The position of the bridge should be such as to affect the whole violin
equally, and not to favor one tone more than another. The centre of the
bridge should be always directly over the centre line of the top.
Whether it should stand slightly backwards or forwards of, or directly
on a line drawn across the top from the inner notches of the _f_ holes,
will depend upon the character of the instrument, and can only be
determined experimentally. It should incline toward the tail–piece in
order to better withstand the forward pull of the strings in tuning.
The construction of the bridge has great influence upon the tone.
Thinness of the centre of the bridge tends to make prominent any nasal
quality or shrillness latent in the instrument. A proper solidity
conveys sweetness and compactness, but too great thickness muffles the
tone.
High–built violins mostly require low bridges, and such should be
particularly thick at the edges where the strings rest.
The bridge should be perfectly flat on the side toward the tail–piece.
It may be slightly convex on the other side.
The material of which the bridge is made should be invariably maple.
That which is known as the silver–gray maple is preferable to the brown
or yellow, as having a more close and elastic grain.
The incisions in the sides of the bridge should extend each one third of
the distance toward the centre. The French model of Aubert of Mirecourt,
though open to some objections in special cases, is one of the best.
These bridges are made of excellent wood, and are thick and strong.
The top of the bridge should be thick. Properly constructed, a bridge
may be made quite heavy, and so made it will always convey a rounder and
fuller volume of tone. The distance measured along the top, between the
G and the E strings, should be 1–10/32 inches. The G string should be
8/32 of an inch above the finger–board at its larger extremity; the E
string, 5/32 of an inch. The average height of the feet of the bridge
should be about 3/16 of an inch. The thickness at the base, a scant 5/32
of an inch; at the top, a full 1/16 of an inch. The feet should be 7/16
of an inch long.