George M. Middius wrote:


Joseph Oberlander said:


The problem is that the great master Stratavarius never passed
on his secret formula for his coating/finish. So, Nagyvary
spent years researching and re-creating a simmilar solution
using materials that he could obtain today.


Suppose the secret ingredient, lost to the ages, was Floobydust. What're
you going to do about that, huh?

A: Advanced polymers.

It's actually surprizing what a simple $8 can of wood finish will
do these days compared to the older methods. They've already
figured out how to make better pianos than ever before(wasn't
true 20 years ago) - thanks to computers and research. Violins
can't be far behind.

Actually, I have a personal story about that. I knew a friend
in College who was a professional musician. He played jazz
flute(tm) and had at least a dozen insturments, including
a solid gold Haynes - supposedly the best made for the last few
decades.

His new Yamaha 500 series "beater" with a special-order
headjoint ($500 extra) beat the stuffing out of it. I played
both as well - there was no contest. He was understandably
in awe of the advances in technology and precision of the Yamaha,
as it cost him at the time a paltry $1800 - a mere fraction of the
Haynes.