re: niggling( a trifling doubt) that just won't go away~
I like this quote the best,
However..when the violin is strung up - the top becomes shorter and wider, the back becomes longer and narower (and the ribs are racked) and this is the new set over time ( as per Dr Nigel Harris)
If as Davide says some of the strads are tapered, the only logic that I can come up with, it is to lessen the long term string deformation on the top arch (not to be confused with wood fatigue)
I can't see this as a end all - cure all, and the impact would be small, if at all ....Strad may have thought this relevent
Any thoughts...???
Jim