Bass-Bar

BASS-BAR, an oblong piece of wood, fixed lengthwise inside the belly of the various instruments belonging to the violin-tribe, running in the same direction with the strings, below the G string, and acting as a beam or girder to strengthen the belly against the pressure of the left foot of the bridge, as the sound-post does against that of the right foot. It is the only essential part of the instrument which, owing to the gradual elevation of the pitch,...