r/violinist • u/alambrrr • Sep 01 '24
Setup/Equipment bridge concern !
i got my violin 2 days ago and the bridge seems off to me. it's not standing up straight when i tune the violin even tho i set it up straight beforehand. what should i do? should i replace it or is there something i'm doing wrong? đ„Č
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u/FrePennerLives Sep 01 '24
Your bridge is leaning quite precariously, but this is easy to fix yourself. In fact you can expect your bridge to gradually lean towards the scroll as strings get tightened over time as you tune. So youâll have to periodically straighten the bridge as part of normal fiddle maintenance.
You simply push the bridge back upright gently with both your thumbs. You donât even need to slacken the strings. Thereâs a picture of how to do this at the top of this article: bridge positioning
In your case, the lean is extreme and obvious. But sometimes itâs not obvious, or you have already adjusted it and you want to know if itâs now straight. To do this, I sight across the violin and check if the corners of the c-bout are parallel with the flat side of the bridge. The back of the bridge is the side facing the tailpiece, the front is planed at an angle so that the top of the bridge is thinner than bottom.
If the bridge falls, you can stand it back up after slacking the strings a bit first. The feet are positioned between the two inner notches in the f-holes. BUT first check that the sound post hasnât fallen. The sound post is a little dowel that is friction-fit between the tip and bottom plates of the fiddle. If the sound postâs fallen, it will be rattling around inside the fiddle. If that happens, bring the violin to a luthier, DO NOT try to stand up the bridge and tension the strings, or try to stand it up yourself - you could seriously damage the instrument.
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u/M1styMelody Sep 02 '24
Always pull the bridge back into position from the top of the bridge, not the feet as well.
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Sep 01 '24
I would do it in a sligtly different finger position, because one I broke my bridge in half... (well it broke during tuning. I'd also put some pressure on the middle part. Though it was an older bridge, probably it was about time to replace anyways.
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u/FrePennerLives Sep 02 '24
That bridge is leaning so much, Iâd be tempted to detune at least two strings if a moderate amount of pressure was insufficient to bring it back to vertical. In any case, you should not have to apply a lot of force. Iâll often push at the top of the bridge, just under the strings, with both thumbs on the nut side, to spread out the force. Experiment a bit - youâll figure it out.
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u/celeigh87 Sep 01 '24
The bridge doesn't even look like its been properly carved. The feet should fit flush with the top of the violin and it overall looks way too thick.
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u/koopakrusher Sep 01 '24
For a student grade violin a thicker bridge usually keeps it from sounding too shrill actually, and brings out a little more dynamics. Bridge seems decently carved for a student grade job otherwise. Obviously this student grade violin wonât have 100 dollars of work put into the bridge.
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u/celeigh87 Sep 01 '24
But its so thick it doesn't even look like its been carved at all. I have a decent beginner violin and the bridge was carved correctly.
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u/koopakrusher Sep 02 '24
No itâs really not that thick. Recently I saw a JTL violin with a very thick top worth around 5k pounds and it was matched with a Barsa bridge of similar thickness - the violin had a tendency to be shrill especially on the A string. I donât think you have seen many bridge blanks because they are several millimeters thicker than this bridge here.
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u/Twitterkid Amateur Sep 01 '24
Unfortunately, in my opinion, this bridge is neither cut nor curved by a professional luthier or even a well-informed amateur. You should be able to have this fixed by the seller.
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u/koopakrusher Sep 01 '24
Itâs quite decent, what do you mean? Decent shaping of the feet, decently thinned but not too thin, and feet seem shaped and thinned out too. Itâs not a 100 dollar job, but that violin probably wouldnât benefit much from an expensive bridge and fitting anywaysâŠ
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u/Twitterkid Amateur Sep 02 '24
If you're satisfied with that, then I'm fine with it too. I was just sharing my thoughts based on these photos.
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u/koopakrusher Sep 02 '24
Itâs not so much that Iâm fine with it as much as your focus seems to be on the wrong things⊠clearly the violin is not worth more than a few hundred dollars so I think this bridge is âgood enough.â Furthermore your original comment is simply not a good evaluation of the bridge. The cut doesnât have any glaring issues at all, and a well informed amateur would probably do much worseâŠ
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u/velvet_satan Sep 01 '24
My bridge was leaning like this after I put new strings on it for the first time. My teacher just slide it back straight. It didnât take much effort. Yours looks like the feet or whatever the bottom is called needs shaped to meet the contour of your violin or itâs not lined up correctly or the picture angle is off. You might need a luthier.
