Or did the old masters get it right first time ?

This is an area that I have never seen explored.

The box of a violin, or any stringed instrument, is a 'driven' Helmholtz resonator. The original work of Helmholtz established that changing the area of the 'hole' in an non-driven resonator also changed the natural frequency of vibration; a smaller hole producing a lower frequency response.

As the containers used had essentially inelastic walls, the frequency changes must result from the changed response of the resonating air.

This is a little more difficult in violins because the body has some elasticity, having been constructed from carved wood.

I will think some more about how this topic can be developed.