Unvarnished Truth – Fall 2019

Curated News for String Musicians

Keep up to date on our best sales, occasional free offers, and upcoming concerts. See relevant posts from our staff on: repair, instrument care, trade secrets, instrument photos, music news, and customer pics, sent quarterly.

•   News and Events
•   Winter Prep
•   Student Bridge vs. Pro Bridge
•   French vs. Belgian Cello Bridges
•   Bridge Position Guide
•   Music “Explained”

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CoLAB Project
Our office managers, Joe and Juliana, are immersed in practice and rehearsals for their upcoming collaborative project. It will feature a string quartet performing music from 1805-1950 with new choreography from three local artists. Musicians include violinists Zachariah Addison and Freddy Contreras, violist Joseph Cosgrove, and cellist Sawyer Thomson. Choreographers include Jorge Rullán, Gina Battista Shifferly, and Dillon Shifferly, and dancers include Juliana Buchanan, Analiese Capponi, Alyson Ward, Annie Fox, and Rachel Maher Duncan. There will be a studio performance at Philadelphia Dance Theatre on November 10th. Send us a note expressing your interest for updates on performance time and program!

Young Friends Programs
The Philadelphia Orchestra, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Pennsylvania Ballet all have special programs for patrons under 40 years of age. 

• The Philadelphia Orchestra Young Friends program is free to join and offers reduced prices for individual concert tickets: https://www.philorch.org/young-friends-tickets#/
• The Chamber Music Society is a yearly subscription. This is a truly special program. Some of the best touring chamber groups in the world come through Philadelphia in intimate venues and the price is unbeatable: https://www.pcmsconcerts.org/concerts/unlimited-young-friends-pass/
• The Pennsylvania Ballet offers a membership for $50 that provides access to Young Friends events, discounts to current events, and a season ticket package for $75: http://paballet.org/support/young-friends/

• 9/20 Fri 8pm singer/songwriter Layla Frankel 
• 10/27 Sun 10-4 Your Body is Your Instrument  Feel better, sound better, play better. Led by Alexander Technique specialist, Joseph Arnold. For more info: https://www.josepharnold.com/blog/alexander-technique-workshop-for-string-players-sunday-10-27-19-10am-4pm
• 11/15 Fri Cajun Music by Joel Savoy & Kelli Jones
• 12/13 Fri Swedish Music with Andrea Hoag & Loretta Kelly

Musical Instruments and Rosewood Exemption – Thomas

If you’ve done any traveling with your instrument recently, you may have heard or run into some headaches due to the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) restrictions. Various materials like ivory, certain animal leathers, and rosewood are listed for conservation efforts to prevent abuses around the globe. Recently, news came out saying there will be an exemption for musical instruments for rosewood. If your instrument has rosewood pegs or tailpiece, then you can rest a little easier on your next trip abroad.

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/27/754509680/musical-instruments-to-be-exempt-from-restrictions-on-heavily-trafficked-rosewoo

This August, there was a new development that may relieve the burden of strict state laws affecting musicians and their bows. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) deemed that mammoth, or fossilized ivory, cannot be subjected to permit requirements because regulating an extinct species was beyond their scope. A strong case was made that mammoth ivory can be distinguished from elephant ivory. However, certain US states (NY, NJ, IL, HI, NE, CA) would have to amend their current laws outlawing all ivories, including fossilized ivory from mammoths, before musicians can breathe easy. This ruling may help them get there. For now, if restorers and new makers specifically state in their sales receipt that mammoth was used, it might satisfy international customs.  Here is the US site on how to distinguish living ivory from mammoth   https://www.fws.gov/lab/ivory_id.php

Game of Thrones may be over, and regardless of what you thought of the final season, winter can still be rough for wooden instruments. Luckily, there are some simple steps you can take that will make it a smooth ride towards the dream of spring.

