Violin finish and finishing method

A violin and a method for finishing a violin are provided. The violin comprises a plurality of coats of an alcohol based finish having a dye dissolved therein applied to the violin. At least one coat of a spirit based finish and preferably varnish is applied over the alcohol based finish coats. The interior of the violin may also be coated with one or more coats of alcohol or oil based finish.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
Bow played string instruments are known to have existed for approximately 
five thousand years, as evidenced by the Ravanastron of ancient India. Bow 
played string instruments evolved over the centuries, and are known to 
have existed in one form or another at various places in Asia, Europe and 
Africa. 
The violin, in substantially its current structural form, is believed to 
have originated in Brescia, Italy, in the sixteenth century. Gasparo da 
Salo who lived from approximately 1555 to approximately 1610 is often 
credited with being the father of the current violin and of the Brescian 
school of violin making. The most famous violins originated in Cremona, 
Italy, beginning in the late sixteenth century and extending into the 
eighteenth century. The Cremona school of violin making is believed to 
have been started by Andreas Amati who lived from approximately 1520 to 
approximately 1580. The violin making techniques of Andreas Amati were 
passed to his sons Anthony and Jerome Amati and then to Jerome's son 
Nicholas Amati who was born in 1596 and died in 1684. The art of violin 
making improved through these generations, and the violins of Nicholas 
Amati were widely known and valued in Europe in his lifetime. The pupils 
or apprentices of Nicholas Amati included such famous violin makers as 
Andrew Guarnerius (1630-1695) and Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737) who is 
widely acknowledged as the greatest violin maker of all time. The Cremona 
violins of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and particularly the 
violins of Stradivari have increased substantially in value since they 
were made. Violins that were sold originally by Stradivari for the 
equivalent of $20-$50 now command prices of $500,000-$1,000,000. 
The increasing value of the violins made by the Cremona masters such as 
Stradivari is largely attributable to the enduring quality of those 
instruments. In particular, the violins crafted by Stradivari and other 
Cremona masters are widely acknowledged for their superior tonal 
qualities, and their brilliantly lustrous finish which have lasted for the 
200-300 year lives of the instruments. 
Despite the many volumes written on the secrets of the Cremona violin 
masters, much of their violin making is truly a lost art. In particular, 
although violin makers and craftsmen have been able to produce violins 
dimensionally identical to the Stradivari violins, craftsmen have been 
unable to learn or duplicate the secrets of the tone and the finish of the 
violins associated with Stradivari and the other Cremona masters. It is 
reported that Stradivari had maintained a written record of his finishing 
secrets, and had kept this record hidden in a family Bible. After the 
death of Antonio Stradivari in 1737, the secret document was discovered by 
his son who promptly destroyed the document to ensure that his father's 
art could never be duplicated. 
It is generally acknowledged that the finish applied to the violin affects 
both the appearance and the tone of the instrument. Hill et al in their 
work entitled "Antonio Stradivari His Life and His Work (1644-1737)" 
explained that: "It should be remembered that a violin must vibrate 
freely, yet not too freely, as would be the case with a newly unvarnished 
instrument when first in use. Clothe it too thickly with even a good 
varnish, and the tone will be deadened, or with one too hard in texture, 
and the result will be that the tone will prove hard and metallic. Or 
again, cover it with a too soft oil varnish, and you will mute the tone of 
your instrument for a generation, if not forever." 
