Claudia Fritz. Download the press release May 09, This image is available from the CNRS photo library, phototeque cnrs. Contact Claudia Fritz. Other resources. September 27, The researchers found that the aged and treated maple wood had very different properties from that used to make modern instruments.
But is there really a secret to be found in the Stradivarius? In the new paper the researchers found reproducible differences in chemical compositions between maples used by Stradivarius and Guarnieri and those used by modern instrument makers. Stringed acoustic instruments produce sound from the vibrations of a taut string. Aside from the performance of the musician, the quality of the sound can be affected by the rigidity of the connections between bridge and the panels, the shape and size of the panels and the material they are composed of.
A violin whose panels are made of glass would sound different to one made of metal, due to the different vibratory properties of these materials. Even the shapes that are cut into these panels, such as the typical f-shaped holes , play a part, since they break up and alter some of the resonant modes that can be sustained by the panels.
The question is, are these differences in the chemical composition of the woods and other finishing materials, sufficiently different to elicit an audibly superior sound? Some studies , in the aptly named Catgut Acoustical Society Journal, have shown that there is indeed a difference in acoustic response between Stradivarius and Guarnieri violins.
These have looked at how the body vibrates and the emitted sound pressure. That extra damping, compared to unvarnished wood, leads to a warmer, mellower, and aesthetically pleasing sound.
The varnishes favored by German luthiers performed slightly better in that regard, and also made for better sound radiation louder tones. A study by Taiwanese researchers compared the maple used by Stradivarius with modern, high-quality maple wood. Their analysis showed evidence of chemical treatments in the form of aluminum, calcium, and copper, among other elements.
And thanks to the decomposition over time of a wood component called hemicellulose, the Stradivari and Guarneri instruments used in the study had 25 percent less water than modern instruments. This latest study analyzes trace chemicals preserved in the maple wood used to make the soundboards of Stradivari and Guarneri instruments.
The research involved a rare collection of Cremonese wood samples of spruce and maple used by Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati, and the results were then compared to modern spruce and maple tonewoods, as well as woods from antique Chinese zithers and less exceptional old European violins. They found traces of borax and several metal sulfates in the wood samples dating between to As David Bressan explained over at Forbes:.
Borax , also known as sodium-borate, occurs naturally in evaporite deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. Borax is still used today in various household laundry and cleaning products, and in the past was used also as an insecticide and fungicide, killing pests. Copper and zinc sulfates , often associated with copper ore, likely served the same purpose.
Alum , an evaporite mineral containing sulfur, aluminum, potassium and sodium, was added to the mix to form a weak acidic environment in the wood, preventing mold growth. Halite , common table salt, was added as moisture control, keeping the wood too dry for microbes and fungi, and at the same time preventing the deformation of the instrument caused by humidity fluctuations.
This is welcome news to Nagyvary, who also co-authored this latest paper. These methods were kept secret. There were no patents in those times. How the wood was manipulated with chemicals was impossible to guess by the visual inspection of the finished product.
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