My bridge was a little bent and i was wondering how long it'd be until i had to change it - but my teacher didn't tell me to, even though she knew it was a little bent so it musnt have been that bad
anyway
just got back from a concert, got up at the interval and started walking to the back of the hall carrying my violin when some man walks straight into my violin, which then made a huge BANG! as soon as i heard the bang i was just like don't worry the bridge has just popped out... looked on the floor and realised the bridge was in pieces! anyway...
went and got some random bridge off a spare violin in school to put on temporarily and when i got home i put my spare bridge on.
my violin sounds veryyyy different
and i'm not sure whether in a good way or not?
at first i was like wow this sounds great! the lower registers are full and it's sweeter sounding, the notes are so clean and clear and it just felt so much easier to play, but as i carried on playing, the E string sounds kind of nasally, infact the A string does a bit too. weird i know, and my descriptions are no good my violin was a little muffly and stuff before whereas now it's very clear (yay!). even my parents can hear a difference in the sound so im definately not imagining it it's great except for the nasallyness!
could the change just be cause of the bridge, or have i put the bridge in a different place or something like that, or does it have to be something more? cause it is quiiite a change


ps... i have another concert tomorrow in which i have a violin solo... yikes! it better be ok for it! atleast it didn't break yesterday though - as i had my exam yesterday!!

Hi

when i had my new bridge fitted after mine flew off without even anyone walking into my cello i found it changed the sound alot altough it was for the better, if the bridge isnt right ur harmonics wont sound properly. Also the bridges feet are meant 2 be in line with the horizontal line of the f holes on your instrument and is meant 2 b at a 90 degree angle to the front of the instrument.

is there any chance you could see your luthier/teacher before the concert tomorow just to check the instrument.

all the best

The bridge is MASSIVELY important - it needs to be cut to fit your violin, and only yours, by a professional luthier who can then accurately place it so that it's relationship with the sound post and bass bar are correct.

There is every chance your fiddle will sound nasal and muffled, and potentially unbalanced, until you get a real bridge made for it!

Run to the nearest luthier very quickly.

I knew i had to get one fitted to my violin and my mum said i could get there on saturday but she doesn't wanna go unless i HAAAVE to! there's no way i'll be able to get it before the concert tomorrow though, as my nearest luthier is 45 mins away i'll beg her to take me on saturday
it'll be ok for the concert though right? =/ one of my music teachers has a violin i could use (and a very nice one at that) but i dunno if it's worth just trying on mine. even when something little happens to my instrument, i totally don't trust it to be fine for ages

Yes I'll second that, a correctly fitted bridge and its placement is absolutely vital.

Music shops cannot fit bridges. The only thing they will fit on your violin is a lump of wood passing as an excuse for a bridge!

A professional luthier is the only person who can fit a bridge properly and that takes time and a lot of careful measurement. The feet need to be adjusted to precisely fit the curve of the belly. Additionally, the height of the bridge and the curvature needs to be correct.

I'm assuming that you mean that the bridge should be in line with the inner nicks of the f-holes. This is a commonly-held belief, but incorrect. The bridge should be fitted to give the correct body stop length. This may or may not correspond to the position of the f-hole nicks. On a violin, the nick position usually lies somewhere within the thickness of the bridge, on a viola or cello it often doesn't. It's quite common for players to move the position of a perfectly well set-up bridge to what they believe to be the "correct" place, thus placing the bridge in the wrong position relative to the soundpost.

Also important to note that it's the back of the bridge that should be perpendicular to the surface of the top.