Many attempts have been made to explain the lost art of Cremona violin 
finishes and to develop new finishes that approach the tonal qualities and 
appearances of the Cremona violins. Hill et al, in their above identified 
work, hypothesized that Stradivari merely employed available oil-based 
varnishes and that the superior visual and tonal results are attributable 
to the master's fine hand and application techniques. The patent 
literature includes several complex attempts to define a finish which 
yields visual and acoustical results comparable to the old Cremona 
violins. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,083,510 which issued to Tietgen on 
Jan. 6, 1914 indicates that the violin should receive two coats of a 
solution formed initially with nine parts alcohol, three parts nitric acid 
and six parts turpentine. The solution is allowed to stand at least six 
months until crystals form on the bottom. The remaining liquid is decanted 
and then added to a solution of three parts gum mastic and nine parts 
turpentine. After two coats of the resulting finish are applied to the 
violin, the instrument is dried for six days, after which a coat of 
commercial nitric acid is applied. Additional coats of hot varnish are 
then applied to the violin, with still additional coats of alcohol applied 
to selected parts of the instrument. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,234,989 issued to Wickstrom on July 31, 1917, and suggests 
that the most desirable coating is achieved by ensuring that the varnish 
does not become intimately connected to the instrument. To achieve this 
end, U.S. Pat. No. 1,234,989 teaches an initial coating of hot beeswax. 
Excess beeswax is rubbed off, and the instrument is next coated with 
plural layers of a mastic dissolved in alcohol. The reference teaches that 
the mastic layer will not adhere to the beeswax, and as a result, the 
substrate consisting of the wood and the beeswax can vibrate free of the 
top coats. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,622,484 which issued to Bamberger on Mar. 29, 1927 suggests 
finishing the violin with any available coating material such as shellac, 
varnish, lacquer or the like that has been treated with a fruit or 
vegetable juice, and preferably onion juice. 
U.S. Pat. No. 1,836,089 issued to Schweitzer on Dec. 15, 1931 and suggests 
that the varnish employed on the violin body has little effect on the tone 
of the instrument, and further suggests that the treatment of the sounding 
board with ultraviolet rays is the secret to enhanced acoustics of the 
Italian violins. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 856,533 which issued to 
Lawrence on June 11, 1907 suggests that the enhanced tone is achieved by 
treating the interior of the violin with a composition consisting of 
alcohol, gum of guaiac, orange peels and ether. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,863 which issued to Song on Feb. 24, 1981 suggests that 
the desirable tones are achieved by treating the wood of the violin with 
heat for one to two months, coating the treated violin with iodine, and 
subsequently heating the violin again at 300.degree. F. for from two to 
seven days. The wood is then scraped and coated with an undefined varnish 
material. 
The non-patent literature also is replete with divergent examples of the 
ideal way to treat and/or coat a violin. A typical example is an article 
dated Oct. 29, 1917 in the "Music Trades" publication which reports that 
the violin is coated with a combination of varnish, Chinese amber and 
acid. More recently, it has been suggested that the brilliant luster 
associated with the Cremona violins is attributable to a fungus that 
existed in Italy at that time and that affected the chemistry of the wood 
and/or a varnish applied to the wood. Further discussions of violin 
finishes are given in the above identified Hill et al work and in "Violin 
Making: As It Was, And Is" by Ed. Heron-Allen. The disclosure of the prior 
art identified above is incorporated herein by reference. 
None of the finishing methods or compositions described above have received 
either commercial success or critical acclaim from people skilled in the 
art of violin making and playing. As a result, the vast majority of 
violins continue to be finished with spirit based varnishes. These varnish 
finished violins simply do not approach the visual or acoustical qualities 
associated with the violins of Stradivari and the other Cremona masters. 
Shellac has been available as a coating material since as early as 1300 
B.C., where it was used, in one form or another, in southern and 
southeastern Asia. Shellac is formed from a gum or resin exuded from 
Croton or Fiscus species trees indigenous to southern Asia. In particular, 
the gum is exuded from incisions made by female insects of the Coccus 
lacca species. The gum is soluble in alcohol to yield a transparent or 
semi-transparent coating. The bodies of these same insects were used to 
form lac dye which was a coloring medium for wood. 
Lac dye is generally unavailable today as a commercial product, and various 
synthetic dyes are used for coloring mediums. Lac gum, on the other hand, 
is known to be mixed with an alcohol base to yield a quick drying 
protective "shellac" coating. White or bleached lac gum is known to 
provide a protective shellac coating having a high degree of transparency. 
