Re: [LAU] Pro Audio? OT rant.

the guy from the chicago symphony who makes carbon fiber violins still seems to have all of his hair and digits, and i believe they are selling reasonably OK.

a luthier i talked to in berlin told me that most of the magic of old instruments isn't the techniques but simply the "physics" of what happens to wood as it ages. the lignin changes its structure over long periods of time, as do other components. he told me that the hardest part of becoming a luthier is that it takes at least a decade to get your supply chain established, a supply chain that lets you build instruments with wood that has already aged for at least a decade. he said that the changes in the wood structure continue for at least 100 years, but they become much smaller with each passing decade. there is very little difference at all between a 200year old violin and a 100 year old violin, but a huge difference between one made today and one made 100 years ago, even if the techniques are identical. i liked the guy a lot, his studio was beautiful and he had a degree in physics and mechanical engineering from a major US university. i chose to believe him :)