Much false reasoning upon insufficient premises has at times on and off been bestowed upon the subject of the bar and its supposed mysteries. Space at command will not allow of a dissertation on this detail of the constitution of the violin. A few remarks will perhaps be sufficient for present purposes. When violins were first sent forth by their inventor, Gasparo da Salo, the bar was sometimes omitted, possibly in all the earliest ones, the strain on the upper table being then slight as compared with that of the present day--at others it was very short and weak. The substance of the upper table was considerable, and much over that which the later and modern makers approve of, and thus there was a counter-balance.
At the present time still stronger bars are inserted, and very frequently without rule or reason. Occasionally a coarse bar will allow of good results as regards the emission of the tone, the length and thickness happening to be suitable to the proportions in detail of the instrument. A weakness at each end of the bar is an oft-recurring cause of bad going with regard to the vibrations.
From this we may infer that when the bar was first thought of and inserted it was simply with an idea of supporting the part over which the third and fourth strings were stretched, and that as the tension of the strings became greater in consequence of the rise in the pitch, so the bar had to be increased in strength, that is, longer and deeper. The discovery or unearthing of an old master in its original condition will therefore be followed by the opening and re-barring for the emission of the tone according to modern ideas; these may be summed up as the getting of the largest amount of tone accompanied by freedom of vibration or ring.
As the removal of a defective or weakly bar and its renewal and fixing in accordance with the best knowledge of the subject is an operation that should be seldom attempted by other than an experienced professional repairer, it may be as well to pay another visit to our chief and his assistant, James.
After some lapse of time we find on looking in at the establishment that there is no perceptible change in the working or general routine; violins innumerable have come and gone and still seem likely to do so for ever.