Shape/design and how it affects sound, if at all

[guzhenglover]

Just wondering whether the shape or design of a qin affects the acoustics of the instrument e.g. jiaoye qin (palm leave shaped). I am thinking specifically of one of the traditional shapes/designs rather than one of those novel shapes/designs. Personally I think there's a link between shape/design and sound; however apparently qins in say the jiaoye design still tend to be more expensive than some other designs for the simple reason that those take more time and effort to build. What do you guys think?

[Charlie Huang]

ZCW says the more bits 'cut out' from the side of the qin, the smaller the sound chamber, thus altering the sound.