a friend of mine just bought herself a fiddle and wants to start off with learning…but the fiddle is too loud for her flat (she says). So I thought, a damper for the violin would make a nice christmas present…I know these pieces for cellos and double basses, but are there violin/fiddle dampers, too? I couldn’t find anything on ebay and in my usual music shops, but if it works with cellos, why not with fiddles? If they exist: where to buy?
Thanks for your thoughts!
Greetings,
G.
PS: I know that there’s a chance to misunderstand that gift (“you play so awful, so here is a damper for making that screechy thing more quiet!” ), but I discussed the problem with her and I really think she won’t misunderstand that.
Any good music store should have a variety of violin mutes. I would steer away from the ones made from metal or wood, as they might damage the bridge. I like the rubber practice mute, shown in the photo from Elderly. It will really dampen the sound. Also, try using a wooden clothes pin (the kind with a steel spring) attached to the bridge. I have one that I glued pennies to in order to add additional weight. It looks a little strange, but who cares when you are practicing.
A friend I play with uses a clothes pin every Wednesday night when we practice. I think it’s cool in a scrufty looking kind of way and works very well.
I have the Roth Sliding Violin Mute mentioned in rh’s link.
The advantage is that it’s adjustable. It mounts on the strings between the bridge and the tailpiece, and can be slid up so that the weights are just about on top of the bridge, way back by the tailpiece, or anywhere in between. The closer it is to the tailpiece, the more effect it has. When it’s back by the tailpiece it has little or no effect.
A possible disadvantage is that you can’t remove it without loosening the strings. However, the fiddle is quite loud enough with the mute slid back by the tailpiece.
I’ve had mine on my fiddle for 20 years or more, and haven’t had any problems with it. Before that, I had a three-pronged chrome mute that worked well, but it was all or nothing. Once I got the Roth, I cut off two of the prongs on the chrome one and started using it as a banjo mute.
Mike meant to say that the closer the mute is to the bridge the more effect it will have in dampening the sound.
Here is another terrific mute that I forgot to mention. It is called the Mouse-tro mute and is an orchestra mute shaped like a mouse dressed in a tuxedo. http://www.swstrings.com/Store/SiteSearchResult.jsp
This is kind of interesting, since a lot of times I don’t practice, living in an apartment, when neighbors are around.
I do have a metal banjo mute with the 3 prongs that deadens the sound quite a lot, but, it’s not exactly a sound I like to hear! To my way of thinking, if you can’t hear a pleasurable tone from a musical instrument, it’s not something I will be motivated to play, or practice for the matter, either.
Mike mentioned the sliding Roth mute, that can mute at different degrees. Does it still produce a nice tone if it is used a certain way?
Are there other mutes that allow you to get a decent tone while muting?
I use a Tourte type, it’s actually a performance mute, but will cut quite a bit of volume while preserving some tone. When I really need it quiet, I use the “Ultra” mute. It’s rubber and slides over the entire bridge. One drawback to using a mute however: In addition to tone suppression, the way the strings behave and respond under the bow is altered, beware of practicing with a mute all the time as it will actually hinder.
Thanks, Corin, I think I will try one, along with couple others, since they are cheap enough to experiment.
Yes, that is a good point about bowing being affected, as you compensate for using the mute when you bow. So, as you suggest, it’s not good to use a mute all the time.
But, there is a benefit too, to using a mute, in that it lets you feel free to let your bowing be as expressive as possible, not worrying about the volume of the fiddle and anyone nearby being distrubed.
Anyone else have a mute that lets the tone come through some, without the volume?
The closer it is to the bridge, the more high overtones get cut out. It’s a bit like the Dobroish sound you get with a mute on the banjo, but not unpleasant. In fact, I used mine mainly not to make my fiddle quieter, but to reduce my scratchy tortured-cat tone.
Violin bridge designs are extremely interesting. Lots of experiments have been done over the centuries. The amount of wood left on a bridge has a lot to do with the volume. The wings extending out from the kidneys are actually mutes…absorbing volume and certain tones. So are the little wings off the ankles. A clothes pin is just an extension of these wings vibrating out in mid air. The hole in the middle of the bridge is cut out to direct the valuable vibrations more directly to the feet and onto the bass bar and sound post.
Where it says “TRIM HERE” -this curve has to match the curve on the top of the violin. Sad to say, you can’t just buy a new bridge and put it on. Everything has to be custom cut to match the violin. You’ve probably noticed that some violins are set up with tall bridges, others with short bridges. The arch of the string over the bridge can vary. The pressure of the string on the violin top is also important. Some violins can take more pressure than others. The strings should rest half in and half out of the bridge, and leave the very edge of the bridge solidly–the side facing the fingerboard. The back of the bridge should be 90 deg. to the top. The little feet of the bridge can only be a certain thickness…not the thickness that comes with a new blank.
Everything is just so damn complicated and critical! But y’gotta love it.
Thanks, Lorenzo, that was very imformative and interesting. I had never heard of shaping the arch of the bridge to match the top, just the feet. Thanks for the pictures and graphics too.
Yes, I agree with Lorenzo, there is a lot of work involved in shaping a new violin bridge from a bridge blank. Most experienced luthiers would use a belt sander and a sharp knife to shape the bridge. However, a quality bridge is made from hard maple, and it doesn’t cut very easily. You have to have a very sharp knife and be careful that you don’t cut yourself in the process. I think that some of the best luthiers can shape the feet of a bridge with nothing more than a knife. I preferred to use a specially made tool that held the bridge firmly at a 90 degree angle to the top. Once I had the bridge feet about the right thickness, I would take a pencil and mark all of the bottom side of the feet with a lead pencil mark. With a small piece of sandpaper on the top of the violin in the position of the bridge, I would move the tool with bridge back and forth across the sandpaper until all of the pencil marks have been removed from the bottom of the feet. At that point the feet were fitted to the top.
Then you need to have the bridge at a proper thickness at the feet and at the top of the bridge. The arc of the top of the bridge is also important. There is a difference between a bridge arc designed for classical playing and a bridge arc for fiddlers. Many fiddlers want a flater arc so that they don’t have to move the bow so much to go from string to string.
With regard to bridge height, I generally would initially make the bridge a little higher than I wanted. Then, measuring the distance between each string and the finger board, I would do the final shaping of the top of the bridge for correct height, arc, and thickness.
I’m with you on all that you said there, Doug, that’s basically the way I’ve done it in the past too. But, arching the underside of the bridge (where the diagram says “trim here” is new to me. Have you seen that before, Doug?
), but I discussed the problem with her and I really think she won’t misunderstand that. 
