How to fix a Wolf Note.
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- Опубліковано 14 лип 2024
- Master violin maker and restorer Olaf Grawert talks about what causes wolf notes in cellos and what to do about them.
Be fully informed when you buy your next instrument. Get Olaf's free 7 essentials when buying an instrument report here: olafgrawertviolinstudio.com/7...
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:29 What causes a Wolf Note?
03:13 What can you do to stop a Wolf Note?
05:31 Recap
06:26 Wolf tones on the violin and viola
07:24 Conclusion
Website:
www.olafgrawertviolinstudio.com
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My cello has the most fantastic wolf tone. When I saw the howling wolves, I about peed myself. What a brilliant description. 😅
I LOVE the thumbnail to this video!
My violin had a wolf tone around the first B-C on the E string. However, it went away after I had a new bridge and a new soundpost made and installed (and both their positions were different from the setup before.) It has been a few years and the wolf hasn't come back, so I am happy. 😊
Does that mean you got a different type of bridge or style?
@@Kenji1685 No, not a different "type" of bridge, just a new one made from scratch.
My Cello has a very prominent F# Wolf tone. For me the best solution was the Krentz eliminator as I was finding string weights hit and miss. With the Krentz solution I can place snd quickly adjust as climate changes Also impact where my wolf appears and I can easily move it to corner to disable . They are on the pricey side of solutions but worth it.
Funny! Back in the late 1940s and early 1950s, my Aunt and Uncle had a race horse named Wolf Tone! Somewhere around here, I have a vinyl record of Wolf Tone winning a race! I always wondered where they got that name! Now I have a clue! Thank You, Olaf!
My Violin has a very prominent Wolftone on the Ab on the g-string. It really sounds like a howl. Gladly that isn't a note I play that often. But I found the Video by Augustin Hadelivh on Wolftones very helpfull too.
I am a beginner, and I am amazed that violin can make so many strange sounds. Once, my shoulder rest was too tight and I think my sound post got dislocated, which made making sound very hard. Too much or too little rosin makes it hard to generate sound as well. The tension of the bow affects the quality of the sound as well and I do not know how to make the bow tension same everyday. All these are happening while I am learning bowing and string crossing, ending up in very large variety of noise and sounds, including metallic noise, strange effects if I open the string too fast, or bow pressure not low enough during string crossings. Two different tones gets generated between up bows and down bows or sometimes no sound at all unless I play only at specific spot on a string. Right now I am having tremendous problem with G-string. I have no clue as yet on how to optimize amount of rosin that should be applied. Just try and error everyday. Some days bowing causes vibrato! I do not know whether these are due to bad technique, uncontrolled conditions, bad setup, bad instrument, or wolf tone. I am also not happy with my chin rest and shoulder rest combination, and experimenting frequently. I am tempted to go without shoulder rest, but the increased freedom of violin movement makes it hard controlling bowing and pitches. I am vacillating between no shoulder rest or having to deal with tightness between my collar bone and jaw bone. I wish I could bring my violin to you Olaf, and get my set up checked, but alas I live in the US.
You mean the 'resonant frequency' of the cello - same with the room and a common problem on Stratocasters as the trem springs resonate to certain notes.
Wow! I discovered the wolf note slightly below playing a C natural on the G string. But I didn't know what it was until now. I changed out the strings and tried bowing differently, but it's always there. Interesting!
Ah, how informative on how wolf tones in cello is natural, but in violin or viola a bit concerning. Well, duets are now more musical! ^_^
I had a wolf tone on one of my violins that only ever happened when you played a D (on the A string) slurred to an open E, ie in one bow stroke. The violin actually had rather thick top plates. I jave no idea what the mechanics are of this but I tried all sorts of things but in the end tried a "non whistling" E string (Kaplan) , which just solved it immediately -and still balanced pretty well with a set of Evah Pirazzi strings. I believe these strings inhibit rotational movements in the string
What a wonderful vid thank you Olaf
Interesting. It's resonant frequencies, the combining of slightly different notes will cause sympathic and antisympathetic peaks and troughs. Something used quite a bit in different ways.
very informative educational as always thank you❤
Wonderful information. Love your channel.
But can he fix the brown note? On a more serious note, as a woodwind player string players have always seemed a little foreign, but for some reason Olaf is helping me understand them better. Although they probably don't appreciate the brown note joke.
This string player loves the South Park reference :-)
Love your videos: entertaining and informative. I have a fox on my D-string and a couple cats on my A-string (cello) but I think that’s a problem with my bow[ing]. I like the wolf tone actually at least on my instrument. Thanks for this video.
Really appreciate you making this video and that I got to see it. I don't remember what I learned from my quick research after noticing my cello had a wolf note, but I assumed it was because it was a cheap cello. I was surprised to hear this is normal and expected in cellos!
