In addition, the quality of the varnish makes a difference. Many have tried to find the secret of Stradivarius's varnish recipe.

It was common in the late 19th and early twentieth centuries to make copies of famous maker's violins, and stamp the famous makers names inside, w/o revealing who the real maker was. My old violin is a "Guarnerius." Anyone who plays it will hear that it's anything but! My new one was made by a very good American violin maker - modelled on a Guarnerius design, but with no pretensions of being made by Guarnerius himself, the standard practice today.

-chanteyranger