Because you had glue failure doesn't mean the product is crap. You would do well to read the Fine Woodworking article - it dispels a number of myths.
The use of hide glues in violins is essential - repair and constant maintainance are the territory of this family of instruments. Guitars and ukuleles are made differently to different rules and the taking apart of such instruments is not in course of their lifetime a desired thing and usually occurs after some sort of trauma to the instrument.
For a hide glue joint to fail it would need to be exposed to very high levels of humidty - basically water, for quite a prolonged period or live in an Amazon rain forest (my friend's violin exploded in such conditions). I know many makers who use hide glue for 'kudos' more than anything else. For me, heating components before gluing, having limited lay-up time and the shear inconvenience of it in a limited batch run workshop is not worth the hassle. Titebond Original has done well for me and if I need a really 'suck-it-up' type of joint I will use a urea formaldyhide powedered glue that is made up with water under the former brand name of Cascamite - like I will be doing in a week's time when I have to book-match some greasy cocobolo...
Side bar - I attended an interview at Loughborough University for the job of lecturer in furniture making. I had my make book with me showing the extensive veneer and shaped work I did with exotic burr veneers. I was asked how I glued up the panels on my work and what type of glue I used. My reply, to the astonishment of the interviewing professors was PVA. They insisted this was an error and that UF needed to be used. Well, I didn't get the job and hey, what did they know. A company that did my large shaped work for me had an office panelled out in burr walnut. One panel in the scheme was all cracked and showed incredible tension due to shrinkage - the others were fine. Guess which one was not glued with PVA? Moral - the science of using glues and the practical application can often be two different things.
I come from a furniture making background and have struggled when working as a 'carpenter' to get my head around the 3mm tolereneces used on site when all of my experience was with the fine 0.3mm tolerences used in cabinet making. And so it is with instrument making - there are different disciplines and many different methods of working. With no known established programs of study, apprenticeships or agreed syllabi we all work very, and to my mind, refreshingly differently. So where Dave Means uses hide glue extensively, I use Titebond. Where Chuck uses wood bindings I prefer the more shock resistant plastic. Where KoAloha favours UV cured finishes I like the look of nitro cellulose after a few years. Where Ken engineers as many components as possible I hand craft. As we say here, horses for courses.
That UV stuff looks interesting and if I had a business that employed other people who didn't have invested in the business what I have, I'd use it as a further layer of quality control...
