OK, school me a bit more. I just watched a few videos explaining the re-installation of a sound post. It appears specialized tools are required for this operation. This caused me to wonder...Why not just glue the post in permanently when the violin is first constructed so there's no need to re-install it over time? Apologies on advance if this qualifies as a question in which the answer is clearly self-evident. Thanks for sharing your expertise.
the wood in the violin reacts to changes in the temp/relative humidity and the top, bottom, ribs and bridge all move/shift, expand and contract. a glued in sound post would likely cause cracks. that's a common sense, non-technical answer.
One critical function of a soundpost is to transfer top vibrations to the back. This is an essential function to creating a violin's sound.
A glued-in soundpost would not be able to do this.
Wood is an organic material that moves constantly, albeit a tiny amount, with changes in temperature and humidity. If one kept the fiddle in a hermitically sealed case and never took it out to play, sure, glue the soundpost in. But thats not real world and over time, sound posts need to be adjusted.
The belly (top) may need to be removed from time to time for repairs, imagine the damage done to the belly when pulling it apart? Also, small changes in the position of the sound post makes major changes to the tone, power, etc., gluing it down would remove all ability to adjust it.
It is often the case that a sound post may be made improperly, which would make those errors permanent. Also, sound posts, for the most demanding players, needs to be changed from winter to summer, as the belly and back change their arching as the humidity/temperature changes.
I would suspect that the possibility of damage to the violin is reduced when the soundpost is not glued in, in the case of a fall of the violin, the soundpost might fall before it breaks through the belly.
The soundpost is in some ways a fulcrum around which the plates vibrate. Gluing it into place at the ends would inhibit the vibrations of the top. Unfortunately, there have been some instances where soundposts were glued in, and it was not good for the instruments.
As already pointed out, the soundpost is not intended to be permanently fixed in one spot. The French call it l’âme (the soul), and its adjustment can make or break a fiddle, in more ways than one. As the seasons change or the instrument is taken into different locations with varying atmospheric conditions, the post may need to be adjusted to get the best sound. Keeping the humidity and temperature under control can mitigate this, but you’re at the mercy of the venue if you take the instrument out.
The optimal placement for a soundpost is to some extent a function of the luthier’s opinion coupled with the player’s, so it isn’t something that will necessarily remain constant over time, even if atmospheric conditions are stable. Something as simple as a switch to a different brand of strings often necessitates an adjustment.
A properly fitted soundpost will be cut so that its ends are completely seated against the top and back without gaps anywhere and it will be just the right length so that it’s not too loose, making the top cave in, and not too tight, causing a crack, a raised ff wing, or deformed arching.
Just to make sure this is covered: reinstalling the sound post is not anything most of us here should attempt. A very few here (like Rich) are actual pros, so they speak from that experience. So if you have any resources at all, please, bring it to a professional.
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