Here's my belief about the "scientific" instrument makers/ repair persons: If their methods are so great, why aren't their instruments better than the "craftsman/intuitive" makers'? I attended a talk recently where a violin maker with 20 plus years using the plate tuning technique (and other ****ysis tools) recently abandoned it, and says his instruments are better than ever, because he pays closer attention to his own instincts. This is a world-renowned maker; he's kept records on every instrument he has ever made. His main thrust was that no matter what you do, the resulting tone of the finished instrument will still be a surprise most of the time. As regards cleats, I'll take my decades of observation and experience (and that of many of my colleagues) over somebody's experiment with glitter or sand. Also to be considered is the fact that basses are different from the rest of the violin family, in that their plates are under much more stress because they are thinner in relation to their size, and because their huge width invites intense seasonal wood movement issues.
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