|
A R T I C L E S
|
Set-up -
a four part introduction When the player arrived to collect the cello, I left him in the music room to put the instrument through its paces. As I closed the door behind me he put his bow to the A string and let out a shout of surprise at the response he received from the cello. He then spent fifteen intense minutes playing, and when I popped my head round the door he exclaimed, ‘It’s as if I’d been driving with the hand brake on for the past fifteen years!’ This story illustrates the dramatic effect an improved set-up can have on an instrument’s sound and ease of playing. This and three further articles will explore the range of problems and solutions which can be faced and found by a luthier experienced in setting up instruments. Is your instrument functioning to its full potential? From the moment your bow lands on the strings and starts to move, you are dependent not only on the quality of the instrument, but on the appropriateness of the way it has been set-up. Below are a brief selection of the virtually endless list of questions a player and luthier need to ask to assess whether an instrument’s set-up is working with or against its performance and ease of playing. Is the bow hair in good condition and holding enough of the right kind of rosin to make the string speak as desired? Are the strings free from rosin build-up and in good condition? Are the strings youthful and elastic, pliable and powerful? Is the tension in the string controlled by a beautifully balanced peg that moves easily and stays wherever you put it? Is the string securely held in an appropriate groove at the bridge or is it wriggling around in an oversize groove or pinched in a deep v-shaped groove? Is the fingerboard surface smooth, allowing the strings to be stopped accurately or is the surface worn into a series of grooves and bumps? Is the bridge standing straight and upright, free to develop all its own complex internal vibrations as it links the strings to the sound box? Or is it bending over forwards (or backwards) standing on its toes and dissipating energy internally as it resists the forces that are attempting to bend it double, instead of transferring them to the box? Is the tailpiece the correct distance from the bridge to allow the bridge its freedom and to control resonance in the strings between the bridge and tailpiece? Is the tailpiece sensibly designed and a suitable weight for the instrument? Is the bridge well positioned and appropriately designed for the instrument? Is the bridge fully tailored to all the unique aspects of your instrument or is it just ‘the thing that supports the strings’? Inside the instrument, beneath the feet of the bridge, lie the bass bar and the sound post. Does the bass bar have the correct stiffness, shape and position to transfer vibrations seamlessly to the extremities of the front and support the bridge appropriately? Is the sound post made from good sounding wood, accurately fitted and adjusted to optimise and balance the acoustic response of the instrument and suit the player? These questions give an insight into the task facing player and luthier when attempting to bring the very best out of an instrument. The range of factors may seem bewildering at first, but they all point to one thing: instruments and players are utterly unique and require a set-up designed specifically with that instrument’s strengths and weaknesses and the player’s style in mind. A little like the difference between fitting tailored and off-the-peg clothing to our idiosyncratic bodies! Three future articles will discuss in greater detail how improvements to set-up can enhance an instrument’s comfort and performance. Meanwhile, the following three case studies illustrate a number of different ways to make the most of your instrument. A leader of a well known string quartet wanted to sell his old 19th Century Czech violin, now that he had the loan of a superb violin. He asked me to work on his old instrument to eliminate a buzz and to improve its response, so that it would be easier to sell. I located and eliminated the buzz (caused by a loose gold inlay on a peg), adjusted the neck angle, cut a new bridge and sound post, trued the fingerboard and glued some open seams and loose purfling. I returned the instrument to him and wished him luck with the sale. Six months later I attended a concert to find that he was playing the Czech violin. Backstage, I discovered that the loan instrument had been withdrawn and he had been searching hard for a replacement. Meanwhile, he had been happily playing his improved Czech violin and his audiences had been coming to congratulate him on the beautiful tone of his violin, curious for details of the wonderful ‘old Italian instrument’ he was now using. Two years later, he is still using the Czech instrument, as he has been unable to find another violin under six figures to match it in ease of playing and beauty of tone. Case Study 2 A young professional cellist was growing disillusioned with his instrument which he had loved when he first bought it. A number of problems had emerged including limited focus and projection, unevenness across A and D strings and double stopped fifths that remained stubbornly out of tune, even with fresh strings. A number of things were clearly wrong with the set-up and I set to work and trued the fingerboard, came up with an optimum bridge position and foot spacing, fitted an appropriate post made of high quality split spruce, cut a new bridge and shortened the tail gut. I handed the cello to him a week later, hoping very much that he would notice some improvement. He played it for a while with a growing air of satisfaction and then with a sigh of relief said, ‘You see, it is a nice cello after all!’ An experienced violinist brought her fine English violin to me with an air of defeat, saying it sounded horrible. It was not entirely clear what the problem was but I found some open seams and unevenness in the fingerboard which seemed a good starting point. A few days later with the work done the and the set-up checked over, the violin was still ‘horrible and harsh’. Various sound post adjustments were tried without success. It was time to get to grips with the history of the violin.
It turned out that the player had owned the violin for more than twenty
years but a couple of years ago had found the string heights inadequate
and had a new bridge cut. This had led her into endless
experiments with strings and even the purchase of a new bow (which had
made matters even worse). It seemed that the problems with the
instrument had all arisen after the change of bridge but had never been
attributed to the new bridge. Fortunately she still had her old
bridge so I built up the string grooves and we put it back on.
From that moment, she was happy with the violin again! © Robin Aitchison 2001. Published in ESTA News & Views Spring 2001 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into any form of retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, including photocopying and recording now known or devised hereafter, without the prior permission of Robin Aitchison |
||
|
C E L L O S
C E L L O S
C E L L O S
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
7 C A M B R I D G E R O A D, E L
Y, C A M B S , C B 7 4 H J |
|||
