Prof Francis Schwarze, of the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials, Science and Technology, has succeeded in modifying wood used for violin-making through treatment with two kinds of fungi: physisporinus vitreus and xylaria longipes, both of which affect Norway spruce and sycamore – two types of wood traditionally used in the construction of stringed instruments.
The acoustic properties of the violins are altered to such an extent that a panel of experts in a blind test was unable to distinguish them from highly prized and valuable Stradivarius models.
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