Pieces for String Fitting

Abstract

The pieces used for fitting the strings for the instruments from the violin family are the tailpiece, the neck, the fingerboard, the nut, the pegs and the endpin. These pieces are made in hardwood spieces – ebony, boxwood, rosewood, pernambuco or curly maple. New materials (graphite composites, plastics) has been used to provide proper weight required by a specific instrument. The geometry of the tail piece is described by its length, the position of its string slot, the tailcord and the arch. The length of the tailpiece is determined by the length of the instrument. The arch of the tailpiece reproduces the arch of the bridge. The nut has only a mechanical function. Modal analysis of violin tailpieces shows five modes of vibration. The fingerboard glued on the neck has modes which couple with the modes of the violin. Modification of the eigenmodes of vibration of the fingerboard and of the violin corpus can be obtained by modification of fingerboard thickness distribution, of its concavity, of its length and of its material. The instruments from violin family are equipped with four pegs, one for each string. The pegs support the strings and are used for tunning the instrument. Both cello and double bass are played with an endpin firmly fixed on the floor. The end pin is made in aluminium alloy or in carbon fiber composite.