Standard peg hole drilling is unacceptable
When you thread a new or old string it seems that the D and G pegs would have their threading holes drilled close to the left of the peg box. Similarly you would expect that the A and E strings pegs would have the threading holes drilled close to the right side of the beg box.
Most violin makers do not do this.
Also all of the pegs have identical thread holes. One size fits all manner of strings. The winding up of strings is made difficult since one must cross over to add friction to keep the string from slipping.
In addition most new strings are too short for a good secure winding and some are also too thick to insert into the tail piece grooves.
Replies (8)
If you read my paragraph correctly, I mentioned that the The threading holes should be drilled "close" or about 1/4 inch from the sides of the peg box.
The fully tuned string would then be wound right up against the side of the peg box. This would avoid slippage of the peg.
You don't want the string to touch the sides of the pegbox. Undue stress and such - could actually lead to breakage of the pegbox or string. Windings on the string - the colored yarn you see on the top end - prevent the string from slipping and help protect against wear. "Slippage" is most likely from the peg and when new, string stretching.
Sometimes I use needle nose pliers to help thread. :-)
The holes in the pegs on my violins are approximately halfway between the sides of the pegbox. The result is that on the A and D only 3 or 4 turns of the string on the peg are needed (3 if it's a thick gut D), there is clear space between the inside face of the pegbox and closest approach of the string to said inside face, and the peg-to-nut runs of these two strings are in alignment with the nut-bridge portions of the strings (hence minimizing friction as the string passes the groove in the nut). The further advantage of the geometry of this arrangement working with the peg taper is that the A and D strings tend to tighten their respective pegs in the pegbox holes.
The E and G strings are slightly more problematic. It is virtually impossible with most setups to get the peg-to-nut runs of these strings in alignment with their respective nut-bridge lengths. In practice this should not be a problem because the G is the lowest tension string and the peg is therefore easy to turn, and the E, normally steel, is generally tuned at the tailpiece. The E peg is therefore pushed in fairly tight by most players. Having said that, on my Jay Haide I can tune a steel E accurately by the peg, if I wish.
The only issue I have with pegbox design is trying to persuade the black end of an A into a hole in a black peg in the darkness and cramped interior of a black-varnished pegbox box. Tweezers and a miniature torch are therefore standard occupants of compartments in my violin cases.
Equal size holes and inconvenient distance from the pegbox walls are not the "standard" that I am aware of, unless you refer to some lower standard.
My peg holes are varied in diameter, with the E being much smaller, and all are 4mm from the knob-side wall. Still, one crossover winding for safety is normal, and not that difficult to do.
On my violin each peg has two holes about a 2/5ths from each pegbox edge and drilled at 90o angle from each other. But I would not care if there was only one as it does not seem to make much difference except if you want to use a short string.
I know an experienced folk fiddler who takes an iconoclastic but pragmatic view of the layout of his fiddle strings, his logic being,
1) The A string needs replacing far more often than does the E;
2) A new A string can be awkward to fit, because of restricted access to the hole in the A-peg in the confined space at the back of the pegbox;
3) A new E string is much easier to fit at the front of the pegbox;
4) Therefore, fit the E onto the A peg, and the A onto the E peg (the strings of course remaining in EADG order across the fingerboard);
5) Remember the re-pegging, and in particular always tell anyone who borrows the fiddle (!).
For the avoidance of doubt, although I can understand and sympathise with that fiddler's point of view, it isn't something I'd want to do myself.
This raises the question, which possibly some luthier here may wish to consider, is there a good reason, other than tradition and symmetry, for the current universal peg layout?
With strings from Thomastik, Pirastro, D'Addario, and Warchal, I've had no problem installing/changing them. I've also very rarely gotten a bad string (maybe one out of a couple hundred).
As an orchestra educator I change strings for students *hundreds* of times each year and don't have any of the issues described above with "standard peg hole drilling" assuming that the instrument is reasonably well made (at least comparable to Shar's entry level Franz Hoffman lineup), and comes with tailpieces and pegs that are cut/machined properly to the right tolerances.
Perhaps the issue is one with individual winding technique, and not with the product itself?
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April 20, 2014 at 03:35 AM · But if the holes were close to the side of the peg box then where would you put the winding ? It would just bunch up at the side pressing against the peg box which is not what you want.
The winding should spiral neatly around the peg from the string hole to somewhere close (but not touching) the side of the peg box. For this to happen there needs to be some distance from the string hole to the side of the peg box.
This is what I was always taught.