[cyborg]

Made by extraterrestrial violinsts. What else do I need to know?

[dr_who_2]

Sweden has lots of spruces and mooses. I live in fear that like Germany once did, they will soon export violins to all of the peace-loving countries of Europe.

[RightWhale]

So what did old Stradivarius do? I imagine he shaped the tops and checked for resonance all the time until the top gave off the sound he wanted. He would have used a small leather mallot to tap the wood.

[RosieCotton]

There have been countless studies by people trying to discover just what makes Stradivarius violins great, and I doubt anyone will ever be able to put a finger on it with any certainty. There are just too many factors that go into an instrument, and even two violins made of wood from the same tree (well...usually it'd be spruce for the top and maple for the back and sides) won't necessarily sound at all alike.

[sharktrager]

I seem to recall they discovered a few years ago that he used a different finish that also impacted the resonance.

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Not for the timid

[SunkenCiv]

Just adding this to the GGG catalog, not sending a general distribution.

Years ago, an independent researcher figured out some of the kinda weird techniques Strad used to season the wood. He went so far as to build and sell violins which were a big hit with violinists all over the world.

Before that, sometime in the 1970s, a violinist in London got jostled getting off a bus; his instrument wound up falling onto the street just as the bus pulled away. After the violin was no more, the Strad signature was visible. Formerly it was inside the soundbox. The violinist had been playing it all his life, and hadn't known. :'(

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[sitetest]

Classical music list ping.

I thought this would be of interest to the membership.

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