PSSST. Wanna buy a Strad?

[imcarthur]

"A Stradivarius violin has been "recreated" using an X-ray scanner normally used to detect cancers and injuries, according to researchers. The US-based group used a computerised axial tomography (CAT) scanner on the 307-year-old instrument to reveal its secrets. They then used the data recovered to build "nearly exact copies"."

"To do this they took more than 1,000 CAT scan images from the original instrument and converted them into a file format used to resemble three-dimensional object in computer-aided design (CAD) software. "We used the scans to determine the density of the woods that made up the violin - that could only otherwise be done if the violin was dissected and measured - and of course that would never happen," Dr Sirr said.

The files were then fed into a CNC (computer numerical control) machine. It used the data to carve the violins' back and front plates, neck and the "scroll" carving at the neck's end using various woods picked to match the originals as closely as possible. These were then assembled and varnished by hand.

"The copies are amazingly similar to originals in their sound quality," said Dr Sirr."



While purists will never buy in (search CD vs vinyl or film vs digital photography or . . .) this is pretty incredible. With the Lacy act clamping down on exotic woods, this might lead to a 'digital' solution for recreating a lot of vintage instruments.

Source: BBC Story

Ian

[5String43]

Well, maybe. Man, this is a sexy subject. This question of why Stradivari's instruments - he built violins, violas and cellos - sound the way they do has driven scientists and musicians crazy for a long time.

Part of the deal with Strads is the wood itself, and that goes beyond density. There is a lot of conjecture that the best of the Strads - and some of them are quite different from the rest, from what I've read - were built from wood that apparently had been under water for a long period of time. Apparently immersion does something to the wood's cells that exposure to air doesn't. As an example, a luthier named Richard Hoover, who owns Santa Cruz Guitars, is building some spectacular instruments using a sycamore stump, I think it was, he'd obtained after it had been dredged out of a bay somewhere. Additionally, the late Tony Pass was building spectacular banjo rims for Stelling banjos, called "Lost Timber," I think, from wood that had been submerged in one of the Great Lakes for a century. So just matching the density and dimensions is only part of the problem.

Additionally, using tiny tools called thumb planes, Stradivari would have individually graduated each piece of wood, especially the tops of his instruments, making them just as thick as his ear told him to when he rapped knuckles on them - or did something like that to let the wood tell him how it would resonate. The kind of standardization represented here is fine for furniture and cheap guitars, but not for something trying to emulate a Strad.

Also, there's the issue of finish. People have driven themselves nuts trying to match the exact finish - I think it's a varnish, but I'm not sure - that he used. And to apply it, he probably would have used a labor-intensive and time-comsuming technique called French polish.

And then there's the matter of the glues old Stradivari used. There are a couple of as-new Strads around, so I'd imagine we have a pretty good idea how to recreate those.

In any case, I don't think that everything can be boiled down to science and technology. Somehow, the notion of genius has to be factored in.

For more on this, see a really excellent book called "Stradivari's Genius," by Toby Farr.

All this said, I suspect these new copies are really excellent. I'd love to hold one, and hear one.

[azasadny]

"Treasured timber" was a name I remember from a NAMM show back in 2000 or so. They made guitars and drums out of wood that had been submerged for 100 years or so in Lake Superior.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by azasadny

"Treasured timber" was a name I remember from a NAMM show back in 2000 or so. They made guitars and drums out of wood that had been submerged for 100 years or so in Lake Superior.

Not just musical instruments...pool cue shafts as well. From the Josey cues website here...note the price on a "timeless timber shaft".

The cost for an additional shaft is:

$150.00+ Josey sneaky-pete shaft
$175.00+ Josey standard Rock Hard Maple
$250.00+ Timeless Timber (Old Growth Ring)
$225.00 Josey Laminated shaft
$230.00 OB Laminated shaft
$275.00 Predator 314-2 Laminated shaft
$275.00 Predator Z-2 Laminated shaft

[slodave]

Originally Posted by 5String43

Apparently immersion does something to the wood's cells that exposure to air doesn't.

I believe water prevents the cells in wood from collapsing as they would if exposed to air. Minerals in the water build up in the cells over time, creating a denser wood and also preventing the cells from collapsing when the wood is finally brought to the surface and dries.

[pwd72s]

Could be true. I've never tried one, but the cue shafts made from the 100 year old great lakes submerged maple have the reputation of delivering a stiffer hit with less deflection. This wood also has a tighter grain, closer together "rings"...described as a higher ring count.

[slodave]

The maple from the East is already hard enough! I can imagine that the submerged stuff only becomes closer to being "rock hard".

[pwd72s]

I'm tempted to give Keith Josey a ring & try one of those shafts. Pool players always looking for that "magic" hit... What I really should do is spend more time practicing...doing drills. I'm really happy with the cue as it is, with 2 of his standard shafts.