Snail (music)
The snail (see volute ) on string instruments forms the end of the instrument neck above the pegbox .
It is mainly used for decoration and, due to its low weight, has little influence on the timbre of the instrument. In many cases it has been replaced (especially with viols ) by a carved human or animal head (lion, dragon, etc.). The exactness of the worm in relation to the axial symmetry to the neck often provides information about the quality of the instrument.
With older instruments before 1820, when the neck was replaced by a more modern and approximately one centimeter longer variant for technical reasons, the original scroll was reused in order to retain the trademark of the original violin maker.
Snails, 18th century
Visible acquisition
Stainer lion head
