Violin design

Found this useful image of profiles of baroque and modern violins:

Image courtesy of The Baroque Violin: Technique, Sound, and Replication with a Modern Set-up

Here is another image from the same source showing baroque and modern violin bridges:

Late 16th-early 17th century polyphonic German violin music is very similar to lute music. It seems logical that the violin would also be similar to a lute; that is, designed to easily play polyphonic music.

I do not have access to a luthier (violin-making) workshop where I could hang out and try what it feels like to play violins with different radii of curvature of the fingerboard and bridge, and different fingerboard angles, but it would be really interesting. I cannot imagine that the original violin designers did not experiment with this and attempt to refine it to a high degree because these design features have a major impact on how the instrument can be played and how the precise kinesthetics of finger movement of the left hand interface with the instrument and the notes being played.

In addition to the radius of curvature and angle of the fingerboard is the scoop. The design of the fingerboard is actually quite complex. It would be amazing to have access to a high-quality programmable wood mill where you could input different designs and have it ‘print’ them out. Another idea would be to design the neck so that fingerboards could be easily changed. Since something like this has no bearing on the sound, and given that it would be possible to design this so that the fingerboard is firmly affixed with the neck using modern hardware and design without the need for glue, there seems to be no reason why not to design this.

Regarding the scroll, peg box, and pegs – certainly it is nice to admire the design of a traditional scroll, there is no reason why this could not be simplified and perhaps have the design improved to enhance the ability to easily string and tune the instrument. For someone who plays like me, form is not really that important as compared to function.  It should be possible to design really nice peg boxes using the latest technology that are easy to tune and not affected by issues such as slipping or variance in the pressure required to turn the pegs.