[Mr. Jazzy]

If I remember correctly, some thought that wonderful tone of the instruments was due in part to the fact that the wood, after being felled, had lay in spring fed rivers and large bodies of water for extended periods of time, due to the fact that it was easier to store the lumber there than on land where insects were more of a problem. That time in the possibly “polluted waters” may be the source of some of the chemicals found in the wood.

[decimon]

I remember speculations about the varnish. From this article it sounds like he took existing processes and went some step further. If it’s so that the violins were consistent in sound then it sounds like some standard process was employed.

[Red_Devil 232]

Every time I go out and pee on the tree behind our house and my wife catches me I tell her: This tree will make great violin wood one day.

I also tell her that the more beer I consume the better the wood will be.

[AFreeBird]

The last theory I heard was actually brought up when talking about global warming/cooling, sunspots etc. That the area from which Stradivarius acquired his wood; the trees had suffered through sever cold for a long period of time before being harvested. As such, the trees grew slower, the rings were closer together, therefore making it denser.

Personally, it's probably "All of the Above". A confluence of events, materials and processes etc., all coming into place in time for Stradivarius to make his masterpieces.