Although shellac has been readily available for centuries, it is generally 
not considered to be an acceptable coating material for fine and valuable 
wood products. In particular, shellac is known to yield a noticeably 
imperfect finish in the presence of water. Thus, shellac generally cannot 
be applied in environments of high humidity. Furthermore, even a fully 
cured shellac finish does not weather well in the presence of water. For 
these reasons, shellac is not commercially used for finishing fine pieces 
of furniture or violins. 
In view of the above, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a 
violin which has aesthetic and acoustical properties similar to or better 
than the violins crafted in Cremona, Italy, in the seventeenth and 
eighteenth centuries. 
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a method for 
coating a violin to achieve a deep and brilliant luster and to provide 
exceptional acoustical characteristics. 
A further object of the subject invention is to provide a violin with a 
deep luster that appears to be generated from within the coating. 
Still a further object of the subject invention is to provide a violin with 
an extremely durable finish. 
An additional object of the subject invention is to provide a violin which 
when hand rubbed will retain its original luster. 
Still another object of the subject invention is to provide a method for 
efficiently coating violins to yield an instrument with enhanced visual 
and acoustical properties. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The subject invention is directed to a violin, the exterior of which is 
coated with plural layers of shellac and at least one color coat. The 
color coat may be a lac dye in a suitable solvent or a synthetic dye in a 
solvent of alcohol or spirits, with turpentine being preferred. 
Preferably, the violin comprises plural coats of white shellac over the 
color coat. The interior of the violin may also be coated with a sealant, 
which preferably is one or more coats of a white shellac. 
In a preferred embodiment, between two and four base coats of the white 
shellac are applied to the exterior of the violin. The color coat then is 
applied over the base coats of white shellac, on all but the neck of the 
violin. Preferably, the color material is in a spirit solvent. The spirit 
of the color coat will not interact with the alcohol based shellac base 
coats initially applied to the violin. As a result, these white shellac 
base coats will retain their luster and hardness despite the subsequent 
application of the spirit based color coat. It has been found that the 
initial 2-4 base coats of white shellac will permit some penetration of 
the spirit based color coat into the wood, and particularly into the less 
dense or darkened areas of the wood grain, thereby yielding a desirable 
array of shading which accents the natural grain pattern of the wood. 
After the color coat has been permitted to cure adequately, additional 
plural layers of white shellac are applied thereto, to define top coats. 
Preferably, at least approximately 12 additional top coats of white 
shellac are applied over the color coat. 
A final microscopic film of linseed oil may be applied over the last top 
coat of white shellac to act as a plasticizer to prevent the plural 
shellac top coats from becoming excessively brittle. 
In the preferred method, the one or two coats of sealant, and preferably 
shellac, are applied first to the interior of the violin. These two 
interior coats will not yield a visible film on the interior of the 
violin. From 2 to 4 base coats of white shellac then are applied directly 
to the wood on the exterior of the violin. Each coat of shellac generally 
will be dry to the touch in approximately 15 minutes, and will accept a 
subsequent coat after 30 minutes without the preceding coat being 
redissolved by the alcohol base of each subsequent coat. The color coat is 
applied over the initial layers of white shellac, after the last of the 
initial layers has been permitted to dry for at least one half hour. 
Preferably the color coat employs a turpentine base and is permitted to 
dry for approximately one day. After such curing of the color coat, plural 
top coats of white shellac are applied thereto, with at least one half 
hour drying time between successive coats. In the preferred embodiment, at 
least approximately 12 such top coats of white shellac are applied over 
the color coat. 