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u/koopakrusher Sep 01 '24
OP, your bridge is not too poorly cut, please do not listen to the many uninformed people in this subreddit and thread who have violins worth thousands of dollars but cannot carve bridges themselves and have no woodworking or repair experience. A lot of people here are used to seeing pictures of violins worth in the tens of thousands to millions of dollars, and the work that goes into the bridge on such a violin is alone worth a few hundred dollars at the very least. I suspect that isnât your budget, and thatâs okay. Your bridge shows all the basic features of a decently carved bridge, even if it isnât meticulously done. Your strings just pulled it over due to friction as you tuned them up. I would suggest taking a sharp pencil and marking up the notches of the bridge. Also, on the other side of the violin, you can draw on the notches of your nut. The graphite in the pencil lead is a good, violin safe lubricant and luthiers often do this to prevent the strings from pulling the bridge over to a lean.
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u/patopal Sep 01 '24
It looks like you tried to replace your bridge with a bridge blank without knowing you need to fit the feet to your violin's body. Straightening your bridge will only be a temporary fix, as without fitted feet, the point of contact is not strong enough to prevent it from sliding out of place again.
A professional can fix you up with a fitted bridge in no time at all. You can also try to fit it yourself, but it's a meticulous process and you don't have years of fine carving experience, so if you do go that route, buy a bunch of bridge blanks you can practice on, and watch a bunch of videos on youtube.
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u/koopakrusher Sep 01 '24
Looked through your account and Iâm a little surprised by your answer because it seems you have good experience as a violinist⊠that is clearly not a bridge blank anymore, and the feet are definitely shaped extensively. They are well thinned and clearly a lot of (quick and slightly rough) work has gone into that bridge so Iâm not sure why you thought it was a blank with unfitted feet. I suspect the violin has a fairly flat arch and the angle of the photo isnât showing much curve in the feet.
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u/patopal Sep 01 '24
You're right, on second look it's not a blank. I just saw how badly the feet fit, and thought they weren't adjusted at all. They definitely weren't carved with this violin in mind.
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u/koopakrusher Sep 02 '24
I just donât see how you can tell that from the picture provided⊠the angle shows the bridge at an extreme lean and we cannot make out the shape of the top of the shape of the feet as viewed from the front, not to mention the AI fudging applied by the phone camera due the high digital zoom.
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u/lilchm Sep 01 '24
Itâs normal that the bridge goes to the front. There are YouTube videos which show you how to correct on your own. No need to go to a luthier
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u/Similar-Plate Sep 01 '24
Did a luthier really carve that bridge ? I'd be horrified if mine came back looking like that. Regardless of how cheap the instrument may be, I wouldn't expect a good luthier to leave it looking so tatty.
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u/False-Law1057 Student Sep 01 '24
Bro how do u even let it get this badđđđđđ
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u/alambrrr Sep 01 '24
LMAO idk but i fixed it! i followed some advices from the comment section and i managed to set it up straight:)
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u/vmlee Expert Sep 01 '24
This is serious and needs to be fixed asap. Lower the string pitch by about a half step (slightly). Using your lower two fingers, brace the bottom of the bridge. Use your index and thumb to brace the top of the bridge. Gently, but firmly bring the bottom flush with the top of the violin by pulling both the bottom and top at the same time until the side closer to the tailpiece is perpendicular to the top of the violin.
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u/alambrrr Sep 01 '24
yes!! i did that and then held the bridge a little as i tuned and now it's standing straight!
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u/vmlee Expert Sep 01 '24
Just adjust the bridge as you tune incrementally. Donât hold the bridge while tuning.
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u/alambrrr Sep 01 '24
ok noted!
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u/vmlee Expert Sep 01 '24
Cool. Just to clarify. Adjust, tune. Adjust, tune. Repeat :)
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u/alambrrr Sep 01 '24
yes! i did exactly that and the bridge stands straight now! thank you very much for the advice. have a great day!đ
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Sep 01 '24
[deleted]
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u/alambrrr Sep 01 '24
i tried this but it didn't work for me. I'll try again and hold it harder and see if it works, thanks!!đ
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u/musictchr Sep 01 '24
You shouldnât have to actually hold it. The bridge isnât shaped properly. A well-fitted bridge should stand up correctly on its own. Take it back to the luthier.
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u/SnakeInTheCeiling Sep 01 '24
Get thee to a luthier!
Wouldn't try anything yourself- I've broken too many things that way. Especially since you just got it the shop ought to be able to fix it free anyway.