The string drives the sounding board that produces nearly all the sound.

Evidence

A stretched string is in some ways like many other vibrating objects, but in other ways it is very special, making it an ideal source of vibrational energy for musical instruments. The string becomes a drive for the body or sounding board, which produces almost all the sound. — Eric J. Heller, Why You Hear What You Hear- An…, 759

Categorization

• DEFINE: Establishes the drive/sounding-board mechanism central to understanding stringed instrument speakers.
• XREF: connects to: Every stringed instrument is analyzable as a sound source plus modifiers — David Howard, Jamie Angus, coustics and Psychoacoustics, 1092