 7-day trial Not sure about subscribing?
