How The Violin Fingerboard Works 

It's quite amazing how much there is to stringed instruments.

I buy and restore totalled violins. I have to plane almost everyone I find.

Thank you Zachary. I am glad they are helping you understand the violin better. Feel free to make suggestions about other aspects of the violin you would like to know about.

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker i would like to know more about the bridge and how the different shapes like the thickness of the saddle affect the tone. And if oils from skin will cause the strings to become flat sounding like g and e because of straightening the bridge pockes up oils from fingers

Hi J L, Yes totally... Great question... It really depends on the hardness and thickness of the fingerboard as well as the player and how much they wear into the fingerboard. I usually expect a fingerboard to last between 20 and 40 years. Each time the fingerboard is planed, a fraction of a millimetre is taken off.

So the fingerboard on a Stradivarius is actually post-WWII

@@TomLeg Depends how often the strad gets played. Some of them only come out a few times a year, as opposed to getting practiced on 40hrs a day like a “normal” violin.

@@TomLeg Why would anyone assume that?? The Messiah has hardly ever been played.

@@joestevenson5568 One can t3ell the politics of people who make such assumptions.

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, keep an eye out for a video on annual maintenance in the next few weeks.

You can always watch it afterwards... hope you have a great day at school

Violins are meant to sound good. Not look good. I have had some wonderful violins that were very sad looking.

@@michaelwhisman7623 I agree completely. But I don't see a problem with admiring the aesthetic quality of a piece of wood as well.

GREAT question you raised; it was on my mind also. I do hope Master Olof gets to see your question and reponds.

I'm not Olaf! But I've had students with buzzy strings where the fault was that the string's groove through the nut was cut too deeply. Kitchen counter repair was to put some material (in my case, a piece of chamois) under the string to lift it just a bit higher. I keep urging them to get that fiddle to a luthier! But after three months of "We'll go in the next couple weeks," I gave up. At least it's less horrible than before. Take a look at the clearance of your strings. You might be able to see what's wrong, at least in part, but there are SO many issues to balance: bridge height, proper cut of nut, proper fingerboard shaping, and even angle of fingerboard/neck set. Messing around with one variable affects everything else, and on the best instruments it *all* has to be ideal. You need a pro.

@@snowyminnesota6028 WHAT great answers you gave.

That's a Great question ! I'm waiting to read our Master Luthier Olof's answer.

i have this same question. after some maintenance with the next years soon the fingerboard itself needs to be replaced

@@ElsweyrDiego Yes it does.

Yes but the life span is expected to be shorter. In the past violins had maple and rosewood fingerboards but also used gut strings that were softer to play but metal strings are tougher so they wear out more from the fingerboard and ebony is pretty much the prefered option for making them. It´s very heavy and it´s known that it takes away some resonance from the instrument but it´s also very resiliant to the metal strings and also the sweat and oils from the hand of the musician

Probably from your fingerboard... sometimes they use wood other than ebony and dye it... the dye can come off

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker my fingerboard is definitely ebony, the dark marks are only in the dents from my strings. Thanks loads for the reply! I was so excited to see Olaf had responded to my question!!

There are some standard measurements that work well for most people and also help with resale of instruments. Just some players have small fingers or really wide fingers... so narrower neck and Fingerboard help with the first one and wider Fingerboard for wide fingers. The problem with narrowing the neck is that the instrument needs a neck graft to reverse it.

42mm for violin

The sides should be straight lengthwise. Sometimes after instruments get older the sides get scooped as well.

Thank you, that's what I thought. I talked to a guy once who insisted that the width of the overhang should increase in a curved function, but mathematically that doesn't make sense. I'll make my sides straight :-)

I made that one myself... I think if you Google Strobl violin measurements, he has a paper template in his book

@@AskOlaftheViolinmaker Thank you! Love your videos