
Mushrooms might be key to Stradivarius sound - naish
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/11/07/mushroom-violins.html?ref=rss
======
webnrrd2k
I doubt the sound has anything to do with mushrooms. For one, sound quality is
a subjective thing, and to speculate that these particular mushrooms improve
sound quality in exactly the right way to produce a Strad sound is really
stretching it.

For another, I heard that the wood used to produce a strad was from logs that
had been kept chained under salt water for a large number of years. This
produced a "partial fossilization" or something. I'd think that it would have
a fairly strong anti-fungal effect, too.

Any way, I've heard so many things that could be the reason for the
Stradivarius sound... old growth wood, special varnish, etc... It seems that
once every year or so someone discovers the what causes the sound.

~~~
jcl
I think the researcher is arguing not that mushrooms are responsible for the
sound of existing Stradivarii, but that they can be used to create new violins
with similar characteristics:

 _The mushroom nibbles lightly on the wood, reducing its density and
intensifying the sound, he said. [...] Many researchers believe the unmatched
sound of Stradivarius violins comes partly from the instruments' age._

------
Alex3917
Sorry but this is a fungus, not a mushroom. A mushroom is only the
reproductive body of certain fungi.

