jmaj

My personal opinion (not pronouncement) is that the Old Bull is a hatchet job. I hold the same opinion about the Leduc scroll. In terms of conception and execution there is, in my opinion, no comparison between these and the Cannone, for instance, which is also a late instrument (but by del Gesu himself).

I listened to the itunes Ole Bull sound clips. My impression was - hollow sound of a regraduated (too thin) violin.

So I went to listen to excerpts from "Homage".

King Joseph - sounds right, not regraduated.

Lord Wilton - regraduated.

Are my guesses right?

I have heard criticisms about Ole Bull; too dark sound, that is almost in the range of viola. It seems this is not much popular in the world of players.
Any input from players?

A player wants a broad tonal palette. I'd take more brilliant over more dark, if I had to skew the palette one way or the other.

Anybody familiar with STXM?

For the analytical chemists out there-

http://unicorn.mcmas...Mintro-all.html

I'll quote Guhr.

"Paganini's playing requires thin strings for the following reasons:

1. He plays in the highest registers of the violin, which other violinists seldom use.

2. Harmonics (especially artificial harmonics) are more responsive on thin strings.

3. If thicker strings were used, the second, third, and fourth fingers would not have enough strength to put the strings in vibration for left hand pizzicato.

4. Sometimes he tunes all four strings a half tone higher. When only the fourth string is used, it is tuned a minor third higher. Higher tuning is only possible with thin strings because thicker strings could not withstand the increased tension. It must be admitted that the thicker string produces a bigger tone, whereas the thin E string often "whistles" in humid climates. This whistling is a frequent occurance at Paganini's concerts."

"Before Paganini has his G strings covered with metal wire, he stretches them to their respective pitches on his violin. They would be tuned to G,Ab, and Bb. When tuned to Bb, the wire is much thinner than for G or Ab."

On Paganini's Bridge

"The bridge on Paganini's violin is somewhat flatter than usual, which enables him to play on three strings at the same time. His bridge is also lower so that the strings are barely above the fingerboard"

Instruments like the Cannone respond very differently. They can, at the low power end, be very responsive (though they aren't always), but they hold up well to players who mash. It's more of a matter of matching the style of the player to the instrument. If there was a masher in 1830, it would have to be Paganini. Nowadays, everyone thinks he's a "power player" (but few of those can really drive a thick del Gesu properly, in my experience).

Except, Guhr's "The Art of Paganini's Violin Playing" says NP was not a masher, he was noted for an exceptionally sweet, but not so powerful tone as some of his contemporaries. BTW, NP seems to have favored very thin strings (hence low tension) and liked A=435 as the concert pitch.