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| Technical aspects |
The art of making a violin has not
changed much since the times when the great Cremonese masters started their activity.
However, certain changes have taken place: the neck is longer and more inclined, the
bass bar is longer and stronger to hold the stronger pressure of the strings.
At the end of the 1700's, there was an evolution
 from baroque to modern instruments. The empiric
evolution of stringed instruments is curious. As a matter of fact, going backwards
before the Amatis, Stradivaris, we find instruments with a bass bar, carved in the block
of wood. With time, and after numerous trials of our inventive predecessors, the bass
bar was moved lower, towards the bridge's feet, to end up right underneath. At that
point, however, sound was not so balanced, and someone had the idea of introducing the
famous "soul" ("anima" in italian), soundpost, this tiny spruce cylinder that is
incastrated between the top and the back of the instrument. The idea was great, as
without the soundpost, the violin does not "sound"!
Regarding tools, the quality has improved. They are now made of
excellent steel, and stay sharp longer. Certain machinery, like the sanding machine, the
sawband, the drill, gives us a hand to cut down the raw wood.
Speaking of wood, it has not changed. We still use maple and spruce. Violin making is
very traditional, also because musicians do not ask for modifications in the violin's
shape. More research is done on acoustics. As a matter of fact, the "A" is higher by
half tone than in the past. At the beginning of the century, violin makers like Savart,
Chanot and others, made violins with inventive shapes and good acoustic results, but
their instruments were not successful with musicians.
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