NewsBeat: Treatment With Fungi Makes a Modern Violin Sound Like a Stradivarius

From Science Daily

Spanish Stradivarius II of c. 1687, on exhibit at Palacio Real de Madrid. (Credit: By Håkan Svensson (Xauxa)

Spanish Stradivarius II of c. 1687, on exhibit at Palacio Real de Madrid. (Credit: By Håkan Svensson (Xauxa)

A good violin depends not only on the expertise of the violin maker, but also on the quality of the wood that is used. The Swiss wood researcher Professor Francis W. M. R. Schwarze (Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, St. Gallen, Switzerland) has succeeded in modifying the wood for a violin through treatment with special fungi. This treatment alters the acoustic properties of the instrument, making it sound indistinguishably similar to a Stradivarius.

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About KindaScratchy

I'm a novice fiddler and mandolinist. I've played the guitar for many years and also play the recorder, fife, flute, and, more recently, tin whistle. I work in the communications field and, in addition to music, I enjoy photography, writing, gardening, golf and travel.
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