Setup & Regulation becomes conceivable once all of the parts and the relationships are clearly understood. Of which we identify eight (pegs, nut, fingerboard, bridge, sound post, strings, tailpiece and button) parts that make a stringed instrument a pleasure or night mare to play on.
Each part of any musical instrument has influences, direct and indirect, on one another. Of course. Why and where it becomes seemingly complicated. The first place to look is … does each piece fit flush?
For example the bridge influences both the pressure of the strings on a violin’s top and its thickness influences vibrational response. At the same time, it’s position has a direct relationship with the intonation (the space between notes) and a direct resonant relationship with the sound post which regulates/ equalises the sound that the instrument produces tonally and volume. Which impacts on ease of play and sound.
Enough to make anyone without a proper guide totally confuzzled.
Some of the parts have a greater influence on sound than others. Some influence playability more and some influence both equally.
In this blog we, of course, do not feel that we have all of the answers, we constantly explore. Please comment for further discussion where we missed something or lost you.
