Creole - Posted - 03/06/2023:  11:55:36

Have 5 of those over priced "parchments" Being told I should put one under the E string on both Fiddles. Do I still use the little rubber tube that comes with the E?

Also do I need the Parchment leather strip for under the A on my steel string fiddle and the "A" string on (Dominants) Perlon strings?  ALmost forgot,,,do you glue them?



Doing some maintenance and ran into these things that make you go HMMMM of the Violin world??

TIA

Edited by - Creole on 03/06/2023 11:58:36

Brian Wood - Posted - 03/06/2023:  12:53:01

If there is any problem with a soft bridge parchment is said to be very good. If you use a little tube, make sure the end is even with the fingerboard side of the bridge. If it has this problem the bridge might not be hard enough maple and I would consider replacing it.



Personally, using heavy gauge steel strings, with many fiddles and many bridges over several years, I have never had the need for such a thing.

Also, "overpriced"? A very small piece of parchment costs nothing.

Edited by - Brian Wood on 03/06/2023 12:54:21

The Violin Beautiful - Posted - 03/06/2023:  17:58:16

quote:

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Originally posted by Creole

Have 5 of those over priced "parchments" Being told I should put one under the E string on both Fiddles. Do I still use the little rubber tube that comes with the E?

Also do I need the Parchment leather strip for under the A on my steel string fiddle and the "A" string on (Dominants) Perlon strings?  ALmost forgot,,,do you glue them?



Doing some maintenance and ran into these things that make you go HMMMM of the Violin world??

TIA

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Yes, there should be a parchment under the E. It needs to be glued in place. You can use CA glue for that and have it in place in seconds. If you're using a steel A, a parchment under the A might be a good idea, as the steel A strings are rather thin. A dominant A does not need a parchment, as it has an aluminum winding and is thicker than a silver wrapped string or a steel one. 

If you have a parchment under the string, the plastic or rubber string tube should be thrown away. The tubes are just for bridges that don't happen to have a parchment. Any good bridge will have one.

Keep in mind that a parchment or string tube will alter the height of the string a little, so that needs to be accounted for in the setup. 

Creole - Posted - 03/06/2023:  19:49:44

Awesome TY

KCFiddles - Posted - 03/06/2023:  19:52:32

I've had lots of those string tubes fail. One of my customers calls them "sound reducers", but bridge parchment has its own characteristics, such as functionally widening the bearing surface of the bridge, but it seems to me to be a wise choice if you want to preserve a laboriously carved bridge. It's reversible and replaceable, and you can shape it once it's in place, if your customer is really picky.



I just replaced the parchments on a bridge on a performer's instrument where the strings had eaten down over several years. Just shaved the old parchment off with a sharp chisel, filled the worn areas with baking soda and CA glue like you do on a guitar, put on new parchment, and the fiddle is working fine. This is on an irreplaceable bridge with built-in pickup.

Bridge parchment is only about 0.2 - 0.3mm thick, and the string eats down into it; I've never had a customer note a change in string height yet.

Edited by - KCFiddles on 03/06/2023 19:55:53