An alternate preferred violin finishing method includes the first step of 
drying the raw violin to remove a substantial amount of the moisture from 
at least the surface of the raw wood. As a next step, a dye or stain is 
applied to the exterior of the violin. The dye or stain may be applied 
with an appropriate solvent as a vehicle for application of the dye or 
stain. After a brief period of drying, the exterior of the violin may be 
flushed with the solvent to remove portions of the dye or stain from areas 
of the wood that are generally nonporous, and carrying the stain or dye 
deeper into more porous areas of the wood. As another step, which may 
precede or follow the above described stain or dye application, the 
interior of the dried violin may be coated with shellac or drying oil. 
Plural coats of an alcohol based finish such as shellac are then applied 
successively to the exterior of the violin with ample time for drying 
between successive coats. At least one of the coats of the shellac or 
other similar finish to be applied to the violin may define a color coat. 
The color coat, as explained further below, may comprise a saturated 
solution of powdered gamboge gum in shellac, which imparts a golden hue to 
the violin. The particular dye or stain selected for the color coat may 
depend upon the specific color desired for the finished product. 
Preferably, at least three coats of shellac having a suitable dye therein 
are applied successively to the exterior of the violin. 
A microscopically thin layer of a drying oil, such as boiled linseed oil, 
may then be applied to the last coat of shellac on the violin. Sufficient 
drying time is allowed between the application of the last coat of shellac 
and the microscopically thin layer of oil. The boiled linseed oil may be 
applied by placing a few drops of the oil on a soft rag and rubbing the 
rag over the sufficiently dried shellac finish on the violin. 
Plural coats of a spirit based finish are then applied to the product. The 
linseed oil, if applied, is permitted to dry at least approximately ten 
minutes prior to application of the spirit based finish. The spirit based 
finish preferably is a varnish, despite the fact that the teaching on most 
commercially available varnish is that varnish should not be applied to an 
article having shellac thereon. The plural layers of the spirit based 
finish preferably comprise a dye and may further comprise an ultraviolet 
light absorber to prevent fading of the dye in the color coat. In a 
particularly preferred embodiment, the spirit based coating material 
comprises a spar varnish with a red dye and an appropriate ultraviolet 
light absorber therein. Preferably, two or more coats of the spirit based 
material are applied to the violin, with each coat being allowed to dry to 
the touch before applying the next coat. A top coat of a drying oil, such 
as boiled linseed oil may further be applied to the dried spirit based 
coat. 
The resulting product has been found to exhibit superior visual and 
acoustical properties. In particular, it has been found that light 
reflecting off the various diverse layers has been found to diffract as it 
passes through the plural clear top coats of a different material having 
different refractive characteristics. Additionally, some light will pass 
through the color coat and will reflect back off the lower coats and the 
violin to create a visually extraordinary color effect. This unique effect 
is not found in currently manufactured violins, and resembles the "flame 
from below" used to describe the unusal and heretofore inimitable effect 
associated with the violins of Stradivari and other Cremona masters. It 
has also been found that the violin coated as described herein achieves 
acoustical effects that are superior to the effects achieved by otherwise 
identical violins that have been coated with the prior art varnishes and 
associated methods. 
Additionally, the violins as coated herein have been compared to very old 
violins of the Cremona era. The subject violins with the plural coats of 
different materials thereon, as described above and further below, have 
been found to achieve a consistently superior sound despite broad ranges 
of ambient temperature and humidity which were sufficient to affect the 
acoustical performance of violins finished in accordance with prior art 
techniques. These extraordinary results are achieved despite the general 
belief that shellac is not a suitable coating for quality wood products, 
such as violins, and despite the explicit teaching of the art that 
varnishes or similar spirit based coatings should not be applied over 
shellac.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The violin of the subject invention is indicated generally by the numeral 
10 in the accompanying Figure. More particularly, the accompanying Figure 
depicts a portion of the violin corresponding to the belly, back or sides 
of the violin. The violin 10 includes a wood substrate 20 which typically 
is a maple for the back or a pine for the belly or front of the violin. 
