CANTONATE Violin #123 CA-S Unique Piece C74, CG-123CA-S-4_4-C74

Violin from the CANTONATE line by Conrad Götz, quality grade 123 CA, in the SIGNATURE build variant, size 4/4. CANTONATE is the premium line of the house with boxwood fittings.

• 18 to 20 hand-applied coats, light ground with reddish-yellow main coats, high gloss
• 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

• The maple back shows a narrow, very even and strong flame.
• The neck is flamed, the scroll subtly so.
• The spruce top has fine, even growth rings.
• The photos show exactly this instrument.

Features

• CANTONATE line, quality grade 123 CA
• SIGNATURE build variant
• Size 4/4
• Complete fittings in boxwood
• Pegs in fully worked heart shape
• Guarneri chin rest with titanium screws
• Hardened Götz bridge, German shape
• Boxwood Hill tailpiece with gold fine tuner
• 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.
• This series carries a slightly thicker varnish, matched to the finely worked top. In our experience it takes the edge off the overtones and makes the sound rounder.
• The Cantonate is brighter in sound and more finely made, with a thinner worked top; an instrument with a character of its own that heads towards orchestral playing.
• Boxwood throughout the fittings and eighteen to twenty hand-applied coats are the effort this line stands for.
• 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 Cantonate is fitted in boxwood, with heart-shaped pegs and a chin rest with titanium screws. At 4,510 kg/m³ titanium weighs little more than half as much as steel at 7,800 to 8,000 kg/m³, and it is outstandingly resistant to corrosion.

Its varnish is a hand-built layered finish with a reddish-yellow ground and a high gloss. On the Cantonate and Golden State we apply the varnish with a cloth rather than a brush; this takes more time and gives a noticeably finer varnish than brushing.

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 prefer the same quality of wood with ebony fittings and a light yellow high-gloss varnish will find it in the Golden State.

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.

What is the difference between Cantonate and Golden State?

Only fittings and varnish: the Cantonate has boxwood and a reddish-yellow varnish, the Golden State ebony and a light yellow varnish.

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.