Mysterious Violin Bridge

All instruments in the violin family have bridges whose main function is to transmit the vibration of the strings to the body. But in addition, the bridge itself is also very important. After careful production and installation, the bridge will make all violinists love it. Let's explore the world of the violin bridge together.

Materials for making violin bridges

The violin bridge is generally made of maple wood without a pattern but with an obvious pith. Since this material has no pattern, the wood grain is straight and the material is relatively hard. The prominent pith will also add to the beauty of the bridge.

The wood used to make the violin bridge must be quarter-sawn. There are many ways to cut wood. For details, please refer to Do you know how the wood used to make the violin is sawed? When splitting the wedge, place the top of the violin bridge toward the center of the trunk, which is the pointy, thinner side of the wedge. The feet are towards the outside of the trunk, which is the thicker side of the wedge. The sides of the violin bridge are oriented in the direction of tree trunk growth. The advantage of this material selection is to make the wood have stronger hardness and more stable acoustic characteristics as much as possible.

The selection standard of violin bridge can help us to choose a good violin bridge. When buying a violin bridge, in addition to the straight wood grain, you can observe the back of the violin bridge(the side facing the tailpiece). Whether the back of the bridge is the quarter-sawn section, and if it is the quarter-sawn section, then the shape of the medullary bundle on the back should be a long strip. If it is not quarter-sawn, it will cut off the pith grain of the wood, so that it looks like a round or oval spot. Since the violin bridge needs to be trimmed to the required thickness, its front side (the side facing the fingerboard) cannot be the quarter-sawn, so the pith bundles on this side should look like circles or spots of varying lengths. Finally, it is also necessary to observe whether the annual rings of the bridge are perpendicular to the back and whether the vertical one is the most suitable.

The main function of the violin bridge

1: As a support point, raise the strings to keep the strings at an appropriate height.

2: As the Conductor Part, it is responsible for transmitting the vibration of the strings to the body of the violin.

3: Adjust the speed of vibration transmission. Since the heights of the E, A, D, and G strings are inconsistent, the path of vibration transmission is long or short. At this time, the unique structure of the bridge is required to adjust the speed of vibration transmission.

4: Transmission pressure, the pressure of the strings is pressed to the violin top plate through the feet, making the sound column inside the violin box more stable.

5: Adjust the sound quality, the installation position of the bridge, the width of the feet, the thickness of the bridge and other factors will have a significant impact on the sound quality of the violin.For example: if your violin sounds particularly sharp, then you need a wider and softer bridge to make the sound more gentle. Conversely, if your violin has a low sound, you can choose thinner and stiffer bridges, and you will have a more beautiful and sonorous sound.

How do violin bridges work?

This is the same as the sounding principle of the violin. Simply put, it is to transmit the vibration from the strings to the body of the violin. For the specific working principle, please refer to How does your violin produce sound?

Bridge installation and setup

We have seen on Google that customers asked how the bridge is fixed to the top plate. Some people think that it is glued to the panel with glue or similar substances, which is completely wrong.

The bridge is the same as all bridges in reality, it must be movable, so it will not be glued to the top plate, it is mainly fixed on the top plate by the pressure of the strings.

When installing or adjusting the bridge, it needs to cooperate with adjusting the strings. Generally speaking, you can first fix the position of the saddle by tightening the E and G strings. Then tighten the D and A strings. When replacing strings, it is best to replace the E and G strings first, and then replace the D and A strings last. The advantage of this is to have as little impact on the bridge as possible.

The installation of the bridge should pay attention to:

1: The back of the bridge needs to be at a right angle of 90° to the top plate.

2: The installation position of the bridge, as shown in the figure.

Common violin bridge brands and prices

DESPIAU

The bridge is mainly divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D. A and B are mainly used for advanced musical instruments, and C and D are mainly used for student musical instruments. The features are pretty obvious, 3 trees (about $26), 2 trees (about $15.8), 1 tree (about $7.9), and no trees (about $3.66).

AUBERT

This is a very easy-to-see brand, and many student violin use this brand of violin codes.AUBERT bridges are divided into AUBERT double row violin code (popular) (about $3.44, AUBERT A word (intermediate level) (about $8.8), AUBERT LUXE level violin code (advanced) (about $17.5), AUBERT DELUXE level violin Yard (Top) (approximately $21.40).

TELLER

Their materials are all made of Bosnian maple wood that has been naturally dried for many years. There are mainly three kinds of bridges, each of which has 1-3 stars, and 3 stars is the best.1.Teller Germany: for students (or beginners), the wood is stored and air-dried for 5 years.2. Josef Teller 1891 Germany: for some musicians and soloists, the wood has very fine particles and strong medullary rays (can help sound), and it should be stored and air-dried for more than 10 years.3. TELLER ROYAL DE LUXE: very rare, because they need to be stored and air-dried for a century. Generally, the prices of the more common Teller Germany grades are about US$11.3, US$5.7, and US$2.29, corresponding to the price points of 3-star to 1-star respectively.

Finally, if you need to buy new bridges, then you need professional personnel to help you build the bridges and install them. Never trim it by yourself, otherwise, the violin bridge will be damaged with high probability.

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