The wood 20 of violin 10 comprises an inwardly facing or interior surface 
22 and an outwardly facing or exterior surface 24. The interior surface 22 
of the violin 10 is coated with layers 32 and 34 of a white shellac. It 
has been found that the interior coats protect against atmospheric 
moisture changes. However, these coats do not form a visible film on the 
interior of the violin. It has also been found that these interior coats 
have the extraordinary effect of enhancing the volume and projection of 
the sound emanating from the violin. 
The exterior surface 24 of the violin 10 is first successively coated with 
coats 42-48 of white shellac to define a base or first layer. The white 
shellac employed for the coats 42-48 preferably is formed from 
commercially available shellac dissolved in an alcohol base. The shellac 
may be formulated to define a concentrated solution of shellac in ethanol 
or methanol. The preferred shellac solution defined a saturated solution 
of white shellac flakes in 95% ethanol. In particular, the shellac flakes 
were thoroughly mixed with the 95% ethanol and then the solution was 
allowed to stand for at least one hour and remixed. A precipitate of 
undissolved shellac flakes remained at the bottom, and the supernatant was 
used for the coating. The white shellac coats 42-48 comprising the first 
layer may be applied by brush, but other coating techniques are believed 
to be equally acceptable. From 20 to 60 minutes should be allowed to 
elapse between successive base coats 42-48 to allow the shellac gum to 
cure and harden sufficiently to avoid being redissolved by the alcohol 
base in subsequent base coats 44-48. Generally about 30 minutes has given 
satisfactory results. Although four base coats are depicted, fewer than 
four base coats have been tested and found to yield similar visual 
effects. However, too many base coats may completely prevent the 
penetration of the color coat into the wood, thereby eliminating the 
desirable accentuation of the grain. 
A color coat 50 comprising a commercially available dye, such as alizarin, 
is dissolved in turpentine and then is applied to the base coat 48. The 
alizarin produces a reddish brown color coat. Other available dyes may be 
employed for different color shades. The color coat may comprise from 0.1% 
to 2.5% by weight alizarin, and preferably 1.0% of the alizarin in 
turpentine. The concentration may vary with other dyes and spirits, and in 
accordance with the desired color effects. The turpentine of the color 
coat 50 will not dissolve the shellac of base coats 42-48. However, the 
areas of the wood 20 that are less dense will not be completely sealed by 
the base coats 42-48. In these areas, the color coat 50 will migrate into 
and stain the wood 20. In other locations, the color coat 50 will merely 
provide a coating that will cover but not penetrate the base coats 42-48. 
The color coat 50 with the turpentine base will require longer to dry 
before additional coats can be applied. Preferably, the color coat 50 is 
allowed to dry for one day. 
Top coats 60-66 of the above described white shellac are applied to the 
color coat 50 by substantially the same application method. The alcohol 
base of the top coats 60-66 will not interact with the color coat 50 
provided that sufficient time has elapsed for the color coat 50 to 
completely dry. In the preferred embodiment, at least twelve top coats of 
white shellac are applied over the color coat 50, with at least one half 
hour of drying time between the applications of successive top coats 
60-66. 
A very fine microscopic plasticizing coat 70 of a drying oil such as boiled 
linseed oil may be applied to the final top coat 66. Other drying oil may 
be employed. The oil coat application preferably comprises one or two 
drops of the oil placed on a soft cloth, and rubbed over the entire violin 
exterior. 
Violins produced as described above and depicted in the accompanying figure 
have been made and tested both visually and acoustically. The violins have 
exhibited a brilliant gloss that is not found in currently manufactured 
violins, and also exhibit superior acoustical characteristics. With 
respect to the visual characteristics, it has been observed and noted that 
the lustrous color of the violin 10 described above, appears to be 
emanating from below the surface. The reasons for the observed visual 
phenomena are not known. However, without attempting to limit or 
operationally define the invention, it is believed that these unusual 
visual characteristics may be attributable to two simultaneous visual 
phenomena. First, the incident light rays to the color coat 50 may be 
diffracted as they pass through the plural top coats 60-66. Additionally, 
the color coat 50 is not opaque, but rather translucent to permit light 
rays to pass therethrough. The light rays passing through the color coat 
50 may reflect off the base coats 42-48 and may be retransmitted through 
the color coat 50 and the top coats 60-66, with additional diffraction of 
the light rays. 
