Official Luthiers Forum!

Basic concept is tap tuning the sound board and back and sides (including each tone bar) to a specific note in a particular scale, using a strobo-tuner (or ear, but easily quanitified by the strobo-tuner) Then achieving the optimal diameter of the soundhole for the specific instrument your making. The idea is to tone each element so there are no "Wolf" notes, either by tuning a quarterstep down from A440, A431 or tuning to the A440 scale but using a varity of tonings that will complement each other and not have one tone stand out to much. (Ex. you wouldn't want to tone several components to E, unless you want the instrument to explode with noise when an E is played)

There are many varities and variations on this method, but that is generically the concept. The premise is that each component has a resonant frequency that can be measured and contributes to the overall sound quality of the final instrument. Siminoff says that earlier Gibson's and many type's of prized collectors type violins, etc where tuned in this general fashion (obviously not using a peterson strobotuner:) )

I would be really intersting to hear from an independent luthier who has expiremented with this method.