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I agree John, bs for sure. Cut into veneer and glue laminated into a ply shell, even if it had some amazing characteristic it would not influence the end result. I have used lake sinker redwood in one tenor ukulele top with good results and it has a beautiful appearance. About to do another 4, will cost me about $15 per top for sopranos. I am not totally sold on whether the sonic properties are improved or it was just good timber to start with.
does anybody know if stradivarius actually soaked his woods?
He knew how to select wood and they had a lot of good wood to choose from. Everyone used the wood from the same suppliers so why were Stradivari's violins so great? He made 700 plus of them. If you built that many and paid attention, how could you not get good?
also, if there are 700 made, then a goodly number mustve survived. who's to say that many better ones weren't made by lesser known makers and lost?
magical wood magical wood magical wood! lets live in a fairy tale dreamland where magical ancient sopping wet logs produce magical fairy tale instruments!! hoooraaaaaaaay!
You can read up on the Strads in the Hill books and other sources. My first training was in a violin bowmakers shop. He had all the important books published up to that time. I used to peruse them and we would talk about them all the time.
He used to take me to Los Angeles when he would visit other dealers and I got to see a great many wonderful instruments. I remember the first time I saw a Strad in person an was allowed to hold it. I about pissed my pants.
The collector we were visiting that day tested me. He said as he hauled a Cremonese violin from his vault " Here is a good instrument from the last great Cremonese maker of the golden period." I said "Ahh a Storioni." I said. He handed it to me, after that I got to see all the other violins in the vault. Cremonese an other old Italian violins are so wickedly cool and have an aura or presence that is very compelling to be near.
My aesthetic and threshold for how a guitar is finished and decorated owes a lot to those visits. I think it's why I am drawn to simple less complicated bindings and stuff. I suspect Anders might have some similar feelings.
What this guy is talking about on youtube is nothing new. Stradivarius indeed used that kind of wood for his violins 300 years ago. I believe that there is something true about this. The effect of soaking the wood as discribed in the video was not a thing that stradivari did himself. The wood he purchased was already soaked in a natural manner. We should remember that stradivarius travelled himself to the fiemme valley in the northern italian alps to personally choose his tonewood. They have cut the trees and they shipped the logs by throwing them into the river "Po" which is passing Cremona, the home city of Strativarius. During the time of shipping the logs were soaked and the wood gained exactly that properties as discribed in the video.
There is no doubt that such techinques had a significant influence on the sonority of the wood allthough they wern't applied for that reason rather more due to practical reasons. It was just the cheapest and easiest way of shipping wood.
There is no doubt that such techinques had a significant influence on the sonority of the wood allthough they wern't applied for that reason rather more due to practical reasons.
It's purely anecdotal evidence and opinion that this treatment makes wood better. There is a lot of doubt in my mind.
During the time of shipping the logs were soaked and the wood gained exactly that properties as discribed in the video.
There is no doubt that such techinques had a significant influence on the sonority of the wood allthough they wern't applied for that reason rather more due to practical reasons. It was just the cheapest and easiest way of shipping wood.
I doubt that floating down a river would convey the same properties as sitting on the bottom of a lake for many years. I have read that submerging wood does slow rate of cure resulting in more stability. I think that it's a common practice in Japan to sink logs for several years before use.
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