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Honorary tenured advisor
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From what I could read on the subject:
One piece back is more expensive because finding a large board without flaw (due to the nature of wood) is not easy.
I couldn't find anything regarding the tone. To be noted that sometimes you even have 3 pieces! Little wings on the sides when the back plate was not big enough.
"It can sing like a bird, it can cry like a human being, it can be very angry, it can be all that humans are" Maxim Vengerov

Absolutely no difference in sound at all. Wood for violins ar cut from tress like pie wedges, quarter sawn. This give the straightest grain and the growth rings end up being perpendicular giving the wood greater strength and more consistency throughout. When making a back or top you need a piece of wood about 5 to 6 inches wide. If you take that piece and cut it down the middle and open it up to glue it together it is called book matching. This way the pattern of the wood lines up for a more beautiful look. The thing it, in order to get this piece of wood since you can't use the core nor the bark wood, you need a tree with a diameter ofabout 24 inches or more. To find a single piece with a nice flame pattern and 9 inches wide you will need a tree at least 36 inches in diameter. You can get a lot more backs out of a tree with book matching than with solid backs. Yes there are a lot of 1 piece backs and they are usually cheaper but they don't have the flaming and are not fully quarter sawn. To get a piece of highly flamed maple large enough and quarter sawn for a violin back you are talking much more money.

Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars

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