JAVS Spring 2025

Figure 5. Comparing a larger viola with thinner neck and to smaller viola with thicker neck.

Luthier Henry Strobel, for example, suggests a fingerboard width at the upper nut of 25 mm for a 16 ½ body length viola. 12 A thick neck generally has more spaced-out strings, which will increase the left hand’s tension and will make it harder playing double-stops, especially in higher positions since the strings spacing increases toward the bridge. The ideal strings spacing at the upper nut between strings 1 and 4 is 17mm for 15 ½ to 17 in violas, and 16.5 mm for smaller ones. String spacing at the bridge is 36mm for 16-in violas and larger and 35 mm for 15 ½ violas or smaller violas. These

reference measurements can be found in the book Useful Measurements for Violin Makers by Henry Strobel. 13

Lastly, cello-like square pegbox styles can impact playability by getting in the way of the first finger, especially for violists with larger hands when playing with a low first finger, in half position, or while using wide vibrato. When testing a viola with a cello-like scroll it is quite important to check if the right shoulder of the pegbox is not blocking free movement of the first finger.

Figure 6. Cello-style pegbox.

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 41, No. 1, Spring 2025