The topic of Virzi Tone Producers comes up often, and I'm frequently asked what it is, what it does, whether it really makes a difference, and why Gibson installed them. We have quite a bit about the history of the Virzi Brothers and the development of their Tone Producer in our web site that you can read about here. This month, I'd like to focus on some surrounding issues.

The Virzi Tone Producer is a thin wooden plate (.090˝ thick) made of wide grain spruce. The purpose of the tone producer was to provide the instrument with a plate that was suspended from its center rather than around its edges (as the soundboard is). Plates supported in their center vibrate in very different modes from those supported around their edges, and they typically evoke stronger upper partials. Envision for a moment the high-hat on a drum set and think of how sensitive it is - and consider what happens if you hold it along the edge and then tap it - that's the same principle.

Loar was very interested in what Virzi was doing, and he sent them his August Diehl viola to have a tone producer installed. He was excited about the results and wrote about it on page 23 of the Virzi Brother's catalog. This viola - which is in my possession - has a rich warm sound and you can read more about it in our web site. Loar's personal F5 mandolin also has a Virzi Tone Producer installed. Clearly, the rich tone provided by the Tone Producer was something that Loar favored.

During Loar's tenure at Gibson (1918 through 1924), he helped to cement a relationship between Virzi and Gibson so that Gibson could offer Tone Producers as an option in its line. Many A3, A4, F4, and F5 mandolins, H5 mandolas, and L5 guitars were made with Virzi Tone Producers installed. When Loar left Gibson at the end of 1924, the arrangement with Gibson ended and the 1925 accessory catalog (printed in late 1924) had "CANCELLED" rubber stamped across the Virzi page. Some have surmised that Loar had a special "arrangement" with Virzi that was distasteful to the company, and that's why the relationship with Virzi ended when Loar left Gibson, but we have no conclusive evidence to substantiate this.

While the Virzi Tone Producer does have a major affect on the tone of the instrument, not all players like a Virzi - it is an acquired taste. It is important to consider that the Tone Producer was designed for classical performance and not for bluegrass. Instruments with them sound warm, deep, full, and rich with overtones. Many Virzi's, like the one pictured above, have been taken out of Gibson instruments at the request of the owner. This particular Tone Producer was crudely made and features very wide grain spruce - an important feature to allow the plate to be as flexible as possible. (The front two feet are reconstructions; I had to damage the original feet to remove the Tone Producer from the F5 it was originally in.)

If you are interested in Tone Producers, we manufacture replicas and have them in our on-line catalog. And, if you are interested in reading more about the Virzi Brothers and their instrument line, Pickin' Magazine produced some reprints of the 1924 Virzi catalog, and I still have a few reprints left. Email me directly and I'll tell you how you can purchase one.

A carefully sanded and shaped soundboard or backboard is a beautiful sight, and getting the surface to be both bump- and dimple-free is an art. Creating good shapes can be aided by backing your sandpaper with a leather caul so that you sand down the high spots and slide over the dimples (until everything is level). But no matter how hard you try there are always those few dimples that show up after the finish is applied because the reflections of a bright finish tend to accentuate any defect in the finish.

One way to evaluate the surface of the soundboard or backboard during sanding is to work in a bright light and allow the shadows to reveal any imperfections. You will find that a bright spotlight - or the sun as in the case of this photo - will reveal more than the fluorescent light over your bench (fluorescent lights provide a broad splay of light that softens shadows and hides defects). A direct spotlight, or the sun, presents hard shadows and will help to reveal every detail and flaw.