The restoration of historical musical instruments is a challenging endeavour. Besides the inherent technical difficulty, the degree to which the restoration process is deemed acceptable remains the subject of a longstanding debate among experts. Some argue that much of the benefit of preserving an instrument that cannot produce sound is lost; on the other hand, bringing an instrument back to playing condition imposes major modifications that are mostly incompatible with current practices.The aim of the NEMUS Project is to solve the problem of the restoration of historical musical instruments through an appeal to modern advances in simulation technology.