Hear Musicians Play the Only Playable Stradivarius Guitar in the World: The "Sabionari" | Open Culture
http://www.openculture.com/2020/08/hear-musicians-play-the-only-playable-stradivarius-guitar-in-the-world-the-sabionari.html
Wow:
A Texas A&M professor emeritus of biochemistry, Joseph Nagyvary (also a violinist and violin maker), discovered that Stradivarius instruments were soaked in chemicals “to protect them from a worm infestation that was sweeping through Italy in the 1700s.”
“By pure accident,” this method of pest control, Texas A&M Today writes, had “the unintended result of producing the unique sounds that have been almost impossible to duplicate in the past 400 years.”
@evamarie
Yup. That's not the only reason, of course. There's the old-growth, dense spruce in the Cremona forests which cannot be replicated today, for one. People have also long suspected the type of varnish and the micro fractures in it contribute to the sound.
There's also a lot of brand cachet here. I once read about a tightly controlled double blind study where almost every violinist ranked modern instruments ahead of the Amati and Stradivari.
Still, I didn't know that Stradivarius guitars existed, and the sound produced by the clip you posted was exquisite.
It makes sense that the type of wood used would help contribute to the sound.
@evamarie
I also didn't know the family made guitars until now, but it makes sense.
What we are hearing in these videos is as probably equal parts credit to the original builder and the expert restoration.