Editing Stradivarius (section)

==Theories and reproduction attempts==
Some maintain that the very best Stradivari have unique superiorities.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Inskeep |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Inskeep |author2=Hoffman, Miles |date=2004-06-24 |title=The Sweet Sound of a Stradivarius |publisher=National Public Radio (U.S.) |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1972690 |access-date=2009-01-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080216101434/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1972690 |archive-date=2008-02-16 }}</ref> Various attempts at explaining these supposed qualities have been undertaken, most results being unsuccessful or inconclusive. Over the centuries, numerous theories have been presented – and debunked<ref name="Distillations">{{cite journal|last1= Roberts |first1=Jacob |title=Stradivari and the Search for Brilliance |journal=Distillations |date=2017|volume=3|issue=3 |pages=12–23 |url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/stradivari-and-the-search-for-brilliance|access-date=6 June 2018}}</ref> – including an assertion that the wood was salvaged from old cathedrals.<ref name="Monte Cassino">{{cite news |title=The Secret of the Stradivarius Sound |url=http://www.newsweek.com/secret-stradivarius-sound-146397 |access-date=13 June 2018 |work=Newsweek |date=27 October 2002}}</ref>

A more modern theory attributes tree growth during a time of global low temperatures during the [[Little Ice Age]] associated with unusually low solar activity of the [[Maunder Minimum]], circa 1645 to 1750, during which cooler temperatures throughout Europe are believed to have caused stunted and slowed tree growth, resulting in unusually dense wood.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/12/08/stradivarius.secret.ap/ |title=Cool weather may be Stradivarius' secret |publisher=CNN |agency=Associated Press |date=8 December 2003 |access-date=2007-06-24 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070513143309/http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/12/08/stradivarius.secret.ap/ <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 2007-05-13}}</ref><ref name="Distillations"/> Further evidence for this "Little Ice Age theory" comes from a simple examination of the dense growth rings in the wood used in Stradivari's instruments.<ref name="natgeo">{{Cite news |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0107_040107_violin.html |title=Did "Little Ice Age" Create Stradivarius Violins' Famous Tone? |work=National Geographic News |author=John Pickrell |date=7 January 2004 |access-date=2007-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702222205/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0107_040107_violin.html |archive-date=2 July 2007 }}</ref> Two researchers – University of Tennessee tree-ring scientist [[Henri Grissino-Mayer]] and Lloyd Burckle, a Columbia University climatologist – published their conclusions supporting the theory on increased wood density in the journal ''[[Dendrochronologia]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Rachelle Oblack |title=10 Non-Military Historical Events Drastically Changed by the Weather |publisher=About.com |url=http://weather.about.com/od/meteorologyandsociety/ss/weatherhistory_3.htm |date=10 March 2008 |access-date=2008-06-11 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080621113020/http://weather.about.com/od/meteorologyandsociety/ss/weatherhistory_3.htm |archive-date=21 June 2008 }}</ref>

In 2008, researchers from the [[Leiden University Medical Center]] in the Netherlands, announced further evidence that wood density caused the claimed high quality of these instruments. After examining the violins with [[X-ray]]s, the researchers found that these violins all have extremely consistent density, with relatively low variation in the apparent growth patterns of the trees that produced this wood.<ref name="Stoel 2008 e2554"/>

Yet another possible explanation is that the [[maple]] wood used was sourced from the forests of northern [[Croatia]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hill |first=W.H. |author2=Hill, A.F. |author3=Hill, A.E. |title=Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work |location=New York |publisher=Dover Publications |year=1963 |isbn=978-0-486-20425-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/antoniostradivar00hill |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/antoniostradivar00hill/page/n207 162] |access-date=2008-07-03}}</ref> This wood is known for its extreme density resulting from the slow growth caused by harsh Croatian winters. Croatian wood was traded by Venetian merchants of the era, and is still used today by local [[luthier]]s and craftsfolk for musical instruments.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

Some research points to wood preservatives used in that day as contributing to the resonant qualities. [[Joseph Nagyvary]]<ref>{{cite news |last1=Marks |first1=Paul |title=Why do Stradivari's violins sound sublime? |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10686-why-do-stradivaris-violins-sound-sublime/ |work=New Scientist |date=29 November 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Choi |first1=Charles |title=Secrets of the Stradivarius: An Interview with Joseph Nagyvary |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/secrets-of-the-stradivari/ |work=Scientific American |date=10 June 2002 }}</ref> reveals that he has always held the belief that there are a wide range of chemicals that will improve the violin's sound. In a 2009 study co-authored with Renald Guillemette and Clifford Spiegelman, Nagyvary obtained shavings from a Stradivarius violin and examined them, and analysis indicated they contained "[[borax]], [[fluoride]]s, [[chromium]] and iron salts."<ref>Texas A&M University. [https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090122141228.htm "Secrets Of Stradivarius' Unique Violin Sound Revealed, Professor Says"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002233428/https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090122141228.htm |date=2016-10-02 }}, ''[[Science Daily]]'' 25 January 2009.</ref> He also found that the wood had decayed a little, to the extent that the filter plates in the pores between the wood's component [[tracheid]]s had rotted away, perhaps while the wood was stored in or under water in the [[Venice]] lagoon before Stradivarius used it.

Steven Sirr, a radiologist, worked with researchers to perform a [[X-ray computed tomography|CT]] scan of a Stradivari known as the "[[Betts Stradivarius|Betts]]". Data regarding the differing densities of woods used were then used to create a reproduction instrument.<ref>{{Cite news |author=RSNA |title=Researchers Use CT to Recreate Stradivarius Violin |url=http://www.rsna.org/Media/rsna/RSNA11_newsrelease_target.cfm?id=562 |date=28 November 2011 |access-date=2011-11-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111130012405/http://www.rsna.org/Media/rsna/RSNA11_newsrelease_target.cfm?id=562 |archive-date=30 November 2011 }}</ref>{{what|reason=What what was the outcome of the test effort?|date=November 2022}}