Play the world’s first vegan violin
NewsNo more catgut strings, horsehair bows and dead-animal glue.
Irish-born luthier Padraig O’Dubhlaoidh has built a violin that meets the exacting standards of the Vegan Society and still sounds like a violin.
Padraig’s not saying what he uses instead.
He says: ‘Apart from the benefit to animals, society, and our environment, it has become very clear that animal-based glues have harmful effects on violins, inducing powerful tensions on wooden components. The adhesive used in my vegan violins, however, has no such effect. Irrespective of ethics, this is an acoustic improvement.’
Apparently lots of wild berries and spring water are involved.
One of my grands is a veggie but the problem is, that the keyboard lid will automatically clamp down when a piece is played thereupon by a carnivorian composer, and almost all of then ate meat. It’s happy though with Cage since he was a champignon eater, but those pieces are not very interesting.
But at least Cage was a fun guy (fungi)!
Some time will be needed to evaluate the success of the experiment. Will everything still be holding together in twenty, or fifty years?
It has been shown that both veganists and vegetarians hold together for at least 23 years, at least physically (there are signals that mentally, some have problems with suppressing their earlier carnivorian habits).
The real advantage of this violin is that after the concert, one does not need to look for a restaurant that is open late.
You can just eat the violin in the car on the way home.
This is fantastic! I hope the instrument proves a success and cruelty-free instruments become the norm in the future
FWIW Strings have been “vegan” (=not gut) for many, many years now.
Well, so long as you aren’t buying gut strings, yes. They are still available, and some prefer them, despite their finicky behavior, cost, etc.
Not sure what this guy is going on about with his “powerful tensions on wooden components” bit. Luthiers use dilute animal hide glue precisely to have the glue joint be weaker than the wood, so the joint will give way if stresses are too great, rather than the wood itself failing. Also, hide glue can be washed away, so repairs are reversible.
Hide glue is “harmful” to violins? I thought the idea is to have glue that is strong enough to hold things together, yet will yield seams that “give” before the wood breaks, and also be easily undone so as to facilitate working on an open instrument.
Wonder how the alternative glue will hold up in high humidity areas.
Is horsehair being replaced with nylon?
It has recently been related that woke horses have been asked their permission to have their tail cut for culture’s sake. Most of them agreed, civilised animal as they are.
This instrument may appeal to hippie musicians, but not to HIP musicians.
must’ve gone over your heads
Horse hair are renewables
Since the only animal component in a violin is the hide glue, making a vegan version is dead simple: use plant a plant based glue or a synthetic glue. No big deal here.
Traditional violin strings have been made out of sheep gut. I don’t know why people call it ‘catgut.’ Sheep are not specifically slaughtered for strings. The gut would go unused otherwise. A good gut string is the best sounding type of string for a violin. Synthetic strings lack the warmth and the vocal qualities gut strings have. As for horsehair, no horses are hurt when hair is extracted from them for bows.
My heart goes out to the poor trees that were murdered and flayed for the amusement of a few vicious, sadistic ‘music-lovers.’