What's a Bass Bar?

In a string instrument, the bass bar is a brace running from the foot of the neck to a position under the bridge, which bears much of the tension of the strings.

What is the purpose of a bass bar?

The bass bar plays a dual role: It has to support the top, and it also distributes the vibrations to the rest of the top. To do this, it has to let the top flex. Fitting the bar is perhaps the most precise step in making an instrument; it has to fit perfectly, along its entire length.

What is a bass bar made of?

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 lowest string , and acting as a beam or girder to strengthen the belly against the pressure of the left foot of the bridge , as the ...