Strad: The designer brand violin?

"A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?"

-Albert Einstein

Earlier today National Public Radio aired a segment on Stradivarius violins during All Things Considered.  (Click here to read the story at NPR)  It discusses a double-blind research study that was conducted to find out whether Stradivarius violins are noticeably better sounding than newer high-quality instruments.  Apparently, professional violinists can't reliably  tell the difference.

Can't you just see the commercials?  "Why spend more on designer violins when you can get the same great sound for less?"

This caught my attention, however, because of recent developments in the world of violin-making.  Back in November, the BBC reported about a radiologist named Steven Sirr had the idea to us a CAT scanner to observe the acoustical qualities inside stringed instruments.  He partnered up with a violin maker based in St. Paul, Minnesota named John Waddle, and used the scans of a Stradivarius violin to try to recreate the original as closely as possible.  The copies ended up sounding very similar to the original. (Click here to read the story.)  Many luthiers agree that these developments in technology could allow us to produce high quality instruments that cost a tiny fraction of what the "old Italians" typically cost.  

If you follow the findings of these articles to their natural conclusion, it could be very good news for struggling musicians who are notorious for mortgaging their houses to pay for expensive instruments.  Unfortunately, it could also be good news for aspiring con artists who make good money by convincing people that they're getting a great price for the "strad" in front of them.  

The part that I found the most fascinating was near the end of the NPR report, where the participants of the double-blind study were asked which of the violins they would most like to take home.  

When Fritz asked the players which violins they'd like to take home, almost two-thirds chose a violin that turned out to be new. She's found the same in tests with other musical instruments. "I haven't found any consistency whatsoever," she says. "Never. People don't agree. They just like different things."

In fact, the only statistically obvious trend in the choices was that one of the Stradivarius violins was the least favorite, and one of the modern instruments was slightly favored.

Musicians sometimes have a romantic attachment to the idea of playing an old instrument, seasoned by time like a good bottle of wine.  But in the end, it seems our preferences in violin sound differ as much as our preferences about ice cream flavors, and strads don't always win.

Ok, full disclosure.  If someone offered me a strad, I would still take it.

Today's song of the day, a very violiny piece: Zapateado by Sarasate, performed by Midori.