On the violin bridge hill – comparison of experimental testing and FEM

Italian violins of the golden era and French violins are different. Measurements of bridge mobility show that the Italian violins have a local maximum (a hump) at approx. 2,5 kHz in the bridge mobility. The French violins do not show this maximum. The arching along the centre line is different. The Italian violins are flat between the f-holes while the French ones are arched. Does this difference in design explain the difference in bridge mobility and tone? Proposed FEM simulation and digital signal post-processing of the time series are promising methods of the virtual testing of various violin models. These techniques may give an answer for the question above and they should be helpful in achieving high tonal quality of violin.

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Opracowanie ze środków MNiSW w ramach umowy 812/P-DUN/2016 na działalność upowszechniającą naukę.