Neck projection, overstand, afterlength, mensur, break angle, bridge mass, post tension, fingerboard concavity, peg taper, string height, plate thickness and bass bar overhang are all common terms for those who work in and around the field of stringed instru­ment setup and tonal adjustment. However, for those wondering what separates a good violin from a not-so-good violin, it can be an overwhelming amount of information. We must think of it in terms of precise manufacturing and fine tolerances, as we would with any precision machine. Most violin makers strive for exacting detail in their product, sometimes as a result of their own experimentation, and often as acknowledgement of the findings of so many generations of previous makers who've shared in their love of this alluring instrument for centuries before them, but always as a means to creating a beautiful musical instrument with a beautiful voice. Our goal at Howard Core Company then is to reflect that passion in the final stages of preparation before the player actually draws their bow for the first time across their new violin.