3D modelling and measurements of historical violins

Measuring historical violins provides crucial information about the morphology of the instruments, useful both for researchers and violin makers. Generally, these measures are taken manually using a calliper, but they can be repeated only occasionally due to both the restricted access to these precious instruments and the need of avoiding accidental damages to the wood or to the varnishes. In this work, we describe and assess the accuracy of a protocol for the acquisition and creation of high quality 3D models of violins, suitable for taking accurate measurements. Six historical violins of 17th – 18th centuries, kept in “Museo del Violino” in Cremona (Italy), were used as test set. The quality of the final outcomes was checked comparing measures taken on the 3D meshes with the correspondent ones taken by calliper on the original instruments. Finally, a comparison between the sound board of the instruments were performed.