I have to say though, I wish you had said a little more about how to accept and mitigate it through playing. I don't really understand the "skipping" stuff - even if it's not a dominant note for the key, if it's in the music, if it's a slow piece, what do you want want me to do? haha. Mine's an F or F# so it's really rough on my weak pinky on the C string. I would have liked to hear if there are specific things to do with bowing, vibrato, etc. that can help. Having said, this is coming from a luthier, and the biggest value in this video was the information on the wolf note's nature so it's fine if I now go google more on managing it, but if you call the video how to "fix" a wolf note, I would have hoped for more than just the squeezing trick. :) Once again, still an awesome video that relieving for me to see. Thanks again for the info!
That story really resonates with all of us ;)
All physical has a resonant tone. My shower has F#2. Bandwidth is quite narrow like a high Q filter.
Recently I was assembling another viora cu goarna - a romanian phono fiddle - imagine my surprise when for the very first time in my experience it had a strong wolf tone, too!
The cork is for a cello, naturally, really works well
So the instrument has natural resonance near the frequency of a played note causing a beat frequency between the two notes. The trick would be to move the wolf between two semitones if that is possible.
Yay! Cello! 😊 I always enjoy watching your videos. ✌️🙂 I didn't know that squeezing her work too. 🤔 I'm too afraid to try that though.
Thanks for the video!
It was simple and informative.
I see that there are differences in the definition of wolf note and wolf interval. The latter is more applicable to keyboard instruments; however, is there anything relatable to the strings?
Have you ever used a cork between the finger board and top. Works really well starker used one
Hi Olaf, thanks for mentioning this topic which most of the cellists being bothered to a certain extend. Particularly on my cello (~1930 Mirecourt cello, no label) there is an additional wolf tone on the F# on the A string (4th position), on top of a normal wolf tone of F on my G string (4th position). Would you have any idea what the cause would be? I've been asking many violin makers and they're not sure about it. Thanks a lot and have a great day!
I know a guy who had a wolf note on his guitar. he got rid of it by fitting an upgraded better made bridge.
C5 on my violin's G-string
When making an instrument & (tap) tuning the plates & trying for a rich tone one can get a little carried away with thinning for that 'magic' lower tone only to discover the prominent wolf tone when finally playing it. I wonder if Strad (according to Sacconi) used the inside & outside treatments (waterglass outside) as part of this measure or was just looking for a rich & powerful output?
Some makers have certain notes they are sure their tops and completed instruments do not resonate at and take steps throughout the build process to prevent Wolf or Hot tones. Can occur in mandolins and guitars too if your not careful. Some say the resonate tone should be towards a flat but off a bit and not dead on the center. Some makers though seem more prone to letting loose the Wolf than others even when doing repairs.
Best!
Great stuff. If you get a moment can you gives us a heads up on varnish. Why are Luthiers seemingly pedantic about preserving the original finish ? Is it simply part of the resoration ethos or does it impact real world sound effects ?
Refinishing an expensive vintage instrument lowers its value quite a bit. Originality is valued by the vast majority of players and collectors. It's the same with guitars but to a slightly lesser extent.
@@roytofilovski9530 Cheers for the insight. I work mostly with metals so understand the conservation ethos concerning patination and ageing in relation to the aesthetic and market preferences. With stringed instruments, ( a part from cost) is the finish on older pieces purely aesthetic or are there impacts on tonality ?
I was told that to refinish a Martin guitar (any style/vintage) reduces its value by roughly 60%. Martin finishes are famous/infamous for cracking over the course of time. That said, and in response, it is my belief that refinishing a wooden instrument will cause some changes in its tonality, even if to a very minor degree. Conversely, since the original finish (when new) will degrade over time, as all things do, so we don't notice the subtle changes over the course of 300 years -- and since we weren't alive when a really old instrument was new, we really have no overall observation of the subtle changes made.
Regarding my own Martin (1983 Shenandoah model): Even though there are the infamous cracks in the finish, there is NO WAY I would have it refinished! I LOVE its tone, and how it has sweetened up and mellowed over the course of 40 years, and I have no intentions of changing anything about it!
Imagine the sacrilege of refinishing a legitimate Stradivarius violin! Not on my watch, I wouldn't!
@@snickpickle Thanks for the insight
@@snickpickle Only an insane person would refinish an 83 Martin. Frankly, all expensive guitars should not be refinished ever. Even one finished with a poly coating of some sort. Even ones that are painted some colour You simply don't screw around with a proper guitar.
Nice man! 😂❤❤😂😂❤
hiii how are you today?
I don't understand, why can one live with wolf and hope to tame it... They shake so much and even make my hands numb🥲
Use a Krentz Modulator
Sounds a lot like over-tone harmony
Ah you need cellotape to fix that..
Thank you for taking the time to produce this UA-cam. I can only partly imagine how much time goes into producing a UA-cam as helpful as this.
I am beginning to study the cello (65 yo so far behind, but I am going to live to be 125), and I will ask my instructor about this subject.
At 2:20 when you are shifting the cello in your lap the bridge is visible in profile. It appears to be very slightly tilted towards the fingerboard.
Is that intentional, or the result of the camera angle?
Thank you for an answer you might provide.
i wonder did some one cut the dog head on to the violin it would be pretty cool looking