Why Two “Identical” Violins Never Sound the Same

(And Why That’s Exactly What Makes Finding a Great One So Difficult)

Every violin maker has heard this sentence at least once:

“Can you make me another one exactly like this?”

Of course.

I can use the same model.

The same measurements. The same tools.

The same wood supplier.

The same varnish recipe.

And I can promise you one thing with absolute certainty:

It still won’t sound the same.

Not because I’m being difficult.

Not because I enjoy mystery.

But because nature, physics, and human hands quietly refuse to cooperate with the idea of “identical.”

Let me explain.

1. Wood Is Not a Material. It’s a Biography.

We like to say “spruce” and “maple” as if they were industrial products.

They are not.

Every piece of tonewood has lived a completely different life:

• Different altitude

• Different soil

• Different rainfall

• Different wind exposure

• Different winters and summers

  
  

These conditions shape:

• Density

• Stiffness

• Elasticity

• Internal damping

Even two trees growing next to each other will develop different acoustic personalities.

So when someone asks why two violins made from the “same wood” sound different, the honest answer is:

Because they are not the same wood.

They are two individuals who happened to be trees.

2. Half a Millimetre Is Not “Basically the Same”

To a non-maker, this sounds insane.

To a violin, it is life-changing.

A difference of just 0.3–0.5 mm in thickness in the top or back plate can completely change:

• Response

• Projection

• Warmth

• Brightness

• Balance across strings

  
  

Two violins can look absolutely identical and still be acoustically very different.

Your eyes are not sensitive enough to hear what the violin hears.

3. Arching: The Invisible Personality of a Violin

Most people focus on outline and varnish.

Makers obsess over arching.

The curve of the top and back plates determines how vibrations travel through the body.

Change the arching slightly and you change:

• Where the violin is stiff

• Where it is flexible

• How energy is distributed

Two arches that look the same are never truly the same.

This is one reason why copying Stradivari measurements does not produce Stradivari sound.

Geometry is not destiny. Execution is.

4. Your Violin Was Assembled by a Human, Not a Robot

This part is awkward for us makers.

Every violin is the sum of thousands of tiny human decisions:

• One extra scraper stroke

• One moment of hesitation

• One slightly deeper cut

• One “this feels right” judgement

  
  

Those decisions are invisible in the finished instrument.

But the sound remembers them all.

So even if two violins are built side by side, on the same day, in the same workshop…

They will still end up as siblings, not clones.

5. Varnish Is Not Just Cosmetic

Here’s another uncomfortable truth:

Varnish affects sound.

Not in a mystical way.In a very physical way.

Different varnish thickness, elasticity, and penetration into the wood subtly change how the plates vibrate.

Even the same varnish recipe behaves differently depending on:

• Humidity

• Temperature

• Wood porosity

• Application technique

  
  

And yes — possibly also how much coffee the maker drank that morning.

6. Setup Changes Everything (Again)

Even a great violin can be ruined by poor setup.

And a good violin can become a great one with the right setup.

Tiny changes in:

• Bridge shape

• Soundpost position

• String choice

• Tailpiece length

  
  

can completely transform the instrument.

So if two “identical” violins don’t sound the same…

Sometimes it’s not the violin.

It’s 2 mm of soundpost.

7. The Final Insult: You Change the Sound Too

This is the part nobody likes.

The violin does not have one sound.

It has your sound.

Different players make the same instrument sound radically different.

And even the same player will sound different:

• On a different day

• In a different hall

• With a different bow

• In a different mood

  
  

So even if two violins somehow were acoustically identical…

You would still ruin the experiment by touching them.

Final Thought

Two violins can share:

• The same model

• The same measurements

• The same wood

• The same maker

• The same varnish

  
  

And still sound completely different.

Because violins are not manufactured objects.

They are acoustic biographies.

Each one remembers the tree it came from,

the hands that shaped it,

and the player who brings it to life.

And that, inconveniently for perfectionists,is exactly why great violins are worth searching for.