LETTER of the MONTH
A DIFFERENT ANGLE I read Sarah Peck’s article about converting an instrument to Baroque set-up with great attention and interest (‘In a land without rules’, May 2020). Like her, I’d read Roger Hargrave’s articles (February and March 2013), but some of his hypotheses and demonstrations had baffled me. Ms Peck quotes Mr Hargrave on the subject of the tailpiece:
This is where you can see the main difference between modern and early tailpieces, since the former are attached from the underside while early tailpieces were raised above the instrument. This combination has less downward force on the front and bridge than later styles of set-up. When setting up a violin with a tailpiece, you must lower the saddle to compensate for the gut coming from underneath.’