bass-bar

American  

[beys-bahr] / ˈbeɪsˌbɑr /

noun

1. a strip of wood glued lengthwise inside the belly of instruments of the violin family, used to spread vibrations over the surface.

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Etymology

Origin of bass-bar

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

The bar—there is but one—ofttimes erroneously called sound-bar or bass-bar—is, in common with all the violins of the old Italian school, quite inadequate for modern requirement, that of supporting the upper table on the fourth string side against the pressure caused by the tension of the third and fourth, the heaviest strings.

From Project Gutenberg

This is also the case with the bass-bar or so-called "soul" of a violin, which is just as mysterious a part of the violin as any one can imagine; and its quality shows the skill or ignorance of its maker.

From Project Gutenberg

Thus I have become acquainted with several artists who constantly tortured their violins by getting the sounding post and bass-bar displaced.

From Project Gutenberg

If we accept the bass-bar as the nervous system of a Violin, the sound-post may be said to perform the functions of the heart with unerring regularity.

From Project Gutenberg

It is not possible to have any uniform arrangement of the sound-post in all instruments; as we have remarked before in reference to the bass-bar, the variations in the thickness, outline, model, &c., of the Violin are so frequent as to defy identity of treatment; uniformity has been sought for, but without success.

From Project Gutenberg