We’re writing about this now because as the weather gets cooler, there will be changes in humidity in your home. As soon as your heat turns on, we recommend humidifying your instrument. Ideally, using a room humidifier set to around 40% is the best line of defense. If you take your instrument with you everywhere, putting something in the case like an Oasis Humidifier or Boveda Kit is needed, sometimes on top of the room humidifier. Finally, you can always use a Dampit in the instrument as long as it’s not left too wet or too dry.

Liz makes custom silk bags as well which can help keep you instrument regulated throughout the year, plus they look beautiful!

Highlights from Oberlin Bow Making & Violin Restoration Workshops

Elizabeth returned this year to the Bowmakers Workshop, where she worked on two violin bows and a viola bow. Its always great to reconnect with other makers and check out how they do a particular thing. We are always learning about our craft and learning from each other.

When your instrument needs a new bridge, a luthier will often ask if you want a student or pro bridge.  In both cases, the feet are carefully cut to fit the top of the instrument, and the top is cut to have the right string heights and correct spacing.  Aside from a price difference sometimes it can feel difficult to know what the differences between the two are!  A professional bridge is a bit of a misnomer since having a tonally enhanced bridge can be beneficial to every player. Here are some characteristics of each bridge so next time you can feel like you made an informed decision.

Student Bridge Advantages: 1)They are less expensive; 2) Since students are often less experienced, and they may not know how to keep their bridges straight after tuning, we leave these bridges a little thicker and don’t carve away additional wood in the middle. This helps to keep the bridge stronger against warping, and hopefully will help them survive better if they get knocked off the violin!

Student Bridge Disadvantages: 1) The thicker bridge can sometimes dampen the vibrations of the instrument, acting as a mute, and the bridge can still warp if not properly taken care of; 2) If choosing lower-quality bridge wood, the sound is further compromised.

Pro Bridge Advantage: Our professional-grade bridges are acoustically optimized. Through testing on the instrument, we determine what will best enhance the sound. The bridge is meticulously fit to the acoustical center of the instrument and the relief cuts inside the bridge are made to enhance the tonal properties of the instrument while maintaining strength and flexibility of the bridge.

Pro Bridge Disadvantage: These bridges are often made thinner so that they can project and vibrate more freely. This means they need a little more maintenance to prevent warping. The player needs to check their bridge frequently to see if it has shifted position and straighten it if necessary.

Take a look at these pictures of bridges and see if you can tell which is which! Hint: there’s a bridge blank (uncarved) too!

Liz

The cello can have a huge range of tonal possibilities, from warm and robust to powerful and bright. When putting a bridge on a cello, players and luthiers have an extra choice not afforded to our violinist and violist friends. What bridge blank we choose can remarkably change the sound of the instrument. 

The most common bridges you’ll see on a cello are either French or Belgian style. Below is a photo of a French bridge (left) and Belgian bridge (right). It’s common to pair opposites with any instrument. If your cello is bright, you may put warm sounding strings that mimic gut on it. If the cello is inherently warm, you’ll probably try brighter, higher frequency strings to help bring out those overtones. The French bridge is a great option for brighter-sounding cellos, as the shorter legs and extra mass help bring out lower overtones and provide a deeper sound. The taller legs and lower mass of a Belgian bridge help brighten and open up the cello, giving the player a cleaner response. 

The next time you need a new bridge, or if you want to change things up a bit, let’s chat about what we can do to enhance the sound of your cello.

Efren and Thomas

Sometimes, players come in less than a year after getting a new bridge put on their instrument, and it’s already warped beyond repair. What gives? Keeping your bridge in the correct posture is important and will save you the hassle and expense of replacing it sooner than you want to.

Below is a picture of a quick guide to place between your bridge and the fingerboard to make sure the bridge isn’t warping. If you keep your strings clean and the grooves of the bridge lubricated with pencil lead, it’s easy to fix and can add years to the bridge on your instrument. We have to admit, we got the idea from our fellow luthier, Jerry Lynn, in Williamsport, PA.

Let us know if you want us to make one for you and we can explain how this simple guide will save you time and money in the future!

Thomas