BOHEMIA Violin #108 BO Unique Piece E56, CG-108BO-4_4-E56

Violin from the BOHEMIA line by Conrad Götz, quality grade 108 BO, in the HERITAGE build variant, size 4/4. BOHEMIA is the house line with a French tailpiece and bean-shaped pegs.

• 15 hand-applied coats, dark brown antique ground with dark red shading
• Back and neck of maple of Bosnian origin, top of spruce from the European highlands, with certified timber origin.
• Included: strings, bridge, tailpiece, pegs, fine tuner, Götz chin rest, hang tag, certificate of origin and a microfibre bag.

Technical data

Wood of this instrument

• Under the dark Bohemia varnish the maple back shows a fine, even flame.
• The scroll shows little flame.
• The spruce top has clearly marked, medium-width growth rings.
• The photos show exactly this instrument.

Features

• BOHEMIA line, quality grade 108 BO
• HERITAGE build variant
• Size 4/4
• Ebony, tailpiece in the French shape
• Bean-shaped pegs
• Götz Guarneri chin rest
• Götz bridge, German shape, with ebony insert at the E string
• Strung with Thomastik Dominant
• Traditional design
• Sturdy construction

In practice

• The model number stands for wood selection and the amount of work put into the white, still unvarnished instrument: graduation of the top, finishing inside and out, choice of tonewood. The higher the number, the more time has gone into the wood and the rounder and more differentiated the sound. 93 and 98 are student instruments, 108 and 110 are for advanced students and committed amateurs, from 120 upwards they are instruments for professionals, and 136 and 140 head towards orchestral instruments.
• The letters denote the series: varnish and set-up, that is pegs, end button, sound post, strings, chin rest and adjustment. In a photo you cannot see the difference between a 110 and a 115, but you can see whether it is a Metropol or a Cantonate.
• We varnish exclusively with spirit varnish. The spirit evaporates, resins and pigments remain. Priming, staining, colour coats, intermediate sanding and sealing add up to around fifteen steps; because these are natural varnishes, one coat more or less may be needed until the colour is right.
• Fifteen hand-applied coats of varnish are what sets this line apart from the entry lines.
• SIGNATURE and HERITAGE are two build variants of the same line. HERITAGE is the traditional and sturdier version, SIGNATURE the lighter, modernised one.
• Guide values for string height at the end of the fingerboard: violin around 3.5 mm under the E and 5.0 mm under the G, viola 4.5 to 5.5 and 5.0 to 6.0 mm, cello 5.0 to 6.5 and 5.5 to 7.5 mm.
• In the first weeks the strings stretch and the bridge creeps towards the fingerboard as you tune. Both need checking; a readjustment after a few weeks is normal.
• Humidity 40 to 50 per cent at around 20 °C, up to 60 per cent unproblematic. Below 40 percent you risk slipping pegs, opening glue joints and cracks.
• After playing, take off rosin dust with a microfibre cloth and no pressure. No polish, no tincture, no alcohol on the varnish.
• After cold or heat, open the case only after fifteen to thirty minutes. Never leave it in a car, never check it as baggage.
• The company is based in Wernitzgrün near Markneukirchen. It has existed since 1884 and is run as a family business in the fourth generation.
• Six months warranty on defective components and workmanship.

Sound and physics

The air in the body vibrates through the f-holes as a Helmholtz resonator (A0), on the 4/4 violin at around 270 Hz, above the open G string at 196 Hz; it supports above all the notes of the D string. In modal analysis (the measurement of natural vibrations) the principal body resonances of a 4/4 violin typically lie at:

• A0, Helmholtz air resonance: around 270 Hz
• CBR, bending mode of the whole body: around 400 Hz
• B1−, first antisymmetric plate mode: around 450 Hz
• A1, first higher cavity mode: around 470 Hz
• B1+, first symmetric plate mode: around 540 Hz

The sound post under the right foot of the bridge practically doubles the number of modes that contribute to the radiated sound. The bass bar, around 25 cm long on the 4/4 violin, stiffens the bass side of the top and, together with the arching, carries the string tension. With the Thomastik synthetic sets we stock, the bridge presses on the top with around 8.5 to 9.5 kg.

On the 4/4 violin a spruce top is typically 3.2 to 3.3 mm thick in the centre, 2.5 to 2.7 mm across the bouts and 3.0 mm at the edge; the maple back reaches 4.2 to 4.3 mm in the centre. This distribution of thicknesses (the graduation) sets, together with the arching, the natural frequencies of top and back.

At 12 % moisture content the spruce top has a density of 380 to 470 kg/m³ and a modulus of elasticity along the grain of around 10,000 MPa; sound travels along its grain at around 4,800 m/s. For the top, 8 to 15 growth rings per centimetre is the recommended range.

The F in a grade such as 125F stands for the one-piece back.

The Bohemia has ebony fittings with a tailpiece in the French style, bean-shaped pegs and a Götz bridge in the German style with an ebony string seat. It takes up elements of 18th-century central European violin making from the Leipzig, Prague and Vienna region.

Its varnish is applied by hand in 15 layers, with a dark brown antique ground and dark red shading; it is the darkest varnish in our range and lets the grain show clearly. On the 108 BO more wood is taken away on the lower bout side than on the 107 BO, and at 24 mm its neck is narrower than the usual 26 mm or so.

Heritage and Signature are two ways of working the same model; from five metres away they are barely distinguishable. The Signature is around 10 to 15 % lighter, above all at the scroll and neck, the inner neck block and the back joint, and so takes weight off the left arm. Its fingerboard is thinner and more gently rounded, while the string spacing stays the same; it has been in steady production since 2019.

Our experience

When another model suits you better

Players who want the classically balanced middle ground rather than the dark warmth of the Bohemia will find it in the Metropol, our best-selling series.

Frequently asked questions

Which strings is the violin supplied with?

With Thomastik Dominant, set 135: G 133, D 132, A 131 and E 129SN.

What string tension does the violin carry with Dominant?

The factory set Dominant 135 in medium puts 21.2 kg on the violin in total; through the bridge it presses on the top with around 8.5 kg.

How dry is the wood when the violin is varnished?

Below 9 % moisture content; that is how dry the wood of our violins is before varnishing.

How many layers of varnish does the Bohemia have?

15 hand-applied layers.

How wide is the neck of the 108 BO?

24 mm, compared with around 26 mm on most of our violins.

These texts hold decades of experience and a great deal of heart. They are protected by copyright, C.A. Götz jr. GmbH. Please ask us before any use. Thank you for your appreciation.