Geigen ohne Ecken (Violins without Corners)

Edited: November 29, 2025, 1:59 PM · I love your nod to Mendelssohn ("Lieder ohne Worte") in your thread title!

Most of the cornerless instruments I have seen have been of the student class, some of them painstakingly crafted from carbon fiber composite materials. Of these, I have not noticed whether they sound any better or worse than their wooden counterparts.

I don't think the corners of a violin are purely decorative. They create small interior spaces convenient to tucking away reinforcing blocks. Not sure what the cornerless instruments use in their place. For all I know, reinforcing blocks might only be needed if there are corners!

Edited: November 30, 2025, 1:28 AM · Joshua Bell used to play a guitar-pattern instrument years ago, I recall. I believe it was a Stradivarius.

**Edited to add surname - I don't know him personally!

Edited: November 29, 2025, 6:20 PM · I always wanted one of Alan Carruth’s 5-string violas with “simplified” construction. His designs evolved over time to include a C-bout but not with the traditional corners.

A late-model example: https://i.pinimg.com/736x/11/53/66/1153665722c04432c280bf85448e3219.jpg

November 30, 2025, 2:54 AM · The local violin shop had a Gusetto copy hanging on their wall. I offered them £200 for it. It's in a cupboard somewhere. I thought the sound was ok.

Edited: November 30, 2025, 9:57 AM · I always loved the Tim Phillips “Infidels” as well!

November 30, 2025, 10:12 AM · My newer viola, from Bernard Sabatier, Paris, has only two corners, symmetrical, on the lower bouts. Unlike most cornerless fiddles, it has a wide waist, and a wide "chest", but with rounded shoulders.
Inspired by the Gasparo's "lyra-viola" in the Ashmolian Museum, Oxford UK,
it avoids the tiring nasality of many violas; a tubby contralto tone, but with pleasing high notes..

I suspect corners provide nodal points due to their mass.
I should perhaps try blobs of mastic in place of the missing upper corners, to seek tonal changes?

Edited: December 1, 2025, 2:30 PM · Joshua Bell played the Chanot-Chardon cornerless Strad when he was young, also known informally as the “Thalidomide Strad.” It was originally a violino d’Amore, but it was modified to make it into a violin a century ago and given a scroll possibly by George Gemunder.

A number of acoustics enthusiasts have made cornerless violins for various reasons like reducing weight or maximizing bow clearance.

They are common among novelty collections as conversation pieces. Experimental shapes make good wall decor.

November 30, 2025, 1:36 PM · Thanks for the note on the Chanot-Chardon cornerless instrument, Rich.

Edited: November 30, 2025, 3:41 PM · Adrian, a node is where there's no movement, which is all around the edge because the top is glued to the ribs. Corners assist overtones by dint of their angularity.

Edited: November 30, 2025, 6:05 PM · "Corners assist overtones by dint of their angularity." That's a theoretical argument stated as if demonstrable fact. I'd be interested to know if anyone can distinguish Joshua Bell's tone on his cornerless Strad from his subsequent recordings.

December 2, 2025, 1:52 AM · Nicola Utili (1888-1962) of Castelbolognese (Italy) made cornerless violins. Mussolini reportedly was a client.

December 2, 2025, 10:48 AM · I saw Bell play on that violin. It sounded fine to me, but there was a reason he sold it…

December 2, 2025, 11:11 AM · Inside a normal violin the corners are full of wood!
I imagine the extra mass has an effect on the vibrations of both ribs and plates.

December 2, 2025, 12:06 PM · “I imagine the extra mass has an effect on the vibrations of both ribs and plates.”

I agree. The extra glued area also increases the rigidity of those anchor points.

December 2, 2025, 1:33 PM · There is another thread about violins and fiddles.

It is surprising that there is a linguistic difference between violins and fiddles, but cornerless violins are still considered violins by many.

I do not really consider them to be violins.

December 2, 2025, 2:19 PM · Mark, if not violins what would you call them? I’m certain that the luthiers who built them do.

December 2, 2025, 7:01 PM · A guitar fiddle