Systematic optimization of violin tone by an acoustically reversible approach: The burnish/hydration technique.

Abstract

The companion paper supports the hypothesis that focal alterations to the stiffness of the wood can be produced by compressional burnishing or hydration of discreet areas of the plates or corpus. The effects of both burnishing and hydration are reversible. Therefore, one has real‐time‐feedback for modeling optimal violin tone. As a result only those acoustic changes which are desired are made permanent by removal of wood. To develop proof of concept we applied this approach to both top and back plates and to violins in the white. The experiments consisted of evaluation of tap tone frequencies and evaluating violins played in the white. Standard recording‐ and signal‐analysis equipment was used. The conclusions drawn from measurements correlated well with those from listening, that is, incremental changes in the tone produced by this technique can guide the carving of the plates. An important strength of the technique is that it can be applied with other methods of plate tuning, namely, tap‐tone methods, holographic techniques, computer analysis, etc. The approach should provide a valuable adjunct in making instruments of the violin family.