The Complexities, Paradoxes, and Delights of Violin Making

One description of violins is that they are one-pound wooden amplifiers.  The acoustical analysis of violins takes volumes and has grown ever more sophisticated and complicated.  Science has served violin makers well, but the complexity of variables in the movement of violin surfaces can overwhelm common sense, let alone statistical algorithms. The quality of the sound from a violin, which is subjective and only partially related to scientific observation, comes from the materials used, design, surfaces, volume, and the physical drivers that generate the violin’s sound.