Over 260 unfinished violins were purchased from a single source in 
Mittenwald, Germany, for experimentation that led to the violin and method 
disclosed herein. Visually striking and acoustically fine violins were 
made by applying the above described turpentine based color coat directly 
to the wood of the violin, and applying the white shellac top coats 
thereto. However, visually superior violins were achieved when the base 
coats of white shellac 42-48 were applied to the exterior surface 24 of 
violin 10 prior to applying the color coat 50. Similar visual effects with 
different color variations were achieved by applying additional color 
coats similar to the color coat 50 interspersed between plural layers of 
the top coats 60-66. These violins were compared with violins purchased 
from the same source and coated with the prior art varnishing techniques. 
The visual results and differences were unexpected and striking. 
Furthermore, violins coated as depicted in the Figure, or in the slight 
variations thereto as described above, were noted to achieve a greater 
acoustical fullness and brilliance and a distinctly mellow reediness. The 
instruments were also very responsive to the bow. 
Violins which achieve visual and acoustical performance at least as good as 
those described in the preceding paragraphs have been made by first drying 
the raw violin in dry heat of 90.degree. or more for at least 24 hours. 
The drying can be significantly enhanced by first flushing the violin with 
an organic solvent that is immiscible with water vapor, such as 
turpentine. The drying of the raw violin removes significant amounts of 
moisture from the wood at least adjacent the surfaces thereof. 
A dye or pigment is then applied to the dried violin using an appropriate 
solvent as a vehicle. The dye or pigment preferably is of a red, orange or 
brown hue, with an ochre artist's pigment providing a desirable visual 
effect. The solvent preferably is turpentine or boiled linseed oil and is 
applied very liberally using a soft rag. As a result, most of the dye or 
pigment is rinsed from the less porous areas of the wood, but is carried 
deeper into the more porous areas. After application of the dye or pigment 
with the solvent, the violin is placed in an area of dry heat to prevent 
any significant reabsorption of water vapor. 
Between three and ten coats of shellac are then applied successively to the 
exterior of the violin and at least one coat of shellac to the interior of 
the violin, with at least one half hour of drying time between successive 
coats. Each coat of the shellac is formed as described above from a 
commercially available shellac. In particular, the shellac is formulated 
to define a concentrated solution of shellac in ethanol or methanol. The 
preferred shellac solution for this method, as for the previously 
described method, defines a saturated solution of white shellac flakes in 
95% ethanol. The shellac flakes were thoroughly mixed with the 95% 
ethanol, and then the solution was allowed to stand for at least one hour 
and remixed. A precipitate of undissolved shellac flakes remained at the 
bottom. 
A powdered gamboge gum was then mixed with the saturated shellac solution. 
The gamboge gum defines the preferred dye for coloring the violin, and the 
concentration of the gamboge in the shellac would be determined by the 
desired coloration of the violin. In the preferred embodiment, the gamboge 
was mixed with the shellac solution to achieve saturation of the powdered 
gamboge gum therein. 
At least three coats of the shellac and gamboge solution were applied to 
the exterior of the violin to achieve both the striking visual effects and 
the superior acoustical performance. The most preferred violins were 
provided with between nine and ten coats of the shellac solution on the 
exterior of the violin to provide a brilliant deep golden hue with 
significant tonal variations. As part of or prior to application of at 
least the first coat of shellac solution to the exterior of the violin, a 
sufficient amount of the solution was poured through the f-holes to 
completely coat the interior of the violin. The visual appearance of the 
violin interior of course is unimportant. However, violins having one or 
two interior coats of the shellac solution exhibited enhanced acoustical 
clarity and projection. 
A microscopically thin layer of boiled linseed oil was applied to the last 
coat of the shellac and gamboge solution, after the shellac and gamboge 
solution was allowed to dry at least one hour. A few drops of the boiled 
linseed oil was applied to a soft cloth and was rubbed over the surface of 
the dried shellac solution. The microscopically thin layer of boiled 
linseed oil was allowed to dry approximately ten minutes. 
At least one coat of a spar varnish having an ultraviolet light absorber 
and a red dye such as the above mentioned alizarin therein was applied to 
the exterior of the violin. The ultraviolet light absorber sold by 
American Cyanamid Company under the name CYASORB UV-24 was found effective 
when mixed with a commercial brand of spar varnish. In other experiments, 
a spar varnish such as McClosky's spar varnish with an ultraviolet light 
absorber premixed in the commerical product was also employed with 
comparable results. The preferred varnish mixture comprised 140 cc of the 
commercial varnish mixture with the ultraviolet light absorber therein. To 
this was added 20 cc of boiled linseed oil saturated with powdered 
alizarin and approximately 5-10 cc turpentine. The varnish solution was 
permitted to dry to the touch between successive coats on those violins 
with more than one coat of varnish solution. 
It should be noted that the commercial varnishes used in these experiments 
included prominent legends on their labels that the varnish was not to be 
applied to products that were previously coated with shellac. Despite this 
teaching, it has been found that the resulting violin provides the 
superior visual effects described with respect to the previous embodiment. 
The visual effect has been described as "a fire from below" due to the 
visual impression that the glowing color originates from a location well 
below the surface of the violin. This visual effect is believed to be due 
to the fact that the different colors in the otherwise transparent shellac 
and varnish solutions reflects and refracts in all directions through the 
plural coats. Additionally, as with the previously described embodiment, 
the existence of different light refractive characteristics in the various 
coats (e.g. shellac versus varnish) appear to alter the light refraction 
of these coats, to provide the clearly astounding visual effects that have 
been observed. The initial application of the dye or pigment washed 
liberally with the solvent also contributes to significant color tonal 
variations across the violin in accordance with porosity of the wood. 
In addition to the above described visual effects, the violins made in 
accordance with this preferred embodiment were tested extensively for 
acoustical performance by accomplished violinists, and were compared to 
many prior art violins by persons skilled in the violin art, including 
extremely expensive violins crafted and finished in Cremona hundreds of 
years ago. The violins against which the subject violin were compared 
included an Amati violin believed to have been manufactured in the late 
17th century and to a Guadagnini violin made in Cremona in the 18th 
century. Violins made in accordance with the above described preferred 
method were consistently acoustically better than violins made recently in 
accordance with prior art methods. Furthermore, the subject violins were 
found to be acoustically comparable to the Cremona violins. The violins 
finished in accordance with this preferred method were found to have 
consistently desirable projection during broad ranges of temperature and 
humidity conditions that were found to notably affect the acoustical 
consistency of the prior art violins including the Cremona violins. 
In summary, a violin with enhanced visual appearance and acoustical 
performance is provided by applying a pigment to the exterior of a dried 
violin and coating the exterior surface with plural coats of white shellac 
with a dye medium therein. Preferably, between three and ten base coats of 
white shellac with the dye dissolved therein are initially applied to the 
exterior of a dry violin. Plural top coats of a spirit based coating are 
applied to the dried coats, with a microscopically thin coat of boiled 
linseed oil optionally being applied therebetween. The top coats 
preferably define a spar varnish with an ultraviolet light absorber and a 
dye therein. Shellac may also be applied to the interior of the violin to 
further enhance acoustical clarity and projection and to minimize effects 
of atmospheric changes on the performance of the violin. 
While the invention has been described with respect to certain preferred 
embodiments, it is apparent that various changes can be made without 
departